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The choice of whether you write a cover letter or reflective essay will be your instructor’s. Pay attention to what your instructor decides in this regard.  \nCover letters and essays differ from one another in their format. However, both pieces are similar in that they require you to share with your readers the thinking process that led you to make the writing/revision choices you did.  \nThe cover letter/reflective essay will introduce your portfolio readers to who you areas a writer, as well as introduce the two (2) essays you have included in your portfolio. This is a very important document for a number of reasons. Firstly, this document will be the basis of your reader’s first impression of you and your writing, and, secondly, often, when readers are undecided about a placement for a portfolio after reading the two essays, they will use the cover letter/reflective essay as the determining piece of evidence to make the decision.  \nAlthough this document will be written near the end of the semester, do not put it off until the last minute! The cover letter or reflective essay needs to demonstrate, in its construction and content, many of the things you have learned over the course of the semester.  \nMuch like the essays you will include in your portfolio, you will make the major decisions about what to include in your cover letter, and we don’t want to prescribe exactly how you should go about constructing your cover letter or reflective essay. You can get ideas about what you might like to do by looking at the samples we’ve included in this Guide. The most successful cover letters allow readers to get an authentic glimpse of the writer and what they have learned about writing. Be honest, professional, descriptive, and persuasive as you write this self-analysis. When you are able, you should refer to specific instances or situations you encountered during the semester to provide evidence for what you claim in the cover letter.  \nIn general, the cover letter should do a couple of things: Introduce who you are as a writer and give your readers some concrete, specific details about how you went about revising (improving) your essays this semester. This second feature--sharing with us the strategies or approaches you used in order to make your writing better—is especially important. We need to know you know how to improve your writing, and we want examples of what you did to improve it. (What types of changes did you make, and why?)  \nOn the next page are some questions that may help you figure out what to include in your cover letter. You may want to spend some time freewriting about these topics; doing so could help you generate some rough-draft material (which you will need to spruce up, of course) for your cover letter. Keep in mind, though, that these questions are just designed to get you started. They are not a checklist for putting together the perfect cover letter.  \n􀁸 Introduce who you are as a writer:  \n􀁸 How have you grown as a writer over the past sixteen weeks? Were there any important instances from your experience in this writing class that have helped you grow as a writer or learn something new and significant about writing?  \n􀁸 Divide your writing life into a few stages or periods, and then ask yourself what characterizes each of those periods, and see if you can find any themes that emerge, or if you can identify how you have progressed in your learning and abilities as a writer.  \n􀁸 What kinds of writing have you done in your past and what kinds do you do now? Remember, there are many more kinds of writing than just the stuff you’ve done for school. Making a list of things-to-do is writing and so is graffiti. Consider what is different about your experiences with different kinds of wri","cbCaiaZAitgJ8lAS","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaZAitgJ8lAS","pdf",705753,"English","# Chapter 6: Cover Letters and Reflective Essays\n## Purpose and importance of the cover letter/reflective essay\n## What to include: writer introduction and revision strategies\n## Planning prompts and reflective questions","[{\"question\":\"Should the portfolio include a cover letter or a reflective essay?\",\"answer\":\"The choice is made by the instructor. Follow the instructor’s decision and use the corresponding format discussed in the chapter.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the main purpose of the cover letter/reflective essay in the portfolio?\",\"answer\":\"It introduces who the writer is and presents the two included essays, while sharing the thinking process behind writing and revision choices. It also shapes readers’ first impressions and can serve as evidence for placement decisions.\"},{\"question\":\"What details does the chapter recommend including in a cover letter?\",\"answer\":\"It recommends introducing the writer and providing concrete, specific details about how essays were revised and improved, including the strategies used and reasons for changes. Referring to specific semester experiences is encouraged.\"}]","Chapter 6 - Cover Letters and Reflective Essays | PDF",1790081732,6]