Your letter should consider the following questions:

What have you learned through the process of writing and revising the WPs this quarter?
(Think here about all of the aspects of this work, including writing and reading but also
including class discussion and other activities).
Reflect on your portfolio: Which two WPs did you revise? Why? What exactly did you
revise in them? What are the specific issues (perhaps related to content/organization,
language/style, mechanics/syntax) that you addressed when polishing this draft? (Be
specific! Your reflection should make it very easy for me to identify what is new and
different in the WPs you are submitting). What ideas and types of feedback were most
helpful when revising? What do you like most about your work in this portfolio? What
more would you still like to work or improve upon? How does the work in this
portfolio reflect what youve learned this quarter? How have you changed as a
writer?
IMPORTANT: What will you take from this course as you approach new writing projects
in the future?

Make sure your cover letter has a salutation (Dear Matt,), separate paragraphs where you
answer each question, and a closing (e.g. Sincerely,), your name signed. The length of this
letter should be at least 1.5 pages single-spaced or 3 pages double-spaced.
Dear Matt,

This quarter has taught me a lot about writing. On the first day of class I had no idea
about what rhetoric and conventions were and when it came to WP1 I was so lost when it came
to what conventions were and how they worked. Over the course of the quarter I have learned
what both are and how they shape writing as a hole. After every class I always came out with
valuable new information that I was then able to transfer into my writing. Some of the things that
I found most valuable was the concept of new and old that taught us with every new sentence use
information previously stated as a way to tie your topics and ideas together which ultimately
leads to the writing flowing better. Another strategy that was definitely very useful was reading
like a writer. By examining every part of the writing and asking myself what point or effect is try
to be made by a certain piece of information really made me become more aware of everything.
The process of writing and rewriting has helped build my confidence as a writer. Before
this class I didn't really feel strongly about writing. When reading props I would know what I
wanted to say but would always get confused as to how to say it. When presented with the WPs
I didn't really have that problem because of the help of the PBs. I found the PBs really helpful
for the reason that they were based on the same topic but allowed more range for ideas. By
having all my ideas written out I was able to then choose the ones I liked which helped me
narrow in on my topic and lead to easily writing the WPs. Because the PBs are part of the
grading for the class I felt forced to do them if I wanted to pass the class but because of them I
was able to realize what was missing in my writing. With my first drafts I always would cringe
when they were being read out loud but by hearing it read I found myself knowing what I needed
to change and after writing and rewriting it three or four times I found myself being proud and
confident about the ultimate draft.
The WPs I rewrote were WP1 and WP2. WP1 was by far the worst WP out of the three. I
chose to rewrite WP1 because of the fact that I did not answer the prompt given. WP1 was given
to us at the beginning of the quarter and was based on analyzing genre and conventions two
words I had never even heard of before the first day of class. When I turned in WP1 I was
completely confused as to what the prompt was asking, even after reading it over a dozen times.
When reading your reviews and comments you stated that I pretty much wrote a PB as my WP, it
was also my worst grade so I decided to redo it. Whereas, for WP2 I felt pretty confided in my
original paper, but again when reviewing your comments you said that I didn't have a thesis, just
a statement about what I was going to discuss, and that's why I choose to revise that one.
When rewriting both WPs my aim was to completely address what the prompts were
asking. In my original WP1 I did not have two genres, I had one genre and two examples. When
redoing WP1 I completely discarded the original and started from scratch. In my new version of
WP1 I chose Psychopaths as my topic and chose a blog and manual as my genres. In WP2 I kept
some of the information found in the original WP but changed my argument while also making it
more specific. In the original WP2 I did not have a thesis by tried to explain how using two
academic articles written in different departments but focusing on the same topic can change the
information given. My new WP2 has a thesis statement and argues how by classifying the
articles within a specific category put boundaries on the work and helps build the piece as a
whole. To support my argument I used rhetorical strategies like ethos logos and tone and showed
how each were affected by the boundaries and summed it up by saying that the boundaries help
focus the pieces leading to a stronger article.
 The work found in my portfolio shows the progress that I have made. Before the class I
would not have been able to complete any of the WPs if they were to show up in another class.
By building up to the WPs by being assigned the PSs I was given time to help find what I
wanted to say, whereas if I was just handed the WPs and told they were due the following class I
would have been very lost. Another thing that helped me with writing my WPs was the reverse
outline. When writing the reverse outline I was able to see what I wrote find the gaps and fill
them in, while also being able to edit any information out that didn't work with the piece as
whole.
After this course I will be able to confidently present any future papers. This course
taught me that writing and writing are essential in building a good piece. My future papers will
be a lot more concise and clear and the first paragraph of the paper will be able to relate to every
single paragraph that follows. My papers will be able to flow better with the help of continuously
relating the new information to the old while. With my new understanding of rhetoric, genre and
convention I will be able to build a strong paper with that is concise and explain and support why
it works.

Sincerely,
Teresa Carranza