363 Portfolio Cover Letter Peer Review Sheet

Cover Letter Writer: Reviewer: Vy Bui

Please note the word requirements in parentheses at the end of each question and give the most
specific advice that you can.

1. Does the letter directly address ALL six of our student learning outcomes? (10-20 words:
Yes/No, which?).

There were 5 components of SLO that accomplished and established in the letter. In the
major assignment paragraph, there were 4 different SLOs presented (1,2,4,5) and the
minor assignment counted for collaboration. The missing SLO was persuasion, SLO 3.

2. Does the letter support its claims about how the portfolio demonstrates the writer’s
achievement of our SLOs with specific evidence from actual portfolio documents?
Here’s an example of specific evidence: “In the third paragraph of my definition of
“fracking,” I define “aquifer” in parentheses because I know my audience—general
readers of Wikipedia—may not know that specialized term. On the other hand, I’ve
included academic words like “rhetorical” in this cover letter without defining them,
because I know that my audience—Dr. Bruce—knows what these academic terms mean.
This shows that I have learned part of SLO 1, which says I should be able to write to a
variety of audiences.” (And yes, you can refer to parts of your cover letter as I’ve done
here to show you’ve mastered an SLO). (1 word: Yes/No/Sometimes)

Sometimes.

3. Were there arguments (claims with evidence) that you’d particularly like to see
improved, or that you’d simply like to praise? (50-100 words)

On the revised definition assignment, I think some evidence that can be established
would be the usage of APA formatting to cite. What type of language and design were
used in the revised paper to established rhetorical awareness, examples like graphics,
white space and word choices. The paper was organized in a certain way, how so? In
columns, rows, headings, subheadings, etc.? Something that was done very well was the
way you simplified the letter to make it more comfortable for the reader. This can also be
a disadvantage for the letter because it does not specify the evidences.

4. Is the letter organized logically and efficiently, or could you suggest ways to improve the
organization (topic sentences, transitions, P order, statement of purpose, intro/conclusion)
(40-50 words)?
5. Does the cover letter use letter formatting (20-30 words)? 

Yes, Esther included Dr. Bruce’s name and address. Something that is missing is Esther’s
information on top of it and a sincerely at the end.

6. Are the letter’s sentences effective and clear? Could the writer use our sentence
strategies (e.g., active, vigorous verbs or reducing prepositions) to be more concise? (40-
50 words)

The letter’s sentences are effective and clear with straight to the point statements. Esther
can be more concise in terms of providing detailed examples to prove her points in order
to effectively present her skills. This can help readers better understand the different SLO
that were accounted in the assignments chosen.