Personal letter writing and composition techniques

Personal Letter

Dear Ms.,

This is the second time I have taken your class and learned so much about writing, critical thinking, and much more. While reflecting about this class, it is really hard for me to pinpoint one thing I learned most about because this class definitely taught me more than just writing skills. I think, I have significantly improved my research skills, learned about sustainability of the earth, and critically reflected on my business major although I understand that the knowledge and skills I possess now constitute the miniscule of what I need for my future career and my life as a human being.

To speak about specific issues, the class helped me change some of my writing practices for better. I now work on several drafts before I submit my final paper. The comments I received from you in response to my papers as well as in class -- and the comments I received from my peers -- helped me produce significantly better papers than I would otherwise have. This experience helped me realize that getting a second and third opinion on my drafts is very important when I work on my papers. An outsider reviewing my drafts may notice things I have overlooked.

Thanks to this experience, I am also more appreciative of constructive criticism I receive from others than I was in the past. I used to be wary of receiving a lot of criticism because, frankly, it annoyed me a bit. Unconstructive criticism still does. But due to your professionalism and the manner you organized the class, I have always received helpful criticisms. The comments I received from you and my peers did not attack my draft- or finished works but made me reflect upon the weaknesses of my papers and thinking. The red markings I received from you after submitting my paper on issues with food supply, for example, showed me the errors I had been making in the APA format. And there were many cases like this.

As I said, this class was much more than just about writing. It was full of discoveries for me. The issues I learned about problems our planet is facing today were the things I had no idea about before taking this class. I knew about things like the importance of recycling, planting trees, and some vague ideas about the problem of global warming. But this class helped me learn about the deleterious effects of unchecked Capitalism -- and the modern industrialization, in general -- on the planet earth. I also learned about how systemic human effects on the nature has become as our actions that harm the environment are now a part of our culture. On an individual level, I began to reflect upon my daily activities in terms of eating, consuming, wasting, recycling, and raising awareness about these issues in my conversations with friends and relatives.