10December2015

Dr.LeslieBruce
EnglishDepartment
800N.StateCollegeBoulevard
Fullerton,CA92831

DearDr.Bruce:

ThepurposeofthisletteristoshowyouthatIhavemettheSLO(StudentLearningOutcomes)
inEnglish301.IhavearrangedmydocumentsinorderaccordingtotheSLOlistasshownon
thesyllabusforthisclassbecauseIfeelthattheyareallequallyimportanttobecomingabetter
collegewriter.Ihaveincluded:myeditedannotatedbibliography,editededitorial,andapeer
review.

TosatisfythefirstSLO,rhetoricalfocusIwillincludeapeerreviewthatIdidforoneofmy
classmates.Ireviewedmyclassmateseditorial.IfeelthatmypeerreviewsatisfiesthefirstSLO
becauseIlearnedhowtowriteinformallyandformally.Ididthisbyprovidingspecificexamples
fromherpaperinordertoshowherwhatshecouldimproveon.Althoughthepeerreviewformat
issomewhatinformalbecauseweexchangedshortemails,Ialsohadtopresentmysuggestions
usingformalcommunication.IfeelthatthiswasthefirstpeerreviewthatIdidthatthewriter
appreciated.

IwillusemyeditorialtosatisfythesecondSLO,ethicalresearch.IadmitthatIhadahardtime
writingmyeditorialbecauseIwasnotwelleducatedonhowtoparaphraseconcisely.After
muchguidancefromyourselfandwritingotherpersuasivepapersoutsideofthisclass,Iwasable
tofulfillthisSLO.AftermuchrevisionIwasabletousemymajorscustomarycitationstyle
(APA),ethicallycite,andcommunicateinformationfromavarietyofresourcesacrossavariety
ofdisciplinessuchasbusinessarticles,environmentalhealthjournals,andevenmanufacturer
informationalguideslikePepsiCo.Mystrengthwhilewritingthispiecewasfindingenough
relevantarticlesandjournalsthatwouldhelpmeprovemythesis,argumentsandclaims.My
weaknesswasparaphrasingsourcesinmyownwordswhilenotlosingtheauthorsmeaning.
AftereditingthispieceIlearnedhowimportantitistounderstandarticlesenoughtobeableto
discusstheminmyownwords.

IwillalsobeusingmyeditorialtosatisfythethirdSLO,persuasivearguments.Iwasabletofind
relevantsourcesandapplythemtomythesis,claims,andargumentsinanobjectiveand
persuasivemanner.BeforewritingmyeditorialIhadtocomparesourcesinordertopresentthe
mostconvincingevidencethatwouldacknowledgeanycounterarguments,suchasthereasons
whypeoplebuybottledwaterovertap.Mystrengthswerefindingenoughpeerreviewedsources
andmakingsurethattheyappliedtothebenefitsoftapwater.Myweaknesseswerenotusing
intextcitationsandquotationswheretheyneededtobe.AftermucheditingandparaphrasingI
wasabletocorrectmyerrors.

InorderdemonstratecompletionofthefourthSLO,organizationandfocus,Iwillincludemy
annotatedbibliography.Inordertomakethispieceaneffectivetooltousewhenwritingmy

editorial,IfirsthadtoorganizeandfocuswhatsourcesIcoulduse.Ithen,summarizedthe
articlesinmyownwordsandcitedthesourcesinAPAformat.Ihadtoeditmysummaries
becausetheywerevagueanddidnotincludespecificexamplesfromthearticlestobackupmy
arguments,claims,andthesisstatement.Mystrengthduringthisassignmentwasorganizingmy
sourcesaccordingtomythesis.Myweaknesswasnotfocusingonspecificdetailsthatthe
authorsprovidedintheirresearch,butaftermuchrereadingandchangingthestructureIwasable
tofixthis.

IwillbeusingmyeditorialtofulfilltheSLO,academiclanguageanddesign.Whilewritingmy
editorialIwasabletodevelopfeaturesanddesignoflanguagetoexpressmyselfinaconcise
manner.Ilearnedtomakewordysentencesshorterbecauseitisbettertobeconcise.Thiscanbe
achievedbyapplyingtheruleofsubjectverbproximity.Thisallowsthereadertofollowa
sentencemoreeasilythanreadingasentencethatismuchlongerthanitneedstobe.Beforethis
classIbelievedthatifIincludedmorewordsandmorecomplexsentencesIwouldsoundlikea
betterwriter.WhenIstartedmyeditorialIhadtoremindmyselfthatthemoreconciseasentence
isthebetter.

InordertofulfillthelastSLO,collaboration,IincludedthesamepeerreviewthatIdidformy
classmateonhereditorial.Iwasabletoimprovemyownwritingbynoticingthatwebothhad
thesamemistakesandIwasabletoimproveherwritingbymakingsuggestions.Beforethis
classIdidnottakepeerreviewsseriouslybutafterdoing/receivingsomanyIrealizedthatthey
arehelpfultoallpartiesinvolvedbecauseitallowsustodevelopaswriters.

Ihadtoeditthemajorityofmyworkstobeabletosubmittheminmyportfoliobutafterdoing
soIfeltanewlyfoundstrengthasawriter.AsIcontinuetoenhancemywritingskillsand
knowledgeIwillcontinuetoworkoncitingsourcesappropriately.Iwouldliketothankyoufor
yourdedicationtomakingyourstudentsbecomebetterwriters.

Respectfully,
GloriaAlonzo