Kristopher Aguayo

January 24 2015
Ms. Ehrlich
Professor

Dear Ms. Ehrlich

I remember the days in elementary school when teachers would criticize my writing
skills, the struggles I used to have with writing essays in middle school, and the terrible
time I had in AP Language and Composition; I look back and I am constantly astonished
by how much my writing skills have improved since then. This past semester has helped
me expand and create a solid foundation for writing. I have learned strategies for writing
in different contexts, expanded my knowledge on analyzing and synthesizing evidence,
furthered my ability to produce complex arguments, and grown to appreciate the revision
and editing process.
Specifically in my college essay I feel as though I showed my ability to morph my
rhetoric to meet certain demands. I knew while writing it that my goal was to get
accepted into my school of choice. Before I started writing I did research on the school I
was writing for, this research manifested into the College research presentation. I learned
through doing the project what type of student Western Washington University wants;
students who value diversity, eco-friendly living, justice, equality, and healthy lifestyles. I
did my best in my essay to promote the idea that I had the values they were looking for in
perspective students. The majority essay consisted on me discussing how I learned to
value diversity; I even mention Diversity has enriched my education. Furthermore also

Ms. Ehrlich
January 24 2015
Page 2
mention my values of feminism, and ecofriendly living, and healthy lifestyles. I showed
awareness of strategies writers use because I used rhetoric to match the demands of those
I was writing for.
In major paper one I exemplified my ability to read, analyses, and synthesis
multiple types of evidence. Major paper one consisted of me gathering multiple scholarly
journals and understanding them so that I could use them to communicate my ideas. I
mention several authors who talked about the complexity of identity, for example I
brought up how Simon Clarke talked about how Identity is how we present ourselves in
everyday life, I mentioned how Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi talks about how Self includes
everything that passes through consciousness, and I brought up Catherine McDonalds
arguments in Shapes of meaning. I used the three sources to explain the life of a
fictional character named Alereen and how time, location, and culture created her
identity.
In major paper two I discussed about our multi-nationalist country and the effects
it has when racism is pertinent. I started off my essay by talking about culture, through
the entirety of the essay I returned to the ideas of culture to bring light to flaws in our
American society. I mentioned how talking about the issues may seem counterproductive
because it is uncomfortable but ultimately emphasized the importance of doing so. The
essay shows complexity by how I brought in several ideas from several studies such as
biology and humanities.
I remember the comments you left on major paper one, after re-reading the essay I
agreed. The ending was unsatisfying and after I edited really wanted to create an

Ms. Ehrlich
January 24 2015
Page 3
impacting ending. The revision process of that essay sparked new ideas flowing in my
head; ultimately I unified the essay by bringing all the ideas together in one paragraph. I
also did more research and found several other others who agreed with my claim that
humans are not constant creatures.
Most importantly, the thing I have greatest appreciation for is how I was able to
explore my ideas and create new ones. Instead of simply writing an essay in 40 minutes, I
spent hours and hours to find the right words and the write compositions to transcend my
thoughts onto the screen, I expanded my knowledge on rhetoric, analyzing, and
producing complex claims. Im sure my elementary school teachers would be both
baffled and proud of the work in my portfolio.

Sincerely, Kristopher Aguayo