Dear Professor Feldman,

As I think back on my time in Writing 2, I am shocked by my progress. I think that is

partially attributed to the structure of this course; We are given an insufficient amount of time to

complete a project, and then we get to revise the rushed assignment into something we feel good

about. As I learned from Anne Lammot’s essay ​Shitty First Drafts, e​ very writer starts out with

something less than extraordinary. She claims our perception of good writing is “the fantasy of

the uninitiated.” (Lammot 1). I feel like I finally understand what that means.

I used to think that I was a bad writer. Every paper took me days of revision. Especially

in high school, I loved to write, but I was constantly discouraged by the intense effort it took me.

I looked to my peers who seemed to effortlessly craft masterpieces in one night--but that’s not

reality. Any good writing is the result of hard work. While I may have to work harder than

others, that doesn’t mean I’m bad at it. It is inherent in the process, which is not something that

writers yell about.

Thinking about writing as a process has changed my whole view. I used to look at my

writing in despair, convinced that I was simply not a “humanities” person. After this class, I

know that is utter garbage. It’s like when people say they are not “math” people, but the only

thing separating them is the amount of work they put in.

 In addition to learning about the process of revision, I learned a lot about rhetoric. In her

essay ​Navigating Genres, ​Kerry Dirk introduces the idea that genres emerge as a response to a

rhetorical situation. (Dirk 252). This changed the way I start an essay. Before, I would write with

no one in mind. I guess my teacher, but even then, not really--but the process of writing is

mindful. Now, before actually writing, I will consider the rhetorical context in which I am

writing and make choices accordingly. This is how writers effectively reach their audience--by

appealing to them directly.

Going forward, I will extend what I’ve learned in this class to my career. As I plan to go

to graduate school for psychology, I will hopefully assist in writing research grants. Keeping the

audience in mind and responding appropriately will be essential for my success.

I’m still struggling to find a balance between over-editing and revising. It’s also been

really difficult to write so frequently in this class. Other classes may have two essays per quarter.

In this class, something was due almost three times a week. I was always stressed, always

rushing to put anything down on paper. It felt inauthentic at times, because I knew that I was not

turning in my final draft. If I had more time to write the first draft, my subsequent revisions

would have been even more helpful.

On the other hand, writing so much forced me to be faster. In a lot of ways, this was a

great learning experience for me. It was really hard for me to accept that I had to turn it what I

had written. If it was my way, I would have 2 more weeks for each writing assignment. I really
liked the Project Builders, because I felt like I had a lot of freedom, and I learned to freewrite. I

tried hard on each project builder, but I also understood that their purpose was to expand my

ideas. I did not censor myself so much, and was able to “let it flow.” This practice is something I

plan to incorporate in every writing assignment I have. Similar to the in-class free-writes we did,

I love the idea of putting all of the words on paper and then picking out the good ideas.

One part of this class that I enjoyed the most was the autonomy we had in our topic

choice. In “Making Choices in Writing” by Jesse Salazay, she refers to topic choice as the

“decision to engage.” I think this is incredibly accurate. In each of my projects, the thing that

kept me writing was that I was extremely passionate about my topic. Especially in writing

project 2, I was able to write about things that light me up. I think that also serves to make a

better paper. Since I’m interested in what I’m writing, I make it better! Going forward, I am

going to have to learn to engage with topics that are ​not ​chosen by me--but I think that’s a

problem for next quarter.

Overall, this course has been extremely constructive in my growth as a writer. I’ve

struggled a lot in the creation of this portfolio, but I hope you find my hard work reflected in the

final product. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope you enjoy!

Sincerely,

Eliyana Van Doren

 Works Cited

Dirk, Kerry. “Navigating Genres.” ​Writing Spaces: Readings on Writings Volume 1,​ 2010,
wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces1/dirk--navigating-genres.pdf.

Lammot, Anne. ​Shitty First Drafts​. Boston:Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005.

Salzay, Jesse. ​Making Choices in Writing.​ 1 Aug. 2016,

openenglishatslcc.pressbooks.com/chapter/making-choices-in-writing/.