De la Torre 1

Camila de la Torre
Professor Glenn Collins
English 115
December 1, 2015

Dear Camila,
Throughout the semester youve learned much about writing, looked at things
through different lenses, and have discovered more to improve on. We began with the
first progression on social literacy and coming up with a theme for the essay was
particularly difficult. The theme of the golden rule was what I chose because it would be
a simple concept to the reader but could also bring light upon profound ideas. My style
and tone for the essay was light-hearted with clear language. The revision process for
the essay took a lot of time and it still couldve been revised more since I tend to
produce big paragraphs however, what revisions helped with the essay was credit to the
other scholars who read my essay and gave me suggestions. Peer review is a big help
because Im always making mistakes and Im able to find my mistakes more effectively
with peer review. For the second progression we talked about life in the 21ist century
and I chose to talk about the ideologies of socialism and how its viewed and relative to
Americans as well. My purpose was to inform the reader that complete equality is
unattainable because of our human nature. I argued my case for this essay with an
inclusive and inquisitive tone and style. My revision process for this essay was easier

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than the first because I had a clearer sense of direction because of my meeting with my
professor. The changes I did to my essay were to focus on the text at hand and to use it
to defend my case on how Americans view socialism. My last essays concept was
about capital punishment and its connections to DADOES, with my tone/style more
insightful and a bit more serious than the previous essays. Revision was crucial as I
was using outside sources.
The facilitation portion of the class was not as planned as it could have been. My
group and I didnt plan what to do until it was almost time to go and I had a big part in
that. In fact my group at first said I couldnt go because I didnt participate enough and
that wouldve been my fault. Fortunately they found something for me to do because I
really persisted in being a part and it all worked out. Still it wasnt fair for my group on
my part and there was also a lot of miscommunication and unavailability for all of us to
meet together. The actual part of leading the discussion wasnt difficult for me because I
did read/analyze the material and do well in discussions. We ended up discussing our
text of Harrison Bergeron, Fox 8, and The Socialist Alternative and tying it together with
questions and a video.
Regarding participation in this class Id say I did fairly well. I was present
throughout and was an attentive listener with much to say. This wasnt very hard for me
to do because I really do love the subject and the class seemed to move quickly with
exciting concepts and material. What I could improve on the most was maybe the
reading. When I did read I had an abundance of questions and was more inclined to be
mentally present. I did read when I was supposed to but regretfully sometimes I

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skimmed rather than do critical thinking. All in all I participated well enough mostly
because I enjoyed the class so much.
This was a semester full of things to do for this class and different assignments to
turn in but honestly I feel like I really did participate well and my work did improve.
Things that I would have liked to have done differently was to be more of an active
member of my facilitation group, revised my essays more, and to have read more
consistently and profoundly. Another thing I wish I wouldve done differently was to put
more effort for the exercises in the progressions.
I believe this class helped me see that I still have more to improve on; even
though I have great ideas my form and grammar are still leave much to be desired. I
also can still invest more time for the work in class and be more proactive in finishing
earlier as well. Particular to the subject I should invest more time in memorizing certain
vocabulary if I want to read more advanced text and Id also like to explore in different
styles of writing while still including my own signature style. I definitely will take what Ive
learned about peer review as it is very helpful and thankfully I bought the writing tool
books for the class for my own personal use which will be helpful for writing. I had a
wonderful time in this class but I know theres still much I can improve on as you can
never learn too much. Good luck Camila, I hope you can use what youve learned and
continue to never stop asking questions.
Best Wishes Dear,
Yours Truly