Stepanyan 1

4321 Lyans Avenue

Northridge, CA 91206
March 11, 2015
Dear Readers,
This semester has opened my eyes to many new ideas and point of views. During this
semester, I have read collections of works that contradict traditional viewpoints such as the
traditional ideas of marriage, family, and culture. I learned that there are countless point of
views on a certain aspect of life. I learned about the Chinese culture from The Warrior Woman
and I realized that their traditional culture is very similar to my Armenian culture which is also
very conservative.
My strengths as a reader are that I can understand the concept of the reading, however I
can not thoroughly analyze the reading and go in depth into the meanings and hidden messages.
I enjoyed reading On Not Saying I Do because it argues what I believe marriage should be
like and it interests me to come across ideas that would most likely not cross my mind such as
women who do not want to get married. I disliked reading White Tiger because I did not
understand it until we discussed it in class. Even after I understood it, it did not interest me too
much because it does not challenge my point of view and it was confusing to read. What I can
do to become a better reader are tracking key words, look up words that I do not know,
understand what I am reading, and enjoy what I am reading in order to fully grasp the idea of the
reading.
My writing style has changed a lot since high school and English 114A. I improved a lot
in my English 114A class, however I am doing much better in English 114B. Since I got the
chance to write about myself, that helped me to fully go in depth into my writing and fully

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analyze the essay. That essay improved my writing a lot, since we did peer reviews I got a
chance to correct the mistakes that I would not notice on my own. Overall my writing style,
transitions, grammar, and use of punctuation has really improved this semester compared to a
few months ago. When I revise papers now compared to a few months ago, I no longer focus on
grammar, punctuation, and spelling; I go in depth and improve my ideas, I make my ideas flow
more smoothly and tie them with my thesis.
The most difficult essay for me to write was essay number three, I chose my topic to be
about victim blaming. It was difficult for me because thankfully I could not relate to that topic,
and I can only go by what was written in the articles. I understood the topic, however I could not
argue or take a stance because I have never been in that kind of situation nor do I know someone
who has. It was an eye opening topic for me because I have never thought of the idea of blaming
someone who is not at fault. I enjoyed writing essay number one because that essay related to
me and it really made me think about my family and how my home shapes me. I chose my space
to be my house and that is because I am home all day. In my case, I can not consider anywhere
else to be home other than my house.
My strengths as a writer are that I come up with good ideas and I use credible sources
and/or more ideas to support them. My weaknesses as a writer are that I can not provide correct
in text citations, it is hard for me to cite works which do not have authors. My other weakness as
a writer is that I can not always follow the prompt and organize my essay the way it should be
organized. My transitions are fair, although they do not always tie with my topic which tends to
shift my essay away from the thesis. Overall, I can become a better writer by practicing on my
own, doing research about citations, and getting help from the Learning Resource Center at the

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Oviatt Library. My professors feedback and consolation helped me improve my writing style,
and I am very grateful for that.

Sincerely,
Margarita Stepanyan