Upon entering my first writing class in elementary school, I felt uncertain of my future writing experiences. Deep down I knew that good writing skills are important to have, yet I also felt doubtful that I would need to carry them all with me if I didn’t become an English professor or the next J.K. Rowling when I grew up. However, throughout this course I gained a better understanding of the relevance of having a good grasp on writing skills – more specifically, the course’s outcomes. These skills, which include writing for different audiences, synthesizing textual information, and presenting a complex claim, do not simply provide an effective way to buy my freedom after being captured by dragons – they will prove useful to me in my future classes because I can apply them to any piece of writing I may be asked to write. Applying the outcomes effectively will enhance my papers and demonstrate my ability in each, increasing my chances of success in those future courses, and keep myself actively engaged with them beyond the completion of English 111. Moreover, since this course focuses on the outcomes in a literature-oriented context, future courses unrelated to literature may offer scientific and/or research-related contexts (to name a few). This will give me the opportunity to apply the outcomes to different course themes, which will help me keep my writing ‘adaptable’ and mold it to any academic situation.

This course has given me a significant opportunity to fully ponder the course outcomes and understand their relevance to future endeavors in real-life. In applying the outcomes to my coursework, I recognized their usefulness to aspects of life unrelated to pure schoolwork. Writing in different contexts and to various audiences (Outcome 1) can be applied to simple actions such as writing emails; gathering textual evidence (Outcome 2) proves useful in conducting scientific research and writing research papers. Presenting a complex claim and addressing the stakes (Outcome 3) can be applied to any situation in which you present your argument, so that you may convince your audience why your argument is worth giving considerable thought to. Additionally, the concept of metacognition that I learned in this class stretched my thinking in ways that my previous academic writing classes haven’t done by prompting me to actively assess and analyze my own writing; evaluating one’s own writing is equally important as evaluating others’. I feel that, having a stronger grasp of these outcomes, I have a greater chance of success in many aspects of my life if I continue applying them effectively. Regardless of which major and career I take on, writing will always be involved. From small tasks such as writing an email to the daunting task of writing a research paper or dissertation, the writing skills I have honed in this course will be put to the test. These course outcomes are all skills immensely useful to any individual, regardless of what path they choose to take for the rest of their lives.

English 111 has brought my attention to vital writing skills that I have not consciously acknowledged nor practiced for a few years, and has given me multiple opportunities to hone these skills – this portfolio included. Equally important, this course has facilitated my practice and understanding of the course outcomes by providing an engaging, intellectual environment with a supportive instructor and peers. Thank you for a great class; I am grateful to have been a part of it.

Sincerely,

-Ioana Alexandra