Cover Letter

Upon making this portfolio, I had written essays and paragraphs which I can say is more concise, more organized and more coherent compared to essays and paragraphs I had written before.  The guidelines and techniques taught by my professor in academic writing really helped me in improving my writing skills.  However I still have difficulties in writing without grammatical errors. I still sometimes become confuse and careless in writing. But I try to make it a point to keep track of these errors and make sure that I would not do it next time.

I am very much proud of all my written output. But I think what I am most proud of is my argumentative and extended-definition essay. I had thought of topics that really interest me. I had successfully made an organized outline, thought of a good introduction and expressed my ideas in a concise manner. Through this course I gained techniques and strategies in writing. I also found my style in writing. I owe all this knowledge to my professor who introduced me that in order to make a scholarly-like, good-quality essays, you must follow the steps that would be helpful in organizing ideas. This includes the prewriting stage where you think organized your thoughts and ideas. Brainstorming and writing ideas in a journal are the techniques I have learned in pre-writing. After the prewriting stage is the drafting stage. I think this stage really helps in improving your work because you asked people to read your draft to find if there are errors which you may still correct when you go to the revising stage. This stage involves rethinking, researching, and rewriting. This is the time to evaluate and review your work and add more ideas that are relevant to the essay.  

                Speaking of revisions, I improved my essay through the help of classmates who edited my drafts and through the help of my professor in ENGLCOM herself, Ms. Cequena. I take their comments constructively so I am able to correct my grammar and think of new and better ideas.  One specific example is the revision I made in my extended-definition essay. On my first draft, Ms. Cequena told me that I should be consistent in the formal tone because it is an academic essay. I followed her advice and changed some lines. It turned out to be better than the previous one.  Revision is really important in making essays but someday I want to write an essay that is really outstanding and does not need any more revisions. Even though this course has finally ended, I will still continue to discover more techniques and will still pursue in improving my writing skills.