Dear

Malcolm,

05 December 2012

Fifteen weeks later I have a final product to display everything I have accomplished this past semester. My portfolio contains a whole entire writing process. From first impressions to daily writings to an extensive research project, each assignment has been critical in developing my writing skills and style. At the beginning of the semester when you assigned the first letter, I did not realize how important it would end up being. That was our first impression to you. You were able to see how each of us wrote and gave us the opportunity to write freely, no guidelines, no stress, something you were adamant about everyone doing throughout the course of the class. Taking a step back and doing a fun writing assignment was a great way for me, personally, to start the semester. I did not feel like this class would be excessively stressful and was able to relax and let my thoughts flow. I enjoy writing and trying to add humor to what I am saying, something I ended up incorporating in my final paper. Informal writing assignments and daybook entries seemed like a waste of time at the beginning of the class. Why did we need to reflect on EVERYTHING? Why did we need to plan EVERYTHING? Why did we need to explain EVERYTHING? There were many an afternoon spent holed up in the back corner of the library writing furiously, or at least attempting to write furiously. Some days were better than others. If I had not found a topic I am passionate about, there would have been far more painfully unproductive days than not. My favorite informal writing assignment was the interest inventory because I was able to get all of the potential topic ideas I had floating aimlessly around in my brain down on paper. For example,

I knew I was interested in law enforcement, but I had no idea what part of law enforcement I wanted to focus my writing on. As soon as I saw the topic women in law enforcement written on my paper, I knew that was an avenue I needed to pursue. Once I had my topic, daybook entries were great for developing inquiry questions, outlining every assignment, and sometimes even venting about frustrations or writing randomly in an attempt to procrastinate. The inquiry process continued beyond informal writing assignments and daybook entries. They were simply the starting and ending points for different stops along the way. Research was a large part of the inquiry process. I thought I knew a lot about women in law enforcement, but I was wrong. I discovered a whole world of books, articles, organizations, federal agencies and people dedicated to supporting women working in law enforcement. I actually found more positive articles about females working in male-dominated careers than negative. My research is what helped shape my paper and final discovery. Once I had done my research, writing the paper flowed easily and turned out to be fun. However, the part of the writing process I despise is editing. In previous English classes I was notorious for writing a paper, not looking over it, and turning it in for a final grade. Needless to say, I could have avoided many stupid mistakes if I had taken the time to reread my initial writings. The peer-review process made the revision process far better, which is shocking considering most group work is excruciating to complete. Every part of the inquiry process was necessary for the next to be beneficial. The interest inventory would not have been possible without daybook freewrites and brainstorming. The interest inventory spurred the research

I completed, which built my final paper, and then allowed me to discover the importance of reviewing my work. I am a better writer and learner thanks to the inquiry and research process I went through over the past fifteen weeks. The most important work I completed for this class was my topic proposal. The interest inventory was great for sparking the inquiry process, but the topic proposal is what truly excited me about researching women in law enforcement. The topic proposal was fun to do research for. I did not have to worry about citing everything I found in proper format. I could find information on one website, copy and paste the URL, and quickly move on to the next source. The fast paced searching and writing kicked my brain into gear and helped me find a large base of sources. My brain has a habit of working faster than I can write or type. The topic proposal was an assignment designed for people with my problem because the emphasis was not on the format, writing style, or citations. Rather, the emphasis was put on the topic at hand and why it interested me. Once I finished writing the topic proposal I felt accomplished and passionate about my topic. I easily related to it and wanted more than anything to write a paper that would do it justice. The topic proposal helped me improve my paper planning skills and helped make me a better student. Instead of rushing through a paper just to get it done, I now understand a great paper comes from a detailed inquiry and planning process. Without the topic proposal I would not have felt as inspired to do my best on the final extended inquiry project. The paper before the paper, also known as the annotated bibliography, was one of the most painful assignments to complete aside from my final edits. I wanted

to skip this step and move straight into my final paper because it seemed like it would be redundant to do both assignments. The easiest part of the assignment was taking the sources I found and citing them. The hard part was elaborating about what each source contained that was pertinent to my extended inquiry project. In the end I realized the annotated bibliography was one of my most valuable assets. The information I wrote in the AB applied to every section of my final paper and made writing my first draft quick and painless. Finally, the extended inquiry project was the final step in this long journey. After weeks of brainstorming, researching, writing, and revising I have come out with eleven pages of discovery that I could not be any prouder of. I learned a new way of planning and writing during this class and can honestly say this is the best paper I have ever written. Before this class I had no idea what an exploratory essay was, but now I hope I have the opportunity to write many more in the future. I loved writing my final paper, even when I was revising. I played around with a new introduction like you recommended and may have come out with one that was better than my original. I know I will take this paper, further edit and improve it, and use it to my advantage. I feel like it will be a great submission for a criminal justice scholarship I will be applying for in the spring. I discovered I have a strong voice in my writing and may not be as bad of a writer as I once thought. I never thought to consider my thinking and writing strengths before. I consider myself an optimistic person, but when it came to writing I always thought about everything I was bad at. For example, I have a tendency to ramble, lack creativity, and use the same banal expressions in all of my papers. During this class

I was able to see I have strengths such as a strong voice and opinions in my writing, humor, and rock solid research skills. I used my humor to help me create what hopefully are interesting introductions and attention grabbers. I broke up my rambling paragraphs into more manageable chunks and did my best to get rid of every banal expression I know I have used in the past. I challenged myself in this class and am thankful I did. I am thankful I had a professor that took a relaxed approach to the writing process and encouraged me to continue doing what worked, but gave me ideas for how to improve. I felt like anything was possible with this paper and I could not wait to get to this point and see what my final product turned out to be. What doesnt kill you makes you stronger, right? This class was a lot of work, but I am a stronger writer and student because of it. It has been a great semester. I could not have asked for a better beginning to my freshman year of college. I grew, not only as a student and writer, but also as a person over the past fifteen weeks. Even this final reflection letter is showing me how important it is to take a step back and admire all the hard work I have done and see what worked best and what did not. I can take what worked well for me this semester and apply it to my future classes, and change what has not worked the best. I have a new point of view when it comes to writing, which will be invaluable these next few years, especially since every class I will take from now on will inevitably be centered on essay writing and reflection. Thank you for creating a fun classroom environment that made me want to come to your class every Tuesday and Thursday. Thank you for the laughs and the cookies. Thank you for

encouraging me and doing everything in your power to make sure I succeeded. Thank you! Sincerely, Hannah Luke