Dear​ ​Future​ ​Student,

If you’re reading this right now, then you are lucky enough to have Sarah Hughes as your
English 125 professor. This English 125 course exceeded my expectations because of Sarah
Hughes. She is considerate and caring with her students. She is great at giving compliments as
well as suggestions on your essays. Also, she is a great discussion instructor. She is also very
flexible with deadlines, which is so helpful for busy college students like you and myself. She
makes you feel like your opinions and suggestions really matter. Overall, she is my favorite
professor​ ​I've​ ​had​ ​in​ ​college​ ​thus​ ​far.
Through learning how to read like a writer in this course, I have learned how to analyze
the author’s writing techniques, the effect these techniques have on the reader, and to decide
whether I want to utilize these writing techniques and strategies in my own writing. Overall,
reading as a writer helped me become a better analyzer and writer. When I read Eula Biss’s essay
“No-Man’s-Land” in this course’s coursepack, I read it like a writer and thoroughly enjoyed it as
a reader. Because I enjoyed it so much due to its deep meanings, structure, and symbolism, I
reread it multiple times and used it in a few of my essays for this course. If you happen to read it
in​ ​this​ ​course​ ​this​ ​semester,​ ​you​ ​are​ ​lucky​ ​because​ ​it​ ​is​ ​a​ ​great​ ​read,​ ​in​ ​my​ ​opinion.
Also, because of the last essay assignment, a narrative-based argumentative essay, I
learned that arguments in an essay do not always have to be explicitly stated. I have always been
taught to state your argument explicitly, to take a clear stance and make a strong argument. But
through this course, I learned that implicit arguments are useful and impactful too because they
make the reader think about a deeper meaning, thus analyzing your argument deeper than if you
simply stated your argument clearly and explicitly. This course honed my writing skills while
also enlightening me to new texts, writing techniques, and overall societal, political, and
educational​ ​ideas.
I am usually a quiet and shy person, but because this is a small discussion class, and
Sarah makes it feel easy and comfortable to share your ideas, thoughts and opinions, our class
had no problem expressing how we felt and discussing with one another. We all felt like a close
family. It was the only class I looked forward to. Unlike other discussion classes I have had in
the past, we are not graded or penalized for our discussion input or lack thereof. At the very
beginning of the semester, Sarah asked us as a class to define how we would carry out
discussions in our class. We made a list of things we did not like about discussions we have had
in the past and we made a list of rules for our discussion class. She allowed our discussions to be
a genuine, honest, and collaborative discussion instead of a graded debate competition. She
always​ ​made​ ​us​ ​feel​ ​like​ ​we​ ​had​ ​a​ ​say​ ​in​ ​the​ ​way​ ​the​ ​class​ ​operated.
In our coursepack, one of the readings was called “Shitty Rough Drafts” which taught me
that rough drafts are low pressure essays to just let your thoughts flow onto paper. Before
learning and using this technique, I spent too much time and stress on my rough draft because I
put too much pressure on myself to write an amazing rough draft in order to minimize the
amount of editing I had to do when I turned in my final draft. But now, I have learned to embrace
a shitty rough draft, let my thoughts flow onto the paper, then organize and edit my essay in the
final​ ​draft​ ​after​ ​I​ ​have​ ​received​ ​peer​ ​feedback​ ​from​ ​two​ ​of​ ​my​ ​classmates.
Every essay we write in this class, the process is as follows: rough draft, peer review
letters where we would receive feedback from two peers and we would provide feedback for two
peers, then editing and final draft, and a reflective cover letter, which was when we reflected on
our writing process, techniques, and development of the essay and as a writer in general. As a
writer, it felt beneficial to receive compliments, suggestions, and constructive criticism from my
peers and to reflect on my writing process and development. I hope to continue to do these in my
future​ ​academic​ ​career.
Through the coursepack readings, discussions, videos, and podcasts in this course, I have
opened my mind to the societal issues like racism and social inequality, so expect to learn more
than​ ​just​ ​how​ ​to​ ​become​ ​a​ ​better​ ​writer.​ ​Have​ ​fun!

Best​ ​regards,

Raquel