This cover letter is my final portfolio that is the culmination of the things that I have learnt about reading, writing and the application of skills related both reading and writing. It is, therefore, self-analysis of the learning process during my course. I have assessed my progress from the start of my course through to the entire period up to the completion of the course. Basing on my earlier drafts and writings, I have sincerely evaluated myself. After deep soul-searching, I observed that my overall personal performance in class has really improved. Therefore, I believe I am on the right track. I was always keen on ensuring that my grammar was perfect and in my writings and that my writing had a systematic flow that the ensured the reader does not get lost or bored. However, I disliked making revisions as per the instructor’s review comments. It is ironical since it is only through making such revisions that I will ensure my grammar is perfect and that I would learn grammar mistakes that I have been making hence avoid them in the future. I also liked the idea that for me to achieve success in my class work, then there was need to work extraordinarily and even sacrifice my time to ensure that I come up with quality work that not only meets the basic requirement, but also impress the instructor. Revisions almost made me give up in my writings. However, I continued soldiering on with my writings while knowing very well that indeed, “Practice makes perfect”. Out of my own writings right from the start to the final copy, I came to realize that indeed, the only way that one can achieve success and perfection in writing is to accept correction and criticism from all levels and stages of their writing.
Through analysis of my own final portfolio, I have been able to easily demonstrate or portray the knowledge of both analytical and writing skills that I have attentively learnt over time. In order to portray how I have advanced from an unpolished writer to a professional academic writer, it will be prudent if I give a chronology of events. Events depicting the progress I have made it from the start to the final phase where I can write quality academic work that conveys the intended message and has perfect diction. In the beginning, my diction was poor; my writing had so many grammar and syntax mistakes. For instance, based on the PW1, it can correctly be ascertained that my writing was full of grammar errors and other common writing errors. My writing instructor gave an adverse review of the article that made me disappointed with my writing. A look at the PW1 is a clear reminder that when I started writing, my work below the expected standards and my writing instructor had a rough time going through my work and advising me on what I should have written in the first place. I, therefore, sincerely thank him so much for his patience for going through the article and pointing out all the mistakes that needed correction. Despite having thought of hating him for writing an adverse review my writings, I eventually discovered that this was necessary if I was to succeed and present quality work whenever it was needed. It was through making mistakes, identifying them and correcting them that my writing matured over time. I will confidently say that my writing has grown from infancy through puberty to maturity. It would have been impossible without the continuous corrections and advice from my instructor.
Basing on my preliminary writing of Draft 1, I can ascertain that indeed, my writing had a lot of formatting errors that I eventually worked on as I progressed in my writings. There were also several times when I made spelling errors in my writings and even forgot to insert spaces where they were due. However; I have with time learnt how to correct such mistakes during the course of my learning. . I realised I made most of these mistakes because I used to type in a hurry and did not proof read my work. It can be revealed from my earlier writings that I used to present my work using different font styles and even line spacing thus making my work to lack clear formatting types, consistency and homogeneity. However, as time progressed, I corrected all the formatting errors in my writings and thus presented quality work to my writing instructor. Besides, I did not appreciate that numbering was an important aspect of any academic writing. Therefore, I failed to insert page numbers in my initial writing work. However, I now appreciate the importance of numbering and the different acceptable numbering styles in academic writing.
My general viewpoint regarding revisions has changed during different times of the quarter. For instance, I almost hated my writing instructor for writing lots of negative comments regarding my writings. However, the perception changed over time. I realized that revisions were one of the best ways through which I could improve on my writings and come up with quality work that would suit my target audience. In the beginning, I viewed reading, writing, time management and even revision as time wasters. However, I came to later on realize that this was a genuine endeavour meant to polish me with knowledge regarding how important it was to independently write articles that were completely free from any errors.
My general evaluation on the various engagements that I undertook in the course is pointer of my exemplary performance and improvement. These engagements include; free writes, reading journals, on the papers, engagement with various academic materials and involvement in both office and class. I personally believe that I did well in the writing work since I am now capable of handling my work and independently working on it with minimal or free errors. However, I failed to gain the full confidence of reading aloud my pieces of writings to the rest of the class for correction purposes since I was too shy.
At the beginning of my course, there are various things that I wanted to not only learn, but improve. For instance, I wanted to learn and use the correct format of inserting the page numbers in my writings so that I could label the page numbers as they got printed. However, although I learnt how to insert page number, I was unable to accomplish this objective. This is because I often forgot to insert page numbers after finishing my work. I always remembered when it was too late; I always remembered when my work had already been returned back to me by the Writing Director. The insertion of page numbers was one of the new things I aspired to remember before submitting my work. I was capable of achieving it in my subsequent writings.
My success in writing can entirely be attributed to the tireless efforts of Professor Leah who has made sure that each of her students understands all writing concepts. She instilled in me the notion that for one to succeed in any given area, then constant practice and acceptance of corrections was the key to such success. I also came to realize that team work was essential especially if one wanted to know their mistakes. Through the company and cooperation of my peers, I was able to notice some of the grammatical and formatting errors that I could not have established on my own. It is through constant writing that I have come to realize where my weaknesses lie. I have realized that spend a lot of time on one particular assignment. I have, therefore, made a resolution to spend the least time possible on any given assignments without compromising on quality. I have also ascertained that I can improve in my writings if I read other people’s work. That way, I can adopt some of their literacy styles in my work.
In conclusion, I am a good example of how a bad writer can eventually make a good writer as a result of constant practice in writing. Indeed, not all good writers are born; some learn the art. I have realized that through practice, one eventually develops a great interest in writing and upon acceptance of corrections and advice from all quarters; one ultimately develops to become a good writer.
