Cover Letter
Dear Michele Zugnoni,
Throughout this quarter I have expanded my knowledge for writing with the help of your class, UWP 1Y. In the class, I was able to practice my writing skills with greater consistency than ever before. By gathering research, writing multiple drafts, getting feedback from both yourself and my peers, I was able to truly practice becoming a better writer. The most important skill that I developed throughout the quarter, in my opinion, was how to do research. This came in many forms from finding secondary sources to supporting my claims to having to do primary research.
I’ve chosen to include my living picture narrative in my ePortfolio because it allowed me to try new things. I had never been comfortable with writing about myself, and it was a great challenge having to tell my personal story in a way that made the audience feel like they lived it with me. I had to use my rhetorical knowledge skills to ensure I had a clear purpose throughout my essay. That is, to take my audience on my literacy journey of dancing. However, at times this became challenging because I had to keep in mind that my dance style was not commonly known, so I had to explain the dance style and where it came from. This meant that I also had to invoke my rhetorical knowledge by being aware of my audience, my peers.
Throughout this quarter I have expanded my knowledge for writing with the help of your class, UWP 1Y. In the class, I was able to practice my writing skills with greater consistency than ever before. By gathering research, writing multiple drafts, getting feedback from both yourself and my peers, I was able to truly practice becoming a better writer. The most important skill that I developed throughout the quarter, in my opinion, was how to do research. This came in many forms from finding secondary sources to supporting my claims to having to do primary research.
I’ve chosen to include my living picture narrative in my ePortfolio because it allowed me to try new things. I had never been comfortable with writing about myself, and it was a great challenge having to tell my personal story in a way that made the audience feel like they lived it with me. I had to use my rhetorical knowledge skills to ensure I had a clear purpose throughout my essay. That is, to take my audience on my literacy journey of dancing. However, at times this became challenging because I had to keep in mind that my dance style was not commonly known, so I had to explain the dance style and where it came from. This meant that I also had to invoke my rhetorical knowledge by being aware of my audience, my peers.
This image expresses how I had to use my observational skills throughout my podcast project, by being very observant of my surroundings.
Another reason I decided to include my living picture narrative is because it made me challenge my views on how to do research. In an untraditional sense, I had to do archival research to complete my living picture narrative as well as invoke my primary research. Because my narrative was such a personal experience, I was able to go back and look at pictures and videos as well as my own memories of what had happened as my research. Compared to other papers I had written, this one was definitely a challenge. Without traditional research involved it was difficult for me to know what to include in my paper and what was useless information to my audience. Thankfully with the help of my peers, I was able to see what I needed to include in my paper to make it more interactive with my audience and give well-detailed encounters.
My podcast project included similar skills that I had to use during my living picture narrative. This included having to use primary research. The difference was however that for my podcast I was not reflecting on my own behavior but on other peoples. My research skills improved greatly by learning how to observe others in an unfamiliar setting. I had to ensure my observations were unbiased by separating my observations from my own opinions and thoughts.
Another reason I decided to include my living picture narrative is because it made me challenge my views on how to do research. In an untraditional sense, I had to do archival research to complete my living picture narrative as well as invoke my primary research. Because my narrative was such a personal experience, I was able to go back and look at pictures and videos as well as my own memories of what had happened as my research. Compared to other papers I had written, this one was definitely a challenge. Without traditional research involved it was difficult for me to know what to include in my paper and what was useless information to my audience. Thankfully with the help of my peers, I was able to see what I needed to include in my paper to make it more interactive with my audience and give well-detailed encounters.
My podcast project included similar skills that I had to use during my living picture narrative. This included having to use primary research. The difference was however that for my podcast I was not reflecting on my own behavior but on other peoples. My research skills improved greatly by learning how to observe others in an unfamiliar setting. I had to ensure my observations were unbiased by separating my observations from my own opinions and thoughts.
This image shows how there are many different aspects of research, and how they can all convey different things. Similarly to how my research in my writing varied depending on my paper.
For my podcast project, I also had to use my changing process skills. This was used when I had to change my composition process. I had to ensure that I was staying engaged with my audience throughout the entire podcast. This meant that I had to have a friendly introduction and I also had to adjust my mode when I began the writing process of describing what I saw, heard, and experienced myself. My peers helped me greatly during peer revising by bringing my attention to the parts of my podcast where I did not seem engaged with my audience, or didn’t give enough detail about my experience. This allowed me to go back and fix my mistakes so that my audience was captivated and included at all points of my podcast.
For my podcast project, I also had to use my changing process skills. This was used when I had to change my composition process. I had to ensure that I was staying engaged with my audience throughout the entire podcast. This meant that I had to have a friendly introduction and I also had to adjust my mode when I began the writing process of describing what I saw, heard, and experienced myself. My peers helped me greatly during peer revising by bringing my attention to the parts of my podcast where I did not seem engaged with my audience, or didn’t give enough detail about my experience. This allowed me to go back and fix my mistakes so that my audience was captivated and included at all points of my podcast.
This image shows the many steps I took to write my papers, showing the extensive process to get to my final draft.
Both the living picture narrative and the podcast project helped me to master my skills in research, my process skills, and in rhetorical knowledge. I believe that through this class I have learned new techniques for both secondary and primary research. I learned how to keep my primary research unbiased during formal assignments such as the podcast but also including my thoughts during an informal setting such as in my living picture narrative. I think this is a very important lesson to learn especially as I’m starting off college. I am going to be assigned research papers and this class has prepared me to know how to properly include secondary sources as well as how to do my own primary research.
My process skills were able to improve throughout my time in UWP by having to take the time to engage my audience and change the way that I wrote when having to write different styles. I believe that this was a very important skill to master because it showed me that one writing style does not fit for different assignments. For example, I am not able to use my own bias experiences in my podcast project like I was able to do for my living picture narrative because it would make for an unconvincing argument.
Both the living picture narrative and the podcast project helped me to master my skills in research, my process skills, and in rhetorical knowledge. I believe that through this class I have learned new techniques for both secondary and primary research. I learned how to keep my primary research unbiased during formal assignments such as the podcast but also including my thoughts during an informal setting such as in my living picture narrative. I think this is a very important lesson to learn especially as I’m starting off college. I am going to be assigned research papers and this class has prepared me to know how to properly include secondary sources as well as how to do my own primary research.
My process skills were able to improve throughout my time in UWP by having to take the time to engage my audience and change the way that I wrote when having to write different styles. I believe that this was a very important skill to master because it showed me that one writing style does not fit for different assignments. For example, I am not able to use my own bias experiences in my podcast project like I was able to do for my living picture narrative because it would make for an unconvincing argument.
This image shows the different writing styles that there are and how they all have different ways of being conveyed. It describes how similarly my writing style had to change when writing my living picture narrative to my informative and descriptive podcast.
I believe one of the most important skills I learned was my rhetorical knowledge skills. This is because the purpose of the paper is the most important aspect of all writing. If there is no purpose then there is no reason for the audience to be engaged or to even be writing the paper. By being able to find a purpose to my writing, I was able to keep my audience engaged and keep my writing on a single main idea.
Sincerely,
Mariana Torres
I believe one of the most important skills I learned was my rhetorical knowledge skills. This is because the purpose of the paper is the most important aspect of all writing. If there is no purpose then there is no reason for the audience to be engaged or to even be writing the paper. By being able to find a purpose to my writing, I was able to keep my audience engaged and keep my writing on a single main idea.
Sincerely,
Mariana Torres