5 May 2015

Dr. Leslie Bruce

Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics
California State University, Fullerton
P.O. Box 34080
Fullerton, CA 92834-9480
Dr. Bruce,
The purpose of this letter is to showcase to you that I have successfully
learned and excelled the student learning objectives (SLOs) listed in the
course syllabus. In my portfolio I have included the following texts in the
following order: the peer-review sheet we did in-class, the final profile that
was written by myself with two other classmates and this cover letter. These
documents are arranged in an order that showcase the increasing
understanding and mastery of SLOs to demonstrate how I have improved
throughout the course and how confident I feel moving forward in my
undergraduate career.
The first SLO outlined is the Rhetorical Focus showcased in the peerreview sheet and profile. The peer-review sheet we did in-class is used by
classmates to evaluate each others papers for any mistakes and comments
for improvement. This was done informally, while the profile was written
formally, and the audience for that paper was written for Bedford/St. Martin
Books.
Ethical Research is the second SLO that is demonstrated in the profile
paper. This was by far the most important SLO to learn and perfect this
semester. The first submission of my profile paper contained many citation
errors, and when my group mates and I came together to correct them, we
learned that we must always cite our sources, even if the information seems
like common knowledge. This objective will stick with me as I advance in my
undergraduate career.
Persuasive Arguments, is the third SLO presented in the cover letter
and profile letter. The purpose of the cover letter is to persuade my instructor
(you) that I have accomplished the SLOs in my profile assignment. Also, the
profile paper was meant to communicate carefully to the publisher
Bedford/St. Martin Books as well as providing a paragraph of counter
arguments in the profile paper to show opposing views.
Representing Organization and Focus, the fourth SLO, is the cover
letter. I consider the cover letter organized, focused, and communicating
clearly my position. The profile paper can also contain this SLO, since my

group mates and I took a tremendous amount to organize and make our
profiles statement focused and clear.
The fifth SLO is Academic Language and Design. Canadian Harp Seal
Hunting, my profile paper, was written to provide information and not to
persuade the audience. Thus, the profile paper was respectful of gender and
cultural differences. When presented with the counter argument in the
paper, my group mates and I were sure to not attack the opposing views of
seal hunting.
Collaboration is the sixth and final SLO. I learned the different ideas
and writing techniques my group mates possessed, and with a combination
of all of our skills we were able to write a proper profile paper that met all the
guidelines. All the members of the group met up and emailed frequently in
the writing process and were satisfied at the last submission. This SLO was
also used in the peer-review sheet, when other classmates besides our group
mates gave their comments on how to improve the profile paper.
The documents in this portfolio showcase, in order, the eventual
mastery of SLOs provided in the syllabus. I hope that after reading this letter,
you will understand how I have improved throughout this course while
abiding to the student learning objectives. I have recognized my strengths,
as well as my weaknesses, and strive to improve them both. I hope you enjoy
this portfolio as a reflection of my continued effort to improve as a writer.
Sincerely,
Marlene Castro