2 December, 2022

Dear Professor Tumen,

I must mention that I truly had no idea what I would be in for by taking this class at the
beginning of the quarter. In all honesty, and this may also coincide with my fellow scholars, I
had taken this class with the hopes of simply fulfilling a writing requirement. However, let it be
known that I am leaving this class with so much more than needing one less course for my Area
2 credit requirement here at UCSB. Your class was the first writing course that I’ve taken since
the Winter quarter of my freshman year, where I’ve mostly been kept busy by other STEM
courses since then. Given that I am now a Junior, I felt such terror at the first sight of the
syllabus, let alone at the term “genre convention”.
Looking back at myself ten weeks ago when I first started this course, I feel as if I have
transformed into a scholar who no longer fits in the stereotypical idea that STEM majors cannot
write. Though this may have never been true, it never truly felt like it until I learned the valuable
tools that we’ve discussed throughout this course, with the first being the foundational
knowledge of the work and use of genres and their conventions. As mentioned earlier, I was hit
with confusion as soon as the term hit my eyes, but this confusion soon turned into curiosity.
Though I always considered myself to be a much more dominant scholar in the world of STEM, I
had always had a small passion for writing and how I could improve myself in that area but
given that I am not a part of the humanities department, the opportunity hadn’t truly presented
itself until your course.
I always knew somewhat of what an explication essay was, but never had the chance to
write one, so when it came down to it for my writing project 1, simply put, I was nervous.
However, Kerry Dirk had given me the best advice that I could have asked for during week two
when he stated that “if you already have some idea of what a research paper looks like (in my
case, an explication essay), you do not have to learn an entirely new genre…you just have to
figure out how to change that particular genre to fit with the situation”. I was no longer nervous
to write my explication essay, let alone write alongside my peers throughout the rest of this
course as the nervousness transformed into excitement. I can confidently admit that learning the
core values of writing such as knowledge of genre conventions, the importance of audience,
and the execution of both receiving and distributing peer review has allowed me to become not
only more of a writer, but a confident writer after a single 10-week course. Because such
extensive thought must be taken into each of these factors, I would love to learn more about
how authors can switch in between genres and what that process looks like for them, though I
understand it may be different for each one (but that’s what makes writing…writing!). These
dimensions of writing are multifaceted and can apply to all styles of writing, and given the
extensive attention to detail we’ve given to each one of them (such as genre collages, writing
project peer reviews, and writing both good and bad ransom letters), I feel confident in my ability
to be a great writer outside of this course and the classroom. Specifically, I think the activities
we did on peer-revision struck a nerve with me - I found myself immersed in the compliments in
areas of my writing that I was excited for the reader to read about (or listen to, in the case of my
podcast), however, I also found myself resonating with the constructive criticism about elements
that I was previously blinded to. For me, being able to accept constructive criticism in my writing
has translated to outside the classroom where I no longer take such criticisms as personal, but
more so as a reflection of how much more I can improve both myself and my writing.
These elements - genre conventions, knowledge of audience, and the power of peer-
revision - have carried my writing process throughout the entirety of my projects in this course. It
was the core foundational knowledge of genre conventions that allowed me to be able to
successfully convey a text message conversation between my bestfriend and I about academic
translations for my writing project 2. Because I was already so familiar with the genre
conventions found in text message chains, this text-message format was one of the things that I
liked most about my portfolio, and I can truly admit that my work reflects just how much fun I
had with it. Nonetheless, being able to include my best friend was a nice cherry on top too. In
our conversation, we talk to each other in everyday language as we make use of emojis and
react to certain messages using the IMessage feature that further convinces the reader that this
really was just a conversation between two best friends.
Furthermore, it was the knowledge of audience that truly aided my translation of an academic
peer-reviewed article surrounding the idea of College Mens’ attraction toward sexual assault
