liqaa Alotair

9400 Corbin Ave

Northridge, CA 91324
Phone: (424) 288-9174
E-Mail: leqaa_94@windowslive.com

December 9, 2014

English Department Portfolio Committee

California State University Northridge

Dear English Department Portfolio Committee:

This letter is a reflection of my work and experience in English class this semester. I will introduce two of my papers I have worked
on.
In the beginning of the semester, I was quite hesitant when to come to exploring a new region of writing; I wasnt confident with
my ability to write about new topics. I have always felt uncomfortable with writing a rhetorical analysis, argumentative and all other
types of essays we have done during this class. I sometimes felt shy when I had to share my writing skills with a colleague with mine.
But with writing a journal everyday in class and share it was fun and useful which made me gain confidence in my writing ability.
The first essay that I have chosen for my portfolio is Project space- Animal farm: Trading spaces. In this paper we were asked to
read the book animal farm, which was very interesting, and see how spaces shape animals and how can we see it in our daily life. In
this essay comparing the book to real life was a bit challenging because Im not used to reading any book and analyzing it, which I
have learned in this class. It made reading more useful and made it interesting. The book had a lot of meanings and lessons. During
this class I knew how important critical reading is and how to summarize a book, also how to use it as a source.
The second paper I wrote about an important topic that happening today social media in the Arab spring. I argued that Social media
was the reason behind the Arab springs success. I used the skills that developed after attending the class to further enhance the work
and writing ability. As I was writing the essay I felt more confident than when I was doing the first one; I felt more prepared and better
equipped with the needed skills to master an essay. I was able to bring the message forth about how the importance of the social media
to the success of the Arab spring and how it was the key element in the success on the recent revolution.
I believe this course has turned me into a better, broad-minded and organized person. The deadlines of the assigned tasks and the
assignments made me realize the importance of time management in order to succeed in the course. I have learned how to watch out
for grammatical mistakes while I am writing an essay.
No writer can overlook the use of proper grammar in his/her writing. It is as important as creativity and familiarizing with prewriting techniques. My professor has helped and guided us throughout the course. I feel more creative and innovative towards writing
any form. I am able to comprehend and analyze different readings in a better way since I have learned and absorbed new amounts of
knowledge. Actually I have learned so many things that were hard for me in the past, which I am sure to use in my academic writing
as well in my professional career. For example, Argumentative essays are hard to compose as each and every statement needs a
reference or scholarly/authentic source to prove it is correct. I was never good at searching good sources for my writings. However,
throughout this course I have learned how to cite sources and use them properly for my paper.
I cant help but be thankful for being part of the English 113b course because of all of the new and improved skills that I have learned
during these amazing 4 months and was with the best company of colleagues and was taught by an amazing an helpful professor.

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Sincerely Yours,

liqaa alotair