Ezekiel Whiting

Evan Andersson

Writing 2, 8:00am

June 7, 2023

Cover Letter Project

When I think of writing, I reminisce about a trivial argument between two of my friends.

I caught them in a heated disagreement regarding the most important human inventions. They

went back and forth for a few minutes, naming inventions like the wheel, computers, or

agriculture. All inventions have defined human development. But one of my colleagues argued

that written language was the most important human invention. As an observer of this grand

debate, it seemed to me that writing was the million-dollar response. After all, written language

has been integral to the development of civilization. Many functions of daily life would be made

incredibly difficult, if not impossible without some form of writing system. Despite its

importance in every facet of society, most literate people take writing for granted. Most people

see writing as a skill seldom used outside of school. No one illustrated that mindset better than

me two months ago.

Starting this quarter, I took this writing class for the same reason most people do - it is a

requirement. My understanding of college-level writing was that it was no more than long essays

jumbled with fancy words. To the uninitiated, that is all that college writing is. But from the early

days of this class, my juvenile opinion was slowly challenged. I was being taught to become a

better writer by becoming a better reader (Bunn 72). For every text I read, I made a habit of

considering the individual decisions a writer made. Rather than interpreting a text on the surface,

I consciously examined the choices writers made in their syntax, diction, or voice. I then tried to

Page 1
understand how effective these choices were and how I might be able to implement them in my

writing. And this is in no way relegated to the classroom. In every text I consume, whether it was

the school newspaper or a billboard advertisement, I made a conscious effort of analyzing the

rhetoric present. My detail-oriented approach is apparent in my revisions.

I was never a fan of my writing. I always had trouble articulating myself or finding the

appropriate words to use when drafting my work. As a writer, it slowed me down. Even writing

this very cover letter, I spend minutes contemplating what is the strongest word to use or the best

phrase. But over this quarter, I have gained a much greater appreciation of the revision process.

Essentially, I have learned to not stress about the quality of my first draft. For a quibbler like

myself, it was a challenging task. But great work entails much revision, as nobody makes a

masterpiece on their first draft (Lamott 1). Instead of abiding by a strict outline, I prefer to write

whatever comes to mind during my first draft. It is only later in the revision process which I give

my writing structure and direction that makes it cognizant. Revisions after that point should be

aimed at quality. Changes in conventions, style, and aesthetics are only for the second revision

onward. But even after my second or third essay revision, I was never satisfied with my work.

As a writer, I always felt that repetition is my biggest weakness. Years and years of trying

to meet a minimum word count in high school negatively affected the quality of my work. Even

in writing projects that lacked a minimum word count, I would always find a way to extend my

work. Consciously revising my work made me more cognizant of my pacing. Synthesizing this

acquired insight in reading with my writing, I began to see certain patterns in how I write. For

example, I consistently started sentences with the definite article of a demonstrative. There is no

problem with starting a sentence with ‘the’, ‘there’, or ‘this’, but it becomes a problem when

every sentence starts this way. I began to see how repetition in starting my sentences correlated

Page 2
with other features of my writing, such as a lack of sentence variety. Being aware of these types

of mistakes was a part of the slow process of becoming a more aware writer. But revision is an

integral skill in all facets of life. As Sandra Giles states in her essay on reflective writing,

“Establishing the habit of reflective thinking will have far-reaching benefits in your education,

your career, and your life” (Giles 203). While I can not speak much about my life being bettered

by reflective thinking as I am such a novice, adding a level of metacognition to my writing has

made me far more confident in my abilities.

I put much emphasis on revision in writing. I truly be able to properly revise work is what

distinguishes effective from less effective writers. With that, I would like to introduce my revised

projects in this portfolio. Had I had more time to work on these projects, I would continue

revising every minute detail until I was satisfied. But unfortunately, time is a limited resource. I

hope these projects show you, the reader, how I managed my limited resources and how I have

grown as a writer over this past quarter.

I began this letter by describing an argument about writing as a technology. I believe the

most adequate description is writing is that of a tool - a tool we wield to communicate with one

another. It is a tool that can be used more or less effectively and a tool whose functionality varies

by circumstance. But unlike a tool in a toolbox that degrades with use, writing is only

strengthened by persistence.

Page 3
 Bibliography

Bunn, Mike. “How to Read Like a Writer.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 2, 2011, pp.

71-86, https://writingspaces.org/past-volumes/how-to-read-like-a-writer/. Accessed 3

June 2023.

Giles, Sandra L. “Reflective Writing and the Revision Process: What Were You Thinking?”

Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 1, 2010, pp. 191-204. Writing Spaces:

Readings on Writing,

https://writingspaces.org/past-volumes/reflective-writing-and-the-revision-process-what-

were-you-thinking/. Accessed 3 June 2023.

Lamott, Anne. “Shitty First Drafts.” Language Awareness: Readings for College Writers, vol. 9,

2005, pp. 93-96. Accessed 3 June 2023.

Page 4