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Jake Forster
Greg McClure
Writing 39B
9 December 2015
Cover Letter
Dear Mr. McClure,
As this quarter winds down to an end, I have come to the conclusion, after looking back
on all we have done, that it was indeed a fruitful one. The skills and knowledge I possessed
coming into the course have improved beyond what I expected from a single quarter and I have
learned new techniques that I am surprised I have not learned already with all my years of
previous schooling. These facts are proven nowhere clearer than in my final midterm RA paper
and my final RIP Essay, the culmination of all I have accomplished through my time in Writing
39B.
For the RA Paper, as I did call it an culmination, it is only natural to think that it has other
works for its building blocks and for me, there is one particular assignment from the first week
that comes to mind when thinking of a great first step: the analysis of Reznors and Cashs music
videos on the song Hurt (locatable in the Other Selections section of my portfolio with all nonRA paper works unless otherwise specified). While some of my current strengths can be found,
there are also many writing methods in the document that I have now either improved upon or
done away with. One of those techniques that I stopped using is the act of starting the analysis of
both songs with a quote that relates to the songs in subject matter, but little else. While it works
as a good transition into the subject matter and draws the audience in, it is a very easy method to
notice for more perceptive readers and comes off as cheap if used more than once like I did.
Secondly, for practices I have improved upon or modified, an example that stands out to me
looking back is the overall style of my analysis of the song. It does its job of proving why the

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singer included the item in question in the song, but is much more literary in nature when
compared to my more rhetorical analysis in later works, an example of this being findable in the
second paragraph in the sentence that starts with Even for someone like Johnny Cash These
initial cases were not wasted mistakes however, but served as spotlights, after later review, to
show me which areas of my writing needed work.
With the above performing as an example of how I initially wrote coming into the class,
it is important to discuss how the RA paper and its modifications work as evidence of what I
learned from then and how it reveals what the writing process itself has taught me. To start from
the beginning, my first venture into the RA paper was with my analysis of Richard Mathesons I
Am Legend in the Prewriting and Exploration assignment, a work that is technically not a part of
RA paper, but still contains the origins of some portions of the final product. As it can be seen
from an examination of the first paragraph and the analysiss nature, I have learned from my
mistakes and changed my arguments to be more rhetorical in nature, an example being by
increasing the believability of the possibility of a threat, the threat in turn becomes much more
terrifying. I have also become more selective on the outside sources I use for my arguments and
include works that are more related to my subject manner, such as using the thought theory from
Nol Carroll's essay, Nature of Horror, to show how increasing the believability of a threat can
lead to an increased amount of fear. It is still a pre-rough draft however and one initial problem
that is only partially fixed is the lack of argumentative assertions. While the topic sentence of the
first paragraph reveals the argument that is going to be made for the rest of the paragraph well,
the second one lacks both the necessary assertiveness, including words like possibly, and the
required explanation on how the paragraph will assist in

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Following the Prewriting and Exploration assignment, my next version of the RA paper
comes in the form of my first official Rough Draft (named Rough Draft Version 1 in the RA
Paper section. This also skips a group project named Evidence and Structure in the RA paper
section that assisted in thesis creation similarly to Prewriting and Exploration). As with the first,
the amount of correct rhetorical analysis done does increase, but due to the essays argument not
being fully fleshed out yet, their final forms cant be seen. Still, while the mentioned problems in
the previous paragraph have not been fixed yet, as the peer review step does not occur until after
this documents creation, modifications can be found in the form of the papers main focus. It
might not be noticeable for someone comparing the two without outside knowledge, but the
original main argument concerning Mathesons message was that the morality that is considered
common sense is actually only the opinions of the majority. This changed in the first rough draft
to the message being that [peoples] image of right and wrong is simply their own
subjective view of the ambiguous subject. While the two messages are similar, the change
occurred because I discovered the evidence I was using better supported the new assertion and
that the arguments I made with this evidence were stronger after the revision. As the paper
continued on, these changes continued to occur, but as each one was backed by the lessons I
learned from the class, they only made the paper stronger.
This biggest proof of this claim is the final version of RA Paper, where the full extent of
what I have learned can be shown (The versions in between Rough Draft Version 1 and this
Version, Final Draft Version 2, can be found in RA Paper section under the names Rough Draft
Version 2, Rough Draft Notes, and Final Draft Version 1). To begin with, as the problem
concerning my topic sentences was previously addressed, I am proud to say it has been fixed
with the sentences now being both assertive and giving a clear intro to the paragraphs argument,

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a good example being the topic sentence of the first paragraph under the Established Horror
Tropes heading. Similarly, the arguments themselves have also all been reworked so that they are
stronger in one way or another, such as the first paragraph under the Subversion of Conventions
heading. If the version from the first rough draft and the version from the second final draft are
looked at side-by-side, it is clear that while they both have the same core argument, the final
version flows much better in the overall essay and thus assists in supporting the papers main
assertion in a much stronger way. Another change I have made from previous drafts is removing
any sections that give information deemed unnecessary for scholarly audiences. While in Rough
Draft Version 1 I had paragraphs devoted to topics such as how genre tropes are formed or what
uses of point of view had, they were either shortened or entirely removed in the final version due
to them lacking in usefulness. It is clear from an examination of all the drafts in order just how
significant the multiple reviews and drafts were and that thanks to them, just how great the
improvements have been.
Still, while the RA paper reflects my abilities in deciphering the rhetorical devices of
others, there is one last assignment left that takes it one step further and tests how I can apply my
new knowledge of the rhetorical situation to my own works: the RIP Project (for the RIP Essay,
look for the heading labeled RIP Essay Final Draft in the Other Selections section with the RIP
Essay Rough Draft also included). Due to our project ending up as a film, my group and I had to
learn to adapt what we learned for the written genre and expand it to the visual medium while
also applying our own personal creative touch (for further examples of my creativity, check the
pages labeled My Own Monstrosity and The Other Place Imitation). As you can see from
examples mentioned in the Essay though, such as where we choose music for certain scenes with
the goal of drawing attention to those scenes and picked specific tracks for those scenes to create

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particular reactions, our efforts were rewarded with success. Additionally, there were also some
rhetorical techniques that dont depend upon the medium and we were able to use those as well
without having to modify them, with an example being how we choose stress causers in the film
that would be relatable to our audience. In the end though, physical proof that we have
accomplished something over this quarter cant be found anywhere better than in our finished
film.
With this, my final argument for this class has come to a conclusion. The important
pieces I have done throughout the year have been listed with their merits and the only other thing
I can offer is the weekly blog section that contains my thoughts for certain weeks. Leaving this
portfolio as my last farewell to the class, its finally starting to sink in the quarter is over. With my
evidence above all working as proof for my growth, I now have the freedom to end this letter
with one final, unrelated note: Thank you Mr. McClure for your help over the quarter and I wish
you happy holidays.
From,
Jake Forster

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Works Citied
Carroll, Noele. "The Nature of Horror." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 46, No.
1. (Autumn, 1987): 51-59. The American Society for Aesthetics. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.
Matheson, Richard. I Am Legend. New York: Fawcett Publications, 1954. Epub File.