30 November 2015

Dr. Leslie Bruce

Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics
California State University, Fullerton
Fullerton, CA 92834-9480

Dear Dr. Bruce,

The purpose of this letter is to give examples of my use of student learning
outcomes (SLOs) that are categorized in the course syllabus. I will present each
of the SLOs in chronological order and how I have applied each technique that
are on the syllabus.
The first SLO required in class is Rhetorical Focus, meaning having to
write to a specific audience in a formal or informal format. In my revised editorial I
try to persuade an audience (my peers, my Professor, and people outside of
class) that Deforestation in Sao Paulo, Brazil is the main cause for their drastic
drought throughout their country. I use a formal writing style because it catches
the attention of my audience and gives them reassurance that my sources (which
all are scholarly and reliable sources) and the rhetorical situation being
discussed. By using reliable sources that supported my argument and using the
formal writing technique throughout my editorial shows my use of the SLO
technique (Rhetorical Focus).

The second SLO technique is Ethical Research, which is to have

appropriate citation style and to cite information that is used as evidence to
support an argument. An example of how I used this technique is also in my
Revised Editorial. I used scholarly citations to support each fact that was
presented in my argument about the deforestation of Sao Paulo, Brazil and how
it causes the drought to become worse every year. By using reliable sources
from environmental researchers on climate change, statistics, illustrations of
droughts in different regions in Brazil, and the domino effect that deforestation as
caused in creating this historic drought.
The third SLO technique is Persuasive Arguments, which is to compare,
contrast, and synthesize (Bruce 2015) counter arguments or assumptions
against our persuasive paper. An example of me using this technique can be
seen in my original and revised paper that famine foods in Brazil are the main
source of food for the citizens because of the drought, but because of the
massive drought, even the famine foods are scarce for them to depend on.

The fourth SLO technique is Organization and Focus, which is to

communicate my thoughts/statements clear and persuasively addressing the
rhetorical situation (Bruce 2015). An example would be my writers notebook from
11/2/15 where I had to use the Old before New Principle technique. In the
exercise we had to reorganize the paragraphs in order to eliminate the fluff, use
better diction, and make sure our sentences are on topic and transitions were
well organized.

The fifth SLO technique is Academic Language and Design, which is

having to write a paper without having to target specific genders or cultures (he,
she) when it comes to the audience and a good comprehension of the group.
This means that I am able to write a paper that can relate to everyone and not
discriminate from other groups/genders/cultures within my argument or analytical
paper. An example for this would be in my revised editorial and original editorial
where I discuss that not only is the drought in Sao Paulo, but all across Brazil
and the world.
The final SLO technique is Collaboration, which asks that my writing
skills and my peers writing skills improve through us critiquing each others work
and collaborating ideas on how for us to improve on our writing. An example of
this would be my peer review on my cover letter where my group member made
numerous corrections and side notes in order for me to reorganize my entire
cover because of its informality and not having a clear thesis in how I was going
to present this cover letter that I am presenting here. I was able to take the
criticism and reorganize my cover letter. In addition, these collaborations also
helped me revise my editorial as well and improved my writing abilities.
Throughout this class I have recognized many weaknesses in my writing
and comprehension, however, I was able to take initiative in asking for assistance
and feedback from my group members and reading the instructions carefully in
order apply the SLOs into my writing. My portfolio reflects my progression within
the class from the beginning of class to the end of the semester and will continue
to improve my writing skills using the SLO method.

~With Regards,
Johnathan Ramirez