Welcome to the Introduction course of College Writing or English 1020! You are in this class because you aced and successfully completed your previous English class. As a former student of English 1020, I have learned many tips and trick that helped me throughout the course. Read this letter carefully, as the advices I give you will help you with your journey in English 1020.
One of the most important aspect to help you in this class is to realize the importance of reading, especially close reading. In “The Ethics of Reading: Close Encounter” by Jane Gallop, close reading is defined as “ ‘close reading’ means looking at what is actually on the page, reading the text itself, rather than some idea ‘behind the text’ ” (1). In simple words, close reading is noticing details that standout in a writing. There are five ways of close reading. They are unusual vocabulary, unnecessary repeated words, images or metaphors, texts in italics or parentheses, and annotations that appear too long. It’s the small prominent texts in writings that matter, whether it be poetry, nonfiction or any other literature.
Close reading will also benefit you when reading your own paper. When you read over your paper, you will
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Yet, the projects and topics you learn from your last English class will help you as much. The English course previous to English 1020 that I took was English 1010. The lessons and assignments helped me improve certain skills, such as footnote, revision, vocabulary, MLA formats, and much more. Most importantly, it helped me with writing and improving my summaries. To easily complete a summary project when assigned, I made six steps from all the lessons I learned in English 1010. The steps I took are (1) annotating the writing with specific attention, (2) pinpointing main points or close reading the text, (3) creating an outline, (4) writing a rough draft, (5) close read the draft and revise, (6) and polish the final draft and