Cover Letter Draft

Dear Portfolio Reader,

Writing 102 has taught me more than how to construct an argument; it has taught me how to speak without a voice. This writing workshop has helped me focus my statements, making sure that my statements were not simply whimsical sentences but substantial claims. I learned that it took much more than a wide vocabulary to convince a reader of my credibility. I found myself taking the time to present the reader with my best work, work that contained a solid argument, my argument. 

The class not only shaped my writing style, but made me more receptive to criticism. I no longer dreaded a marked-up paper; I welcomed it. I wanted to constantly revise my writing and perfect it. But, deadlines gave me motivation to finish it.

Cover Letter Draft

Dear Portfolio Reader,

It is my honor to take WRT102 in Lucenko’s class this semester. I have learned a lot of writing skills from her class. In this effective class, I have learn to how to analyze texts by identifying rhetorical strategies, the audience, the author’s purpose and the evidence which supports the author’s claim, how to compare two articles, and how to conduct research by properly citing sources and providing credible evidence. Both my  analysis skill and writing skill have made great progress.

In my rhetorical analysis essay. I learned the knowledge about rhetorical situation and realized that  interpreting an article is to know not only the main idea of the article, but also the writer’s method. For example, in order to closely examine Sagan’s essay, I not only summarized and paraphrased the content to point out his main idea, but also provided an interpretation of the text and explaining how the author use pathos,logos, and ethos to built his persuasive argument, and why he uses these particular strategies to persuade the audience.

In my comparative analysis. I learned how to explore and discuss the similarities and difference between two articles by analyzing their themes and method. For example. I compared “Man Discovers a New Life-Form at a African Trunk Stop” and “Saving Ethiopia’s Church Forests”. First of all, I indicated out they had similar approaches on topic but different use of appeals. Then I used point by point structure to analyze each article by providing ample textual evidence and my critical interpretation.

In my researched paper, I learned how to develop an convinced paper by providing credible and supporting evidence. First, I defined key issue for my argument, and then I provided some background information. Next I used various evidence such expert quote , statistic, and examples which I researched from news, journal article and magazine for supporting my thesis. Then, I considered the opposing position and refute it. Finally, I concluded my idea and provide possible solution.

By taking this class, I see my potential to write. Before taking this class, I was afraid of wring due to my poor writing skill and weak language. Writing more than 5 page essay was nightmare to me. However, this class helped me develop my ability to read, think and write critically. Through this semester, I have gained not only confidence to write, but also pleasure to enjoy. I am very proud of  myself  because I have conducted college level analysis and writing.

Sincerely,

YingShi

Cover Letter

Dear portfolio readers:
The essays that I wrote in my Writing 102 class have taught me a valuable lessons that will be useful for the rest of my life. The rhetorical analysis essay and the comparative analysis showed me how to differentiate from summarizing and analyzing. With these papers, I learned to analyze beyond writing. While I talk to my peers or watch a movie, I find myself analyzing the tone that these people use and their surroundings. The rhetorical paper and the comparative analysis basically taught me to be more aware of the small details that people often miss. With the research paper, I was able to develop my debating skills and learn the valuable process to obtain credible materials for research. This might be useful to me, considering that I am planning on going to the Health professions.

I came in Writing 102 afraid that my writing skills were not good enough. I was nervous about posting my first blog because I was afraid that my writing skills might be below the writing standard. But with the help of Professor Lucenko and the weekly blog post she made us do, I realized that I was improving day by day and this motivated me into finding my areas of weakness and trying to improve on them.