Alexander Valle

English 110

Prof Jacobson

19 December, 2022

Letter of Introduction

            Throughout the course of the semester, we completed each writing assignment with the idea of completing the Course Learning Outcomes presented to us at the beginning of the semester. Of all the Learning Outcomes there are three that applied the most to my work and were the most meaningful to me. These three being; “develop strategies for reading, drafting, collaborating, revising, and editing”, “locate research sources… in the library’s databases or archives on the internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias”, and “explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations”. Each of these outcomes have a particular impact on the essays I wrote throughout the semester, which can be found on the main menu tabs. The essays being; Sourced Based Essay, Inquiry Based Essay, and Composition in Two Genres.

            The first learning outcome that I thought applied to my work the most was, “develop strategies for reading, drafting, collaborating, revising, and editing”. This applied to all my essays because it is a process that I used and got better at throughout the semester to complete my writing assignments. This is meaningful to me because writing was never my strongest academic tool, so applying this outcome was beneficial to me in fortifying my writing and overall getting a better grade. Fortifying my writing is important for my future because I will have to write many emails and many other essays/papers throughout the course of my college career and maybe even my professional career. Overall, there isn’t much explanation as to why it is so meaningful except for the fact that this is a tool that can be applied to real world situations outside of writing and for many years.

            The second outcome that was the most meaningful to me was, “locate research sources… in the library’s databases or archives on the internet and evaluate them for credibility, accuracy, timeliness, and bias”. While this outcome mostly applied to the Inquiry Based Essay it is very meaningful to me because I intend to major in mechanical engineering, which in some instances will heavily depend on research, accuracy, and timeliness of the research or sources. This outcome allowed me to experience and learn how to research carefully and taught me to not always believe a source as soon as I see it. Furthermore, using this and applying it to the Inquiry Based Essay gave me experience that I previously did not have because I had never written an essay such as that one. This experience was important to me because it showed me I can persevere through challenges I have never been through, especially in writing because it was the class I have always struggled with the most.

            The third outcome of meaning and importance to me is, “explore and analyze, in writing and reading, a variety of genres and rhetorical situations”. This was more predominant in Composition in Two Genres as I had to combine my recently gained experience of rhetoric with different genres to complete an assignment that was very different to anything I had ever written. I find it very important to get out of one’s comfort zone with anything in life, especially if it serves you for good in the future the way this assignment has and will. Therefore, it is meaningful to me, because I got out of my comfort zone and in Composition in Two Genres, I wrote using a memorandum and an informational pamphlet, two genres which I could potentially use in the future. 

            Ultimately, this semester I have learned about rhetoric, different genres, research analysis, peer editing, and how to understand and interpret different texts. I learned the importance of reflection as it allows me to see different views. While learning these different things I applied them to my writing and learned more about myself through each assignment, also completing the Course Learning Outcomes that was set to students by the English department along the way.