Janelle Ashley Gutierrez

janelleashley@ucsb.edu

Joshua Smith
Writing 2
joshuasmith@ucsb.edu

Dear Josh:

I am writing to you in regards to both my writing and revising of WPs throughout this quarter, as
well as my overall experience in the Writing 2 class and what I have taken away from the course.

Within the past week, I’ve reread and revised two of my past writing projects. For this, I chose to
revise WP1 and WP3, the first and last project of Writing 2. I decided it would be best for me to
revise these projects to see just how much my writing has changed from the beginning of the
quarter to the end.

In comparison of the two, WP1 had much more evident changes and writing that needed to be
revised. I first decided to take into account I needed to be more specific with the type of tweet I
should be writing about-- which was the feedback given to me upon my final draft-- so I changed
the subject of my essay from general tweets to news-related tweets. From here, my overall essay
seemed to shift in terms of content written. I kept some of the original writing, such as the
similarities and differences between the new genre to its antecedent and conventions used in
both. However, I changed my antecedent genre from physical mail to newspapers to fit my
essay’s topic. This caused the need to research newspapers and its conventions and audience,
then I needed to compare this to news-related tweets and its elements. I also decided to address
what made news-related tweets different from general tweets on the platform, so I described the
different audience of the two.

For WP3, there wasn’t too much for me to change in terms of content written. However, after
reviewing the feedback given on what was written, I added in a paragraph regarding the audience
my translation would be directed towards. After doing so, I decided to focus on making my
sentences cohesive with one another. I rewrote many sentences, changing words to also make a
single sentence flow better in general. For example, if two of my sentences seemed to be repeats
of one another, one sounding just a bit more formal, I would try to find a middle ground and
combine the two into one sentence.

Upon revising my past work done in this class, I feel that my final product from both writing
projects really reflects upon my improvement in writing. I feel that I’ve learned to create more
cohesive paragraphs, as well as structure my overall essay to not only make more sense when
reading but visually look more appealing. An example of this would be my decision to shorten
down paragraphs rather than attempt to compress all the information into one long paragraph.
After writing and revising WPs done this quarter, I feel that my process with writing papers has
changed. In the past with writing assignments, I would reread every sentence in a paragraph I
wrote to make sure it sounded proper before moving onto the next paragraph. I would critique
and revise my work before even getting all my thoughts out. From this class, I’ve learned it’s
okay to free write and type out whatever thoughts I have all at once before revising my essay.

I also have learned to accept that while I dread having others read my paper, the feedback they
provide me about my writing really leaves an impact on the choices I make next. When working
with partners/groups and having other classmates read my writing, it seemed like I was only
going to receive feedback on what I did wrong with my paper. However, I was also pointed out
on the good areas that showed my skill in writing. This feedback I received from others opened
my eyes to both the good and bad I have with writing, but ultimately helps me in the end to
create the best piece of writing I can create.

My writing style has not changed too much since the start of the quarter. I definitely believe that
elements of my style are still present in much of my writing, but I will say my style of revision
has changed. In the past, I would only notice the basic elements of revision, such as misspelling,
grammar, and punctuation. Now, I notice more writerly choices that could have room for
improvement. I notice when a paragraph’s content seems to stray away from the original topic,
as well as general cohesion of the paragraph. I focus on the content of what’s written and what I
take away upon reading the essay over the simple changes someone can make in their writing.

As I approach new writing projects in the future, I will definitely take what I’ve learned in this
course into account. I think cohesion of my essay has left the biggest impact on my writing, as
that seems to be what I focus on the most when revising my work. I will also focus more on the
content of what I write about, ensuring that it’s connected to my overall thesis and is appropriate
to my desired audience.

I thoroughly enjoyed taking this course my first quarter of college. I feel that it truly left an
impact on how I write and will greatly assist me in future writing projects. I learned a lot within
the ten weeks of taking this course, and I will continue to improve with my writing in every
aspect of writing I do.

Sincerely,

Janelle Gutierrez