English 101 Online Course: Advice and Tips from a Former Student

In this essay, a former English 101 student offers advice to current students on how to excel in the online course. The advice includes staying up-to-date with the online student portal, connecting with peers, thoroughly reviewing course materials, and maintaining a separate notebook for important notes and experiences. The author emphasizes the importance of online discussions, mastering MLA citation using resources like Purdue OWL, and enhancing research skills. The letter also extends advice applicable to college life, such as building relationships with professors and attending classes regularly, highlighting the value of peer interaction and faculty connections for overall success. The student shares how the course enhanced their writing and research abilities and encourages students to make the most of their educational opportunities.

Dear student,
Welcome to the English 101 course. I am a former student of this online class and I had
completed the course a year ago. I am writing this letter to you to give you some advice for
excelling in this class.
The English 101 class has been very fruitful for me because I have been able to learn a lot from
my tutor as well as my peers. English 101 has improved my knowledge about English reading
and writing. Throughout the ten weeks, I have been able to learn various things about English
writing that I did not know. In week one, I was introduced to my tutor and the reading Gerald
Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. I was then asked to complete the numerous homework and
assignments throughout the weeks. These also included discussions that we had to participate
and reply to our peers as well. I was particularly