May 8, 2014

Dr. Leslie Bruce

English Department. Room: UH-435
800 N. State College Boulevard
Fullerton, CA 92831

Dear Dr. Bruce,
I am writing this letter to you with the purpose of showing how I have successfully met
the six Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) that is listed in the course syllabus for English 301. I
have included my argumentative paper along with peer reviews for that paper. For my
argumentative paper, I have attached the original copy with your comments along with a revised
version. In regards to the peer reviews, I have included a review from a classmate, and one that I
gave to another classmate. These documents are arranged to present that I have improved
throughout this semester as a writer while also meeting the SLOs. I will further explain how
each document relates to certain student learning outcomes. As I wrap up my cover letter, I will
go into detail about how I have edited my final argumentative paper to show how I have become
a better writer.
The first document I have included in my portfolio is my original argumentative paper,
and it satisfies the first SLO. This document shows how I have written formally in and out of
class for a variety of audiences and purposes. The intended audience of my paper was for
readers in a college composition class. The purpose of my argumentative paper was to show that
there is a need for a team leaders-directed approach monitoring program for hand compliance.
In addition to meeting the first SLO, the argumentative paper also satisfies the second
and fifth student learning outcomes. Throughout my paper, I was able to ethically cite and
present the information from a variety of different sources. I used peer review articles along
with credible website sources. Furthermore, I was able to present the information in my paper
that avoided sexism and cultural bias. In order to satisfy the effective sentences SLO, I revised
my thesis and took out unnecessary prepositions.
Both peer reviews met the sixth SLO and collaboration along with the first SLO and
writing informally. I was able to assess another classmates work and provide feedback in order
to help them improve their work. In addition, another classmate reviewed and critiqued my
argumentative paper to help me improve my writing skills.
The last document I have included is my revised argumentative paper. I have decided to
include this last in my portfolio because I believe it shows how I have improved as a writer in
this class while also meeting the third and fourth SLO. I acknowledge that my first draft wasnt
written to the best of my ability and my purpose and thoughts were unclear. I also didnt
compare and contrast both arguments effectively as well. However, I have realized my mistakes
and have edited my paper to now show how I have improved throughout the semester. I have
tried formatting my paper that balances both arguments to show how a team leaders-directed
approach is more effective in making sure hand hygiene compliance remains high. I have
organized my entire portfolio to also show that I have met the fourth SLO by showing how I
have improved as a writer in this class.
Overall, I feel that this class has challenged me to become a better writer. What really
helped me were the peer reviews along with reviewing my own work as well. I do acknowledge
that I still have more to improve on in my academic career, but I believe I made significant
improvements with my work presented in this portfolio.
Sincerely,
Lyndsay Madru