The Bad News Letter and Persuasive Letter assignments were very helpful in developing my professional writing skills. While it’s possible that an individual may never have to compose a formal report or a press release in their career, the majority of the workforce will have to write a formal letter at some point in time. I learned about the proper formatting of the letter, which was a completely new concept for me. I also learned about specific language characteristics that vary depending on the context and type of letter. For example, prior to taking this course I frequently used apologetic language when communicating any kind of bad news. I didn’t realize that words like “unfortunately” or “however” carried a negative connotation in this scenario. Although these exact words do not appear in my writing samples, a few words choices still carry that feeling. In the third paragraph, I began a sentence with “although”, perhaps implying that writer’s concerns are less important than my hypothetical agenda. This is a tendency that I will continue to be aware of in my future writing.