Alyssa Rankin

08/27/14
Draft #1
Commented [AR1]: Add more emotional connection to
teacher.

Dear Ms. Swetnam,

Commented [AR2]: Elaborate on a few paragraphs

Throughout school I thought writing was very black and white, and structured with little
room to go beyond these harsh boundaries. Writing was ridged and almost like pulling teeth for
me, I dreaded every writing assignment I faced. I felt stuck in the traditional frameworks of
writing that I had been taught in my English classes. I struggled expressing my thoughts and
showed very little creativity. My whole perception of writing was changed when one day you
told me to just write.
Of course when you told me this I immediately groaned, sighed, and began writing a
basic five paragraph essay that we were all taught in middle school. Then, you stopped me and
told me to write down everything and not to worry about structure, or even punctuation. Once
all of that was out of the way, the words just began to flow onto the page and when I was
finished the structure came later.
After all of my thoughts were written down the editing process was surprisingly easy. I
organize all of the similar ideas into groups, then turn these groups into paragraphs, and order
them accordingly. After paragraphs are formed, I fine tune some key sentences, fix grammar
problems, and address punctuation. Finally, I read over my paper to ensure fluidity and make
sure that it follows the rubric and completes the writing task. This way of approaching writing
made it extremely easy for me to convey and organize my thoughts and ideas on almost any
topic.
This new way of writing was so groundbreaking to me, because all of my pervious
teachers had strict writing procedures that limited my creativity and made it difficult to express

Commented [AR3]: Re word a little bit

Alyssa Rankin
08/27/14
Draft #1

my thoughts. It takes pressure off of my writing assignments and allows me to effortlessly

Commented [AR4]: Watch your tenses

express myself. I use this approach on all of my one to two page essays. This method also
works extremely well when writing about past experiences, because it allows me to write down
all of my memories as they come to mind and not worry about where or how those ideas will fit
into my writing assignment.
Although I still dont consider myself a great writer, this method of writing has greatly
improved my writing abilities. The freedom of structure-less writing gives me the ability to
convey my message with ease and with that, gave me more confidence in my writing. My
biggest struggle with writing is meeting length requirements, because in order to do that I feel
like I have to stretch out my ideas and it almost dilutes their value. But Im sure as I continue on
through college, my ability to lengthen my papers will strengthen with every research paper,
essay, and narrative I am assigned.
You have truly done your job as an educator. You changed the way I view writing
completely! You showed me how to enjoy writing and make the most out of every writing
assignment, even if I find it boring and irrelevant. Although you are a young teacher, your
ability to relate with students and show them how to write with ease and take some of the
pressure off of writing assignments is impeccable. You have undoubtedly had more impact on
my life and the way view writing, than any other teacher I have had, and likely will ever have! I
am sincerely grateful for all that you have taught me, and I hope your past, current, and future
students benefit from your teaching as much as I did.
Thank You,

Commented [AR5]: Good concluding paragraph

Alyssa Rankin
08/27/14
Draft #1

Alyssa Rankin