into a podcast. Because the two genres (an academic peer-reviewed article versus and
podcast) were so different in their composition, determining which audiences the works were
tailored to was key in successfully translating one genre to the next. However, because I am
such an avid listener of podcasts in my daily life, this challenge was one that I had such fun
with. Being able to “host my own podcast” was something that I had on a bucket list ever since I
began listening to them, and being able to incorporate that dream into my writing project 1 was
like killing two birds with one stone while I was eating enchiladas (because I love enchiladas). In
my podcast, one can hear me emphasizing commentary that hits home for me, taking (perhaps
one too many) dramatic pauses, and implementing spooky music that fits the narrative all
because these are conventions reflected within the genre of podcasts.
But, most importantly, it was the power of peer-revision that allowed me to be able to critique
both my writing projects 1 and 2 into perfection. In terms of my writing project 1, I had initially
chosen to base my project on an article surround Jerffrey Dahmer and his horrendous acts
against Man, but found that I didn’t place enough emphasis on this article in my podcast
translation and I found it difficult to do so because the article mainly consisted of visual photo
descriptions whereas my translation was heavily based on audio listening. To counteract this
issue, peer-revision allowed me to realize that swapping out the article entirely was the best
change moving forward. That being said, my podcast remained consistent in its inclusivity of the
Jeffrey Dahmer story, however, instead of it being the main attraction, it was used to support the
argument of how college males are attracted to types of sexual assault and criminality. Not only
did this change give my podcast more structure, but it also allowed it to be more of a credible
academic source of information, which I liked. This was the largest and best possible revision
that I have done regarding my portfolio. Adding, when polishing my draft, I had realized that my
explication essay that went along with my writing project 1 had done a fine job in explaining the
use and functionality of genre conventions in my work, but I had failed to explain the academic
article that my work was based on. That being said, adding more context into what my writing
project 1 was based upon was another revision that I took time to perfect within the revision
process. Overall, I truly thank you, Professor Tumen, for the amount of peer-revision
opportunities you have given me with my fellow scholars. Though I am highly fond of your
feedback, this course has allowed me to actually look forward to feedback from my peers
regarding my work, adding that it also fuels a sense of companionship with them individually
because I can sense that they are not criticizing me, but helping me succeed, ultimately leaving
me feeling more accomplished and proud of myself.
After working on these quarter-long projects, I have discovered that I truly do love the
process of writing and I would like to say that that is expressed in my work in this portfolio. I no
longer see writing as something that I must do, but rather as something that I am excited to do.
Before, I used to get anxious at the thought of writing because of the vastness and depth of how
one can formulate their thoughts, but now, that's exactly what I love about it. Adding, I have
found that the cure to my writer’s block is to “brain dump” until sentences begin to formulate and
my fingers are suddenly typing without me having to think about what they’re saying. I always
felt a little embarrassed for not taking this course as a freshman or sophomore like UCSB had
recommended, but now that I think about it, I feel as if I was supposed to take it now - when I
could truly take in and enjoy the processes of writing as opposed to simply writing for a grade.
Thank you, Professor Mario Tumen, for taking the time from your busy schedule as a
Graduate student here at UCSB to teach me the beauty of writing and I wish you the best of
luck in your future endeavors. Most importantly, thank you for your representation here on
the UCSB campus, it means more to your students (me) than you may know.

I hope you have as much fun looking through my portfolio as much as I had creating it.

Sincerely,
Nataly Jimenéz

Works Cited

Dirk, Kerry. “Navigating Genres - WAC Clearinghouse.” Navigating Genres , 2010,

wac.colostate.edu/books/writingspaces1/dirk--navigating-genres.pdf.

Voller, Emily K., et al. “Attraction to Sexual Violence Towards Women, Sexual Abuse of

Children, and Non-Sexual Criminal Behavior: Testing the Specialist Vs. Generalist

Models in Male College Students.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, vol. 38, no. 2, 2009, pp.

235–43, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9343-z.