June 3, 2016

Dear Professor Johnson,

When receiving this final project, I did not comprehend the amount of effort and time it would
exert. Revising an essay may be simple but being capable of inserting additional improvements
to pieces of writings that I once revised caused complications. This portfolio required long
thought processes and self evaluations as a writer. I had to discover modifications deeper than
grammar and resorted my attention towards organization and content. This portion seemed to be
the most challenging since, in ones mind, receiving a good grade often translates into little
mistakes.
For my portfolio I determined to use the projects containing my best and worst scores. The essay
I predicted to produce my worst score resulted to be my best. Writing project 2 commenced as
my absolute least favorite, but developed to be a piece of writing that I am now proud of. I have
no idea how I managed to attain the grade I did, therefore, I chose this essay to revise and
understand my own writing. The revision of this essay was difficult since I received little
feedback. Therefore, I attempted to reword sentences and delete unimportant texts. The second
assignment I chose for the portfolio is Writing project 3. This project contains my worst score. I
truly believed that this assignment would be my best since I actually enjoyed the writing process.
Due to this mistake, I decided to revise this project and attempt to discover my own errors. I
mainly focused on the language and style of the essay by identifying the main ideas and
removing unnecessary comments. Both of the projects required time and effort to recognize my
own mistakes that I had not noticed before.
This course specifically has allowed me to grow as a writer. The process of peer review benefited
me the most and aided in my progression. I believe by receiving feedback from peers of my own
standing, I was able to clearly understand what needed to improved. In my perspective, receiving
comments of peers is more beneficial in comparison to obtaining criticism from a teacher on my
work in progress. My fellow classmates understood my thought process and were able to relate
to my struggles, which was comforting and helpful. There were many readings of this course that
also assisted with my understanding and appreciation of writing. This course primarily focused
on the aspects of genre, a topic that I lacked knowledge of. Kerry Dirks article of Navigating
Genres was the main source that guided my current understanding of genres. Dirks piece
communicates of the importance of different categories and how each has its own conventions.
He specifies on the significance of these rules by stating, Because genres usually come with
established conventions, it is risky not to follow such conventions (Dirk 258). By reading this
piece, the clarity of the specific rules of each genre and the chaos that would occur if these were
not followed was evident. This circumstance of beginning the course with little knowledge and
ending with an abundant amount of information is very encouraging. Many sources, such as this
article, helped me grow in my knowledge and understanding of vocabulary and concepts within
literature.
When entering college, I despised the entire process of writing. I found no beauty or enticement
involved with the area and found many ways to avoid any form of writing. With the classes of

Writing 1 and 2, I have developed a form of appreciation towards the work of literature. I now
understand that the strenuous amount of dedication and time placed into a piece of work will
determine the quality of the production. There is no such thing as a bad writer simply one who
decides how much dedication will be exerted on a work of writing. By reading Shelley Reids
Ten Ways to Think About Writing I came to understand the importance of details. Reid points
out many aspects of writing that contribute to the final creation such as examples, arguments, and
an audience. The entire tone of Reids piece is rather encouraging and reassuring. The statement
that impacted me the most was, There arent any easy answers: writing is still hard. But the
good news is that you can use a few helpful rules as starting points when they seem appropriate,
and set aside the rest (Reid 22). This reading changed my entire perspective on writing and
allowed me to accept the fact that writing is a challenging area that I may still be able to succeed
at. With this understanding, I have applied this mindset towards all of my academic courses.
Even though a subject may cause complications, that should not discourage me from dedicating
time and effort in an attempt to improve.
When commencing my writing journey, I only saw my weaknesses and never acknowledged the
possibilities of my strengths. My flaws within writing consisted of either talking too much or not
saying enough. I tend to begin my paragraphs with general statements that usually are within a
range too broad in regards of the topic. Such as in my essay of Fantasy into Reality where my
introduction sentences primary focus on requirements instead of the main subject of translating
a fairytale into a newspaper article. I have worked on my difficult areas by using sources, such as
readings, to help guide my writing. Writing with Pictures by Scott McCloud allowed my
writing to grow in clarity and minimize unimportant sentences. McCloud states, If the story you
have in mind is compelling, in and of itself, then telling it straight with a maximum of clarity
may be the only persuasion your audience will need (9). By reading this piece, I was able to
identify the intended audience and message being portrayed throughout my writing. It was
evident that my writing required clarity.
I would like to believe that one of my strengths is through language and tone. I greatly admire
the entire process of revision and believe improving any word or thought will immensely benefit
the entire piece. I place great importance on dialect and in choosing the proper words to use. I
believe the appropriate language chosen to translate a message is one of the greatest impacts of
the piece.
As a writer, I would like to think that I have grown in many areas. I am no longer the timid writer
who was once ridiculed by their teacher, but now embrace a positive outlook on the process of
writing. I believe the main contribution to a students growth is primarily due to an instructors
guidance. In elementary school, through the actions of a teacher, I was discouraged and taught to
despise my own writing. Now, while attending college, I have been exposed to the benefits and
strengths that my writing contains with the assistance of a professor.
This course has helped me realize many things about my writing skills and about myself. I am
not a hopeless writer; I just did not appreciate the process of writing. With the guidance of
readings, my peers, and professor I managed to become a modest writer who no longer despises
literature. My writing skills still require much improvement and if time allowed, I would have
liked to continue to work on allowing my writing to be creative and not so constrained through

my own personal conventions. My writing journey has just entered another chapter and I cannot
predict what the ending has in store for me.
Thank you for vastly impacting my perspective of myself as a writer.
Sincerely,
Ashley Ramirez

Work Cited
Dirk, Kerry. Navigating Genres. Writing Spaces. UCSB: Alternative Digital Printing, 2016.
248-262. PDF file.
McCloud, Scott. Writing with Pictures. Writing Spaces. UCSB: Alternative Digital Printing,
2016. 8-37. PDF file.
Reid, Shelley E. Ten Ways To Think About Writing: Metaphoric Musings for College Writing
Students. Writing Spaces. Ed. Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Vol. 2. Anderson,
SC: Parlor Press, 2011, 3-23. PDF File.