Seth Webster

10020 University Village

Charlotte, NC 28262
Dwebste4@uncc.edu
555-123-4567
December 11, 2014

Dear Professor Padgett:

The world of writing looks much different now, I now see a very in depth and three dimensional
universe that is literature. Through discussions and writing I feel a new sense of appreciation for the
world of writing, most of which I had no idea existed until talking about them. Not only do I feel like I see
writing in a different way, I feel as though I have evolved as a writer. My skills have increased in many
fields besides generic spelling and grammar mistakes, my way of approaching a subject has changed
greatly. Prior writing classes have been simple and redundant, instead you gave me a feeling of
direction. Through a majority of the assignments I noticed a distinct pattern, and that pattern was
success. Although several classes harp on success your take on the many forms of success really opened
my eyes, and I have never really experienced those kinds of unconventional forms of success. Subjects
like rhetoric seemed to play no role in my writing prior to this class, yet after the discussion on the
importance of it I feel the presence of rhetoric in almost all writing. Going over the huge influence
rhetoric plays in literature, as well as everyday life, changed the way I read and write. Now, before I
begin a paper I think about the message I want to send to the audience, I then think of the best way to
deliver that message. This new style of writing has given me a better idea of my capabilities as an
efficient writer. I also have more confidence in my ability to make the reader feel something, prior I felt
as though everything I wrote was simply a projection of my own thoughts, now I feel as though I can
better understand and deliver emotions in writing as well. Learning about Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
broaden my take on emotions as well, being able to spot emotions in other writing gave me a great
understanding of how to put it into my own work. While learning how to craft my skills as a rhetorical
writer I found myself being able to help other writers find the emotions they felt. This was due to the
group checks through the semester, all of which greatly helped me to give the most helpful advice
possible. Pointing out flaws was never a strong trait of mine, so going into the workshops I was nervous
to have to criticize another persons hard work. Fortunately, we discussed what a good response needed
to be, after the discussion on really responding I had a huge confidence boost going into the group
activity. I finally felt as if I could give another writer solid advice without sounding pompous or rude.
Even with all of my new found skill I still look back on some of my major assignments and wish I could
have done something different. To be specific, in my outliers review I wish I had shown more
development in my opinions through the three different responses.
Overall my writing skills have shown a great improvement and a feeling of maturity is now displayed in
my work. The chance to learn new habits while letting go of old ones has proven to be a great
improvement in both writing and the study of literature.