As a college student, one is required to take English as one of the many courses an individual would be taking in their semesters at college. City College students are required to take an English course in their second semester of freshman year, even if they’re science majors.  At the start of the Spring semester in English 21003, one of the very first assignments we received was to create a cover letter. The document that I had originally been working on turned out to be nothing like that of my classmates nor Professor Killebrews’. However, as time went on I eventually learned how to properly create a cover letter, and now it’s live on this site. In Professor Killebrews’ English course I was able to learn much more than just how to create a cover letter. From learning how to properly create a cover letter to creating rhetorical analysis for science-based articles, my writing skills have improved greatly. During this course I was able to improve in many areas I had never focused on as well as areas I felt confident about. Thanks to Professor Killebrew and her instruction my writing and my analytical skill have improved considerably.

Throughout Professor Killebrews’ English class, we had many different assignments to complete all focusing on different writing skills. One of the more challenging assignments was the assignment concerning the creation of a Cover Letter. To be more Specific, Professor Killebrew had assigned her students to create a Cover Letter because of the benefits one could possibly obtain from using said cover letter. To be more specific, a cover letter is in a way a formal introduction that could be presented in cases such as interviews, emails, or even presentations. The assignment proved itself to be challenging because of the fact that it was my first time working on a cover letter. As a class, we were able to break down the different components of a cover letter in order to learn how to properly create one. The class was able to learn how to address a professional audience as well as what terminology to avoid. Furthermore, we were also able to peer review one another’s cover letters in order to receive different forms of feedback as well as different perspectives on our cover letters. Doing this allowed us to see our cover letters as others such as our own classmates see them. In summary, as a class, we were able to properly create and present a cover letter, we learned to address the audience in a formal manner as well as how others viewed our own cover letters.   

Aside from learning how to create a proper cover letter in English this semester, we also learned how to rhetorically analyze articles. We were able to analyze scientifically based articles in a rhetorical manner as a class. To be more specific, we were able to collaborate when it came to discussing who the articles were addressed to as well as what the authors’ purpose was. As a group, we also analyzed and discussed the setting in which the articles were taking place, which was a new habit I developed. In short, before when reading an article the setting was always of least importance to me until I learned the importance of setting this semester. When the reader knows what the setting is they have a better understanding as to what the article is about as well as why it is important. Moreover, we were able to learn how to effectively search for trustworthy sources. As a result throughout this course, we were able to collaborate as a class and rhetorically analyze scientific articles as well as determine the importance some aspects such as a setting could hold.     

Throughout this semester in English with professor Killebrew, I was able to learn new analytical strategies as well as what others think of my writing. However, looking over my writing I realize that I still have much to work on. Specifically, an aspect that I still have to work on is writing in an APA style. To enumerate, before taking this course the only style of writing that I had ever practiced was MLA. When we were assigned to write about a scientific controversy, one of the guidelines was to follow the APA format I was certain that it would be challenging. The most challenging part, which I am still working on, is properly citing my references in APA format which is very different from the MLA format. Also, I had trouble with creating an abstract for my scientific controversy paper. Mainly due to the fact that I attempted to create an abstract before I had even written my paper. Even after making an abstract, upon further analysis, I was able to see that I should’ve addressed my audience more clearly. On the whole, I was able to learn that I still have some areas to work on such as writing in the APA format as well as working on how to clearly address my audience. 

Throughout, English 21003 which was taught by Professor Killebrew, I was able to better myself as a student and as a writer. First, I was able to learn what a cover letter is and I even had the opportunity to make one. Secondly, through peer-review, I was able to see my own work through the point of view of my classmates which allowed me to better my writing skills. Also, I learned where to search for trustworthy sources of information such as the Gale Database. Even though I was able to learn many new skills in this English course I still have areas to work on. To be more detailed, I still have to work on being able to write according to APA guidelines as well as being able to address my audience in a more precise manner. In conclusion, I was able to develop stronger writing skills and I was even able to identify my weaknesses thanks to Professor Killebrew and her English 21003 course.