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2801 Hornet Rd
Chillicothe, MO 64601 December 13, 2015 Dr. Watkins Adjunct Professor North Central Missouri College 1301 Main Street Trenton, MO 64683 Dear Dr. Watkins: Understand. To perceive an intended meaning. Heading into my senior year, I was prepared to learn skills that would prepare me for the rest of my life. I did not realize how much I had yet to understand about writing. Throughout this course,I have developed my own writing technique and the process in which I use to write. As I reflect over my writing, I know that I have improved my use of commas and my vocabulary, however, I need to improve on my author tags, citing, and parallel form. Looking back at how my writing has progressed through this course, I am proud of how far I have come. As the semester began,I was eager to prove myself as an exemplary writer. When I entered this course, I was aware that there were many rules I did not know about writing and was ready to embark in a course that would prepare me for my future. I believe that I have improved drastically in my writing style throughout this semester. Although I believe that my pre and post-write narrative were the best examples of my writing for this course, the first draft I turned in was full of surface errors. When my pre-write was returned to me, I realized that the copy I submitted was full of comma splices and other non-negotiable writing errors. This was the first paper I had turned in, so I knew that it would be a learning experience for me. Even though I had several errors within my pre and post-write narrative essay, I knew that because of what I had learned throughout the course that the corrected draft of the essay would be the best piece of writing I completed this semester. After revising and correcting my first paper, I realized just how far I had come as a writer. The narrative style of writing was my favorite because it gave me the opportunity to show my strengths as a writer. For example, in my pre and post-write narrative essay, I was able to discuss a speech I had given saying, “Now for our last stop at the Crayola Factory, the creativity room. Cut, color, paint, or paste - the only rule in this room is to enjoy the time you have in it. If I would have known how hard it would be to get the feeling of my first time on stage back, I might have never left.” This paper gave me the opportunity to express my time on stage in vivid language. On the other hand, I knew that research based writing is not something I have had much practice with. Unaccustomed the process made the argumentative the most difficult paper. I had weaknesses with author tags and citing that made the format of writing the argumentative harder to grasp. That is why I was not surprised that I had missed points on my argumentative essay because of my inefficient formatting. Admitting I still had weaknesses when it came to my writing, I believed that I have improved my writing style and lessened the amount of errors within my papers. Along with the improvement of my writing, I have developed my own writing process. I have learned that there is a process to each type of writing. In regards to the argumentative and interview essays, much time and effort was needed to gather the information needed before planning the paper. These two essays also had a structured format, both the argumentative and the interview essay needing specific author tags and parenthetical citation. The narration and editorial essay both had a simpler process. For the narration and editorial essays, I brainstormed topics I knew that I could turn into a final writing piece. Although every piece of writing has a format, everyone has a personal style about how they choose to write. Over the course of this semester, I have learned that a better way for me to work was for me to take a methodically planned approach to any piece that I was writing. Trying to write a paper, I had not thought out did not worked well for me. I found that it was easier for me to write a paper once I have questioned my topic and written my thesis. After I wrote my thesis, I simply broke it down and made each part a body paragraph. Throughout this course, I have also learned that peer response was the best tool when it came to revision. When correcting a paper I always found a fresh pair of eyes to check over my work before I turned it in to be graded was helpful. When evaluating my own papers, I tried to remove myself from the subject and read my work as if it were someone else’s. The process I have developed may be different from others, but I have discovered a process that works for me. Conclusively, I believed that I understood the major points of writing. This class developed my writing skills and taught me the basic rules of constructing the majority of papers I will continue to write after the completion of this course. I know that I can still make improvements within my writing, but I have come a long way since the start of this class. I am excited to improve my skills with research based writing by taking a course over that writing style. Through practice, this course will give me I will become a stronger writer. The skills I have developed in this course will benefit me for years to come in all pieces of writing that I create. I will continue to grow as a writer and genuinely benefit from the lessons I have learned during this semester. Sincerely, Abbie Clark |
