Dr.

Leslie Bruce
Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics
California State University, Fullerton
P.O. Box 34080
Fullerton, CA 92834-9480

Dear Dr. Bruce,
I have included with this letter a selection of works that I feel demonstrate my
mastery of the six Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) outlined for this course. While I
believe my scientific writing was mostly developed prior to this course, I have benefitted
immensely from the strategies you provided for more simple and concise sentences.
The documents I have included is the original version of the review article, the peer
review sheets for the original review article, your comments and rubric for the review
article and a revised version of the review, addressing your comments from the original.
I have also included a peer review sheet I completed for another student in this course.
I believe these documents demonstrate my competency regarding the six SLOs, as well
as the exercises we performed in class regarding simpler sentence structure and
increased clarity.
The original review article, as per your comments and the grading rubric, exhibits
advanced proficiency in five of the six SLOs. For the first, Audience and Purpose, we
were marked as Advanced, displaying attention to the need of the audience, and
defining necessary terms and ideas with audience-appropriate language. For the
second, Sources, we were marked as Proficient, owing to some facts that were
lacking necessary citations. For the third, Balanced Argument, we were marked as
Advanced for describing the two competing hypotheses in Alzheimers pathology, and
suggesting a combination of both may be at work. For the fourth, Organization, we
were marked as Advanced, most likely for the transitions from CB
1
receptor
information to the competing hypotheses and pathology of Alzheimers, along with a
study linking them together.
In the same vein, the Persuasion section of the fourth SLO was marked as
Advanced, for the supporting information and insightful reasoning and analysis we
provided in the review article. For the fifth, Design, we were marked as Advanced,
demonstrating a sophisticated tone that engaged the reader while conforming to
conventions appropriate for this genre. Along with this, the Language section was
also marked as Advanced, demonstrating outstanding control of language, as well as
effective diction and sentence variety. Finally, for the sixth SLO, Collaboration, we
were marked as Advanced for integrating our work clearly and effectively.
The peer review rubric for the draft of the original review article is included to
solidify some of the SLOs, and to demonstrate improvement through informal writing.
Originally, the draft was lacking in definitions and comparisons, while an original figure
was mistaken for one lacking proper citation. These were mostly corrected with the
completion of the original review, while the fifth and sixth SLOs were evaluated as
Advanced.
The revised review article addresses one of the SLOs marked as Proficient,
specifically the Sources category. Sources were provided for certain claims retained
from the original review. Additionally, group work was replaced so as to display a more
uniform style.
Finally, a peer review sheet I completed for a fellow students Statement of
Purpose in this course was used to demonstrate the ability to write informally, to
complete the first SLO. While we were only required to complete at least two of the
questions, I completed three, and provided valuable feedback to the student that
resulted in a better statement, and consequently a better grade for that student.
By including these works, I believe I have demonstrated my proficiency in the six
SLOs as described in the syllabus for this course. I feel the skills I have gained, in
addition to my abilities I have further honed, have ultimately made me a better writer,
especially in scientific writing. By learning to focus on my target audience, creating
cohesive arguments and improving my language skills, I believe I have become a more
effective communicator. Improvements to my use of rhetoric, my analysis of evidence
and reasoning, and overall design and conformity to conventions has greatly influenced
my scientific writing. Finally, I believe my experience in collaboration and organization
has improved my ability to work with others. Thus, I feel I have successfully completed
and integrated the learning objectives for this course.