Cover Letter

June 12, 2007
Linda Liu

Dear portfolio reader:

First I would like to appreciate the time you take for reading this portfolio, which is a selection of my works for Academic Writing Class taught by Mr. Ron Corio.

Here I want to share with you an important change in my mind during this semester. That is my understanding towards English writing. It is a little embarrassing to admit that I didn’t have a high expectation when I first entered this course, for past experience of English writing has already infused in me a set of biased criteria of a “good” writing which is composed of correct grammar, some intricate sentence patterns as well as some “big words”. Because in China we are taught the shining point that most teachers look for in your writing is a good language skill but not what your idea is or how you convey it. With such an understanding, I always put myself in the position of a “craftsman”, of whom “excellence” means incessant repeating until one can manipulate words skillfully. Under the light of this statement, the meaning of this course comes me as a “workshop” to practice skills—a course to enhance “speed” and “fluency” of writing.

However I am glad that my experience during this semester has proved me wrong. I didn’t get as much practice on writing in class as I had expected but each piece of writing brings to me a new understanding. For now I am no longer merely satisfied with the position of a “craftsman”, instead, I am striving to be a “sculptor”, who conveys his or her idea though a process of composing, exploring and modifying.

The first three drafts of “The Humorous Tone in the Grass-Eaters” might enable you to see what I meant for a “sculptor” as well as my attempt in changing my role.

Before rushing to embark on a sculpture, a sculptor should draw a draft first, and it is also true with writing. The first essay draft, presented in the form of an outline, is such a “blueprint” that comes before a real “project”. In preparing this draft, I employed both methods of free-writing and brain-storming. After reading through my notes as well as the storyseveral times, I finally set the thesis statement and develop several points to support it.

The next concrete step is the most challenging, as how to develop a vague picture into an almost-complete sculpture with a concrete form. Perhaps I will never forget the long and unfriendly hours in front of the computer, striving to fill the “skeleton” with “flesh and blood”. There are several modifications in the framework during the process of writing, for example the reverse of order, the shift of focus and etc. What I learnt from this process is that problems as well as new ideas will occur when you put the first draft into practice. So in revising my previous framework while taking in new ideas, eventually, the second draft displays a clearer and deeper understanding of the thesis I wrote.

The final draft is not as moderate a modification as I thought it to be. For instance, after receiving feeds-back from my teacher and my peers, I revised the analysis on the effect of Hinduism several times but still found it not convincing. At last I had to delete the whole paragraph, for I realized that it failed to be well-integrated into my thesis. It is a hard decision, when considering the efforts I had already put in it, but I learnt to be selective and give up. The next important lesson I learnt is during the process of editing. Many details which I ignored previously come back to my attention, such as the punctuation, the tense as well as the quotation, which give me a real sense of “academic writing”. I learned from this process that just as a sculptor might never be fully satisfied with his or her works, there might be no end to the process of revising.

The item that follows these drafts is a reading log for “The Dead Men’s Path”. I choose this one because the comment I got from my peers on the ICA is rather encouraging, which fueled up my confidence. And I believe it also reflects better my “writing style” in informal writing—frequent use of questioning and parallels. From interacting with my peers in the ICA, I learn respect, friendship as well as critical thinking. Each of us gets a chance to learn others’ ideas, to argue or agree with them as well as give and take support from our peers.

The final-timed writing is about the story “The Necklace”, in which I mainly express my idea of what is meant to be a good life. It is trilling experience as I have to deliver my ideas in a limited time.

My experience during this course has taught me to focus on more significant traits of a good writing, such as the “cohesiveness”, “strength of convincing”, ”clearly-delivered ideas” and etc. I also learn that writing means a process which consists of several stages. And all these newly-acquired understandings benefit me not merely within the realm of English writing. For instance, when working on a term paper for a course on “The Iliad”, I employed the same strategy in writing the essay above, which I find very helpful. In scrawling my thoughts on a piece of paper, I enjoy the process of letting the ideas flow; in revising the essays now and again, I experience the real ecstasy of displaying my ideas clearly to others. As a whole, what I learnt from this course raised my expectation and requirement for my later writings, which I hope can be improved with more practice.

Towards the end of my cover letter, I want to share with you this sentence—to be a “sculptor”, not a “craftsman” in your writing, and in your life. Thanks again for reading this portfolio.

Sincerely,
Student
Linda Liu