5091 Whizbang Denoya Road

Shidler, OK 74652
20 April 2019

Tammy Davis
Language Arts Instructor/Liaison
Northern Oklahoma College
615 N. Monroe, Room 344
Stillwater, OK 74078

Dear Mrs. Davis:

I have collected four pieces of my own writing that I feel show my growth as a writer over the
course of the past year. Three are essays and one is a letter. This collection of my writing not
only demonstrates my growing ability to write a compelling piece of writing, but also provides a
little insight into my personal life.

To begin, each piece of writing covers a unique topic and portrays how I have learned to improve
my writing. My first writing selection was written for my principles of sociology class with Dr.
Mark Silkey. It is about how the three main sociological viewpoints (functionalist, conflict
theory, and symbolic interaction) see education. All three provide an explanation for how
education impacts society, but they vary in the negativity or positivity of education on society.
With this paper, I took my first shot at explaining a sociological concept. I did not like my
sociology class though, so this paper was not fun. My second writing selection was composed for
my high school English IV class. It is an essay detailing the similarities and a key difference
between Beowulf, of the ancient epic of the same name, and Mr. Incredible, from Disney Pixar’s
The Incredibles. In this essay, I feel that I explained the context of quotations better than I had in
the past. I believe that people who read this piece of writing will think they are watching The
Incredibles or reading Beowulf as they read my writing. My third writing selection was written in
English Composition II and is a letter to a person of authority concerning a problem in higher
education. This is the first business letter I have written. I wrote letters in my middle school
classes, but they were always personal letters that required no supporting facts. My letter
demonstrates my ability to insert facts into letters that have a possibility of persuading the reader
to accept the statement I claim to be true in the letter. After writing this letter, I believe I can now
write convincing letters if the need arises. Finally, my last writing selection was also written in
English Composition II and is a “This I Believe” essay. It is about a guiding principle that I live
by day to day. This writing shows how I now can be honest about my life experiences in my
writing. My little narrative in the essay is the most open I have been in an assignment for school.

Next, what people choose to read can impact how they write, and I am not an exception to this
phenomenon. Over the years, I have changed and grown as a literate person. When I was little, I
mostly read fantasy novels such as The Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. I had
enjoyed the wonder found in those kinds of books. I now read science fiction and horror books,
such as Desperation by Stephen King, more often than other kinds. I take the creativity present
in these books and insert it into my own writing. I also try to be funny towards my audience at
times in order to improve the odds of them accepting the claim I make in my writing. I tend to
make little quips at the beginning or ending of my work. Recently, I took to adding these bits of
humor to the middle of my essays. Stephen King has especially influenced me with the way he
directly addresses the audience in his work. Obviously, I do not directly address my audience in
my writing, but I do try to make the audience feel welcome in the conversation.

Now, my writing process has changed after taking your English Composition II class. Before, I
only created outlines for my writing because my high school English teacher made it a graded
assignment. Now, before I start a piece of writing, I create a little outline of what my thesis is,
what I want to cover in each paragraph, and possible quotations or paraphrases to include. In the
future, I will likely create rough drafts of all my writing. I feel as if my words flow better if I do
not immediately think of an assignment as the final version. I can formulate sentences instead of
writing for perfection. If I had a writing toolbox, one thing I would want to include is a note
reminding myself to write for me, not others. I often concern myself with who I am writing for
that I compromise my work and lose myself from the writing. I think it is important to remember
that writing is for the writer first and the audience second.

After taking your English Composition II class, I believe my writing has greatly improved. In my
high school English classes, the only major writing assignments the class had were essays, and
the teacher told us what our thesis statements would be. Your class, on the other hand, has
allowed me to be creative with my writing. I have not been able to do that since middle school.
In your class, I have devised a proper thesis statement and have found the necessary information
to complete works of writing on my own. In addition, by having students turn in their rough
drafts to a tutor, I now know the importance of using a tutor even if I think my writing is perfect.
The tutors from tutor.com have helped me avoid turning in assignments with fatal mistakes. I am
strongest in my writing when I integrate quotes and paraphrases into my writing. I believe I add
this information in a way that lets me strengthen my argument without relying solely on the
works of others to make such an argument. I am weakest in my writing when I use transition
words. I typically rotate between a few transition words at the start and end of my paragraphs,
making my writing appear a tad bland if multiple pieces of my assignment are viewed at once.

Finally, what is next for me is to change colleges and earn my Bachelor of Science in Zoology
degree. While Northern Oklahoma College (NOC) has helped ease me into the college life, I fear
that I have run my course in what I can accomplish academically at NOC. Now, I should head to
Oklahoma State University (OSU) to further my academic career. I will need to address my
inability to instruct others in an orderly manner as I prepare for a career in the veterinary
sciences where I may be forced to make decisions quickly and on my own. In my future, I
foresee scientific research papers as the bulk of my writing. However, between the practice with
research papers in English Composition II and high school English IV, I believe that research
papers would be easy for me to complete.

Sincerely,
Maya Doyle