Cover Letter
Professor Beth Godbee,
I have pushed myself to excel in Advanced Composition. I have broken into new genres of writing and forced myself to expand from my background in news writing. Before taking this course I would have never been able to write a qualitative sketch or work on an ethnography. Those were terms I had never even heard of. Now I feel very comfortable with these genres, but I am still revising my work and learning from my mistakes. I am not a perfect writer, but I feel that I have grown tremendously this semester. By practicing my writing in this class I learn something new every day.
I learned how to incorporate data and transcribe and code interviews accurately. This class has encouraged me to develop my research and writing skills. Before this class I did not think about what kind of writing I was doing; I just wrote. I now consider my audience, voice, style and genre before I begin.
This portfolio will allow me to showcase my best work. These works illustrate my strengths and improvements as a writer. My personal progress this semester has astounded me. I don’t remember ever putting this much thought and work into my writing. This course has been challenging, but it has encouraged me to work and revise in order to create the best finished possible project. The emphasis on revision and practice in this course gave me the ability to take risks with my writing and move beyond my comfort level. I push myself.
This portfolio contains:
Narrative Inquiry – With my first assignment for the portfolio I had no idea where to begin. I stuck to what I knew and wrote to the best of my ability. My first experiences with peer review and our conferences gave my great encouragement to revise. I am very proud of this finished work. I think it accurately describes my experience and raises important questions. I have put hard work and time into this portfolio. I have revised numerous times and visited the writing center to create this representation of my work.
Qualitative Sketch – This assignment taught me how to incorporate my research and interview in a paper so that it will flow but still be concise. I think my paper reads very well and flows. This was a very challenging assignment for me as I have never written in this genre before. This is where I saw my greatest growth as a writer. I think my revisions have shown the risks I have taken and pushed myself out of my typical style.
Interview Transcript – My interview gave me great perspective for the qualitative sketch. This transcript shows the work I put into working as a researcher, something completely new to me.
Observational Field Notes – These reflective field notes show my effort to incorporate data and information from an experience with career services.
Reading Responses – These two responses most accurately reflect my engagement and close reading of Nathan’s text.
My peer-review group and our individual conferences have assisted me in learning to adapt my writing for my audience, writing for clarity and using a strong voice and style. Because I have not yet received a grade for this course (which terrifies me), I know that I can not just skate by like I have done in past writing classes. I am surrounded by strong and dedicated writers.
My goal of participation for this semester was to become an active participant and listener. I wanted to be able to give and receive constructive feedback to improve my writing and discussion skills without dominating the conversation (which I have been prone to do in other classes). In class I have been a good contributor, but I want to be outstanding. I have learned so much from my peers already, and I hope to continue this growth the rest of the year.
This is not a class that I can get by in. In other classes I have not always turned in my best work because I knew I didn’t have to in order to receive an A. This class has given me intrinsic motivation. I must prove myself as a writer, not for the grade, but for myself. I want to hand in my best work. I want this course to mean something.
My project on the disconnect between advising and career services is very valuable to me and my experience at Marquette. I want to encourage our university to change the process, so that other students do not have the same experience I had. Doing research and interviews is time consuming, but it excites me. I am empowered by my work, which makes me want give my best effort on this project.
I have contacted the Career Services Center and advising for the College of Communication to gather more interviews, and I am waiting on a response to schedule interviews. I have already established a solid base for my project with the student perspective. Now I must gain other perspectives and find out why advising and Career Services are separated, what they each offer and how they benefit students. After gaining faculty interviews, I will structure a survey for students in the College of Communication about their experiences with advising and Career Services.
This Wednesday I have scheduled a mock interview and appointment with Career Services to prepare for a competitive interview I have after spring break. I plan on taking observational field notes in order to gather data for my ethnography. I will also take field notes at my advising appointment later this month.
My academic and journalistic experiences at Marquette University before this course had already made me a strong news writer, but now I feel that I am able to adapt to any writing necessary. My journalistic knowledge and experience gave me a strong writing foundation that this course has grown.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Doherty
I have pushed myself to excel in Advanced Composition. I have broken into new genres of writing and forced myself to expand from my background in news writing. Before taking this course I would have never been able to write a qualitative sketch or work on an ethnography. Those were terms I had never even heard of. Now I feel very comfortable with these genres, but I am still revising my work and learning from my mistakes. I am not a perfect writer, but I feel that I have grown tremendously this semester. By practicing my writing in this class I learn something new every day.
I learned how to incorporate data and transcribe and code interviews accurately. This class has encouraged me to develop my research and writing skills. Before this class I did not think about what kind of writing I was doing; I just wrote. I now consider my audience, voice, style and genre before I begin.
This portfolio will allow me to showcase my best work. These works illustrate my strengths and improvements as a writer. My personal progress this semester has astounded me. I don’t remember ever putting this much thought and work into my writing. This course has been challenging, but it has encouraged me to work and revise in order to create the best finished possible project. The emphasis on revision and practice in this course gave me the ability to take risks with my writing and move beyond my comfort level. I push myself.
This portfolio contains:
Narrative Inquiry – With my first assignment for the portfolio I had no idea where to begin. I stuck to what I knew and wrote to the best of my ability. My first experiences with peer review and our conferences gave my great encouragement to revise. I am very proud of this finished work. I think it accurately describes my experience and raises important questions. I have put hard work and time into this portfolio. I have revised numerous times and visited the writing center to create this representation of my work.
Qualitative Sketch – This assignment taught me how to incorporate my research and interview in a paper so that it will flow but still be concise. I think my paper reads very well and flows. This was a very challenging assignment for me as I have never written in this genre before. This is where I saw my greatest growth as a writer. I think my revisions have shown the risks I have taken and pushed myself out of my typical style.
Interview Transcript – My interview gave me great perspective for the qualitative sketch. This transcript shows the work I put into working as a researcher, something completely new to me.
Observational Field Notes – These reflective field notes show my effort to incorporate data and information from an experience with career services.
Reading Responses – These two responses most accurately reflect my engagement and close reading of Nathan’s text.
My peer-review group and our individual conferences have assisted me in learning to adapt my writing for my audience, writing for clarity and using a strong voice and style. Because I have not yet received a grade for this course (which terrifies me), I know that I can not just skate by like I have done in past writing classes. I am surrounded by strong and dedicated writers.
My goal of participation for this semester was to become an active participant and listener. I wanted to be able to give and receive constructive feedback to improve my writing and discussion skills without dominating the conversation (which I have been prone to do in other classes). In class I have been a good contributor, but I want to be outstanding. I have learned so much from my peers already, and I hope to continue this growth the rest of the year.
This is not a class that I can get by in. In other classes I have not always turned in my best work because I knew I didn’t have to in order to receive an A. This class has given me intrinsic motivation. I must prove myself as a writer, not for the grade, but for myself. I want to hand in my best work. I want this course to mean something.
My project on the disconnect between advising and career services is very valuable to me and my experience at Marquette. I want to encourage our university to change the process, so that other students do not have the same experience I had. Doing research and interviews is time consuming, but it excites me. I am empowered by my work, which makes me want give my best effort on this project.
I have contacted the Career Services Center and advising for the College of Communication to gather more interviews, and I am waiting on a response to schedule interviews. I have already established a solid base for my project with the student perspective. Now I must gain other perspectives and find out why advising and Career Services are separated, what they each offer and how they benefit students. After gaining faculty interviews, I will structure a survey for students in the College of Communication about their experiences with advising and Career Services.
This Wednesday I have scheduled a mock interview and appointment with Career Services to prepare for a competitive interview I have after spring break. I plan on taking observational field notes in order to gather data for my ethnography. I will also take field notes at my advising appointment later this month.
My academic and journalistic experiences at Marquette University before this course had already made me a strong news writer, but now I feel that I am able to adapt to any writing necessary. My journalistic knowledge and experience gave me a strong writing foundation that this course has grown.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Doherty