Courtney Van Buren

1549 Imaginary Drive, Fullerton, CA, 92834 | 888-888-8888 | myemailhere@gmail.com

December 9, 2016
Dr. Bruce
Professor of English 360
California State University, Fullerton
500 Made Up Street
Fullerton, CA 92834

Dear Dr. Bruce,

Entering this class, my goal was to become a more proficient writer for the professional
environment. Throughout the semester, my writing has greatly improved, due to enhanced
revision skills, as well as my mastery of the six student learning outcomes (SLOs). I have
compiled a portfolio containing my revised resume, an excerpt from my group charter, and a peer
review, all of which effectively demonstrate my improved comprehension of the six SLOs.
I have chosen to include my revised resume, as it demonstrates a strong understanding of several
of the SLOs. Within my objective section, I establish rhetorical focus (SLO 1), by providing Dr.
Bruce with a formal statement of my intentions to become project manager. Using persuasion
(SLO 3) I synthesize related job experience to provide evidence of leadership skills. For
example, within my position as an anatomy and physiology tutor, I explain that I have experience
training new tutors and managing the opening and closing of the tutoring center. Using concise
language (SLO 5), I explain my qualifications by citing related skills, rather than full sentence
descriptions of job tasks. Additionally, by organizing my resume, using white space to separate
my experience and dates, in a column format, (SLO 4), Dr. Bruce would be able to quickly scan
my resume for desired information. Also, headings, such as employment and education, separate
information by related category, ensuring information is easily located.
The second piece selected was excerpts from my group charter. The excerpts chosen were the
Expectations and Conflict Management sections, as these demonstrate a proficient use of
ethical citations, as well as collaboration (SLOs 2 & 6). By citing information provided by Mike
Markel (SLO 2), our team collectively describes the type of professional and honest environment
we are going to collaborate in. Furthermore, these sections demonstrate organization and
language (SLOs 4 & 5), using bullet points, headings, and appropriate white space.
The final piece selected was a peer review of Technical Diversitys iFixit usability. This piece is
a strong example of collaboration (SLO 6), as each member of our team contributed different
opportunities for revision, based on individual proficiencies. Because the intended audience was
our peers, the writing style was informal (SLO 1), indicated by common word choices, such as
good. This piece also shows a different organizational style, as the peer review sheet is
structured in a question and answer format (SLO 4), requiring only a yes or no answer,

emphasizing concise language. Although concise language was pronounced, there were some
opportunities to use full sentences, such as when our team suggested that the grammar of the
troubleshooting page could be improved by spelling out abbreviations, such as AUX, which
readers may be unfamiliar with (SLO 5).
I believe that this course has strongly improved my ability to write in a professional environment
through constant practice with the six SLOs. I hope that the portfolio pieces chosen adequately
reflect my skills and progress.

Sincerely,
Courtney Van Buren
English 360 Thursday

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