Reflection Letter Example 2
Dear XXX,
You might be wondering why I suddenly decided to write you a letter from the
future. The reason behind it is simple. I just wanted to share my experience in English
108 and provide you with some guidelines to prepare you for what your future might
hold. Four months may sound too short to experience anything different or new;
however, it is long enough to change the way you perceive writing for the rest of your
life.
There you are getting ready to take your first English class in the United States of
America at the University of Arizona. I know you have a strong base in speaking and
writing in English. I also know that your knowledge is entirely based on your own
personal effort and motivation. Yet, most of the English classes you took throughout your
studies emphasized on grammar and very rarely on writing; hence I believe English 108
will change your understanding of how to put words into phrases, sentences, paragraphs,
and finally, into a text that may be good enough to attract readers.
Forgive me for starting with a question. But I think this question will help focus
your attention on the strategy English 108 is all about. Have you ever heard of the word
“rhetoric?” Well, I know you haven’t, but let me put it this way. When reading a fiction,
a novel or even a newspaper, have you noticed different styles of writing? Have you
noticed some techniques that made you agree with the author automatically? Maybe, you
have not noticed such techniques as vividly as you will in the next few weeks. Well,
rhetoric is a strategy of persuasion. It measures the effectiveness of a writer to convince
his/ her audience. Different authors use one or a combination of emotional, logical and
ethical appeals. Let me ask you this: would you believe a text that is logical? Would you
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Reflection Letter Example 2
prefer an author who is credible? Or would you believe a text that touches your heart?
Well, the answers to these questions depend on the personality of the person who’s doing
the reading. But it is very logical to answer all the above three questions with one single
affirmative word, “yes.”
The first few weeks, you will be given the chance to analyze and identify
rhetorical strategies and write a paper on your findings. I know with your background,
you might feel hesitant to write a paper on such a vague matter. But my advice to you is
to keep an open mind. Most of your readings can go either way. It might be an appeal to
your logic, emotion, ethics or a combination of any of these three. Therefore, read the
paper over and over again before rushing to get a pen to jot down the ideas flooding your
mind. I have come to understand that it is wise to get well acquainted with the strategies
of the author before jumping to any conclusions. Other than that, I have full confidence
that you will do your very best.
On the other hand, since you have been away from any kind of writing for awhile,
You will find out, the same way I did, that you are a bit rusty when it comes to grammar
and mechanics. I don’t mean to scare or frighten you. But these are simply words of
caution so that you do not repeat my mistakes. Instead, learn from my shortcomings and
take advantage of your text books. Therefore, I advice you to make time to go through
Rules for Writers and the pages full of information, at your disposal.
Oh, I almost forgot. There is what is called “Modern Language Association” or
MLA, which is a standard that you need to follow for your papers. Almost every paper
you will write for this class has to meet the MLA format. I know that structure and format
have never been a concern to you, because they were never a requirement any way. But
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Reflection Letter Example 2
in academic writing, there are lots of rules and formats you need to be familiar with. If I
may, as a more experienced “You,” I advice you to read the MLA instructions prior to the
beginning of the semester. As a person who has lived through it, I would like to tell you
that if you familiarize yourself to this concept, then you would not need to learn it the
hard way.
Your second assignment will be to implement the knowledge of rhetoric you’ve
acquired into your own persuasive essay. This is your chance to prove your ability to
persuade your readers. This assignment will help you develop the skills to conduct
research, choose scholarly sources, integrate evidence and choose a stand on a subject
matter that is important to you. From my own experience, I can tell you that this is not
going to be an easy task. You need to research a lot, and at the same time, write your
paper. However, while struggling with this project, someone new will enter your life.
Well, her name is Margaret. She is a graduate student and is doing a research on the
learning behavior of students who speak English as a second language. I can tell you for
sure that she will help you get in touch with the reality of writing in college. Not only is
she going to help you open the curtains but also help you rediscover the drowning writer
within you. Hence, when the time comes to choose whether to continue or not with
Margaret’s help session, I want you to think hard and remember my words, “this is your
ticket to enlightenment.”
I know that you are used to writing in a way that drags the reader along, leaving
clues behind for him/ her to comprehend. Mysterious, but let me tell you this; American
readers are too lazy, to the extent that you have to put everything on a silver plate, on a
gold plate, if possible. Even your writing is valued by its clarity and transparency in order
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Reflection Letter Example 2
for a reader to understand. Hence, do your best to remember that your audience has no
idea what you are writing about. Do your best to organize your writing from A to Z
never from M to Z.
Even though I might be a bit more mature than you are, I still agree with you that
negative comments hurt so bad that you‘re tempted to reject their validity. Well, younger
me, this should be the old version of your principles for life. Why would you want others
to read your work? Just to get praise? No, at least it should not be. I know it feels good to
know that you are a good writer but feedbacks are the core basis for improvement. There
is no limit, or you can assume the sky as the limit, which I doubt that anyone can ever
reach. But other’s ideas and comments will enable you to see your own work in someone
else’s eyes. This will allow you to set aside your ego and become a better reviser and
eventually a better writer. By the way, you will also get a chance to comment on your
peers’ papers. Hence peer review works both ways: your peers will help you and you will
do the same for them. When you think about the feedbacks objectively, it’ll become
clearer that those painful comments may actually be true. So, don’t withdraw from this
challenge, instead take advantage of it.
Your last assignment as a second semester English student is to write a letter. Do
you remember the first paper I told you about, the paper on the rhetorical strategies?
Well, this assignment will give you a chance to revise that paper. Of all the papers I
wrote, of all the numerous revisions I made, I can tell you that this assignment was the
one paper I enjoyed the most. The main difference is instead of addressing it to an
academic audience, you’ll be addressing it to the author himself/ herself. You might be
wondering what is so special about this. Well, the interaction with one specific individual
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and the fact that this paper is less formal make it realistic, enjoyable and less stressful. It
is obvious that you will need to do a great deal of revising: making it personal,
transforming the audience, editing for errors, revising for organization, and so on. I am
sure the details will become clearer as the semester approaches its termination and I hope
you’ll enjoy it too.
At this very moment, I am thinking I might need to tell you about the human
aspect of English 108. Well, you can almost call it the “United Nations of English 108”:
Indians, Japanese, Swedish, Spanish and … I can continue naming but I think you got the
picture. English 108 establishes an atmosphere of unity and a sense of belonging. You
will meet people of various nations you never thought you’d meet. You will also struggle
to understand various accents as your classmates would with yours. Sometimes you
might find it difficult to interact but with each passing day you’ll get to know more about
your peers and their countries. Hence, each day will be filled with surprises that will open
your eyes to the world you never thought existed.
I don’t mean to lecture you but this is what your next four months will
look like. If you program your time and start in advance, English 108 will be a fun and
rewarding class for your career and your future as a writer. I hope my advice and a sneak
preview into the future will help you better accomplish your goals for English 108. If you
decide to write me a letter, you can reach me at XXX of the future@Aprill26, 2005. I
look forward to hearing from you.
The older you
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