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Dear Rachel,

This quarter flew by faster than expected. Threw all of the chaos towards the end of the

quarter, I have been able to reflect upon my journey as a writer, and how I have improved over

the last couple of months. Writing has never been my forte. I took this class because it is a

requirement for my major. And although my decision for taking this class was forced, what I

learned from it came naturally and will forever affect my writing in future courses at UCSB and

beyond. Writing as a skill, and improving upon it as a skill was probably the hardest concept to

grasp about writing-based classes. Throughout this class, I learned formal topics, such as reading

like a writer, genre conventions, and translating between genres. At the same time, I was able to

improve upon my diction, use of conclusion paragraphs, use of transition sentences, and writing

a more direct and clear thesis. Through the comments of my peers and yourself, I was able to see

mistakes I made often and correct them.

My thinking throughout this class has changed a lot from my initial feelings and

speculations about the class. At first, I didn’t know what to expect or what to think of the class.

After taking the course, I learned that no matter how much you may think you know,

paraphrasing your own words: “writing is never perfect.” I learned that my writing can be

forever improved, and no matter how perfect I may think my writing is, it can be better. I also

learned new ways to read through one of the first few lessons in the class. Reading as a writer

taught me that reading as if I am the person writing the words in front of me, can give me

insights as to what the author was thinking while writing their piece. It also taught me that in

order to get the full effect and feeling behind the writing, it is important to think about the

choices the author made when writing, such as word choice, tone, and formality to name a few.
Thinking back to high school, In my perspective, writing was a way to express your ideas

and thoughts on paper to be shared with others. Since then, my thinking writing has changed to

broaden the relevance of writing. Writing can be done for many rhetorical situations, not just to

share with others. Writing can be shaped directly and indirectly by the writer though what the

writer feels and what the writer is tasked to do. Because of this change in perspective, I now have

the utmost respect for writers who tackle through “writer’s block” or a scarcity of ideas. I have

also learned the importance of effective writing in order to reach a desired audience or give off a

specific idea.

Writing 2 has taught me a lot of formal topics such as reading like a writer, genre

conventions, and translating between genres. When reading like a writer I learned that it is

important to read between the lines and fully absorb what the author was thinking at the time of

their writing. Most of writing 2 dealt with studying genres. Before taking Writing 2, I would

associate genres as having to do with the genre of a movie or video game. After being explained

that writing can have genres too, I was mind blown, to say the least. It was crazy to me that I

never looked at writing as having genres just like movies do. Along with these genres came

conventions that make this genre, that specific genre and not another. This was important for this

class as later we would discuss how to translate between genres. When translating between

genres it is important to keep in mind the new intended audience when translating and making

sure the original idea is not lost due to translation. I was also taught how to utilize the library

catalogs to search for research papers. Before taking Writing 2, I didn’t even know this resource

existed or how powerful this resource can be when used correctly. This is helpful because it will

translate to future projects in college and in my field of study after college.


What I learned in Writing 2 was so helpful and informative, that the knowledge assumed

in this class can be transferred to other classes here at UCSB and in my field of study in the

future. Whenever I read something I will be using the “reading like a writer” method to get a

deeper understanding of what the author is trying to convey with their writing. I will also use

strategies such as first-order thinking and writing to lay out my initial thoughts on assignments

before getting into the bulk of it. I feel like this strategy is especially useful because it can be

applied to any area of study as long as reading is involved.

Some of the most difficult concepts in this class are knowing when to use “I” and

translating between genres. Knowing when to use “I” was a difficult concept because I was

taught, like most other first-year college students, that first-person pronouns had no place in

academic writing. It was difficult to tell myself that writing in I’s can be not only effective but

welcomed in certain forms of writing such as cover letters or journals. Translating between

genres was also a difficult task because it involved translating two completely different genres

while keeping the original idea, but explaining it to a new audience. I was able to quickly

overcome this difficulty though because I looked at examples that did this, and I was able to pick

up on the strategies they used to write my own translation. Some of these strategies included

simplifying the ideas and changing the tone.

Overall, I really enjoy this class and what I learned from it will benefit me in many ways.

Although the quarter ended in chaos, what I learned in Writing 2 will forever be engraved in my

knowledge. Thank you for taking the time to read my writing projects, and I wish you a healthy

and happy rest of the year.

Sincerely,
Mario Quiroa De Leon

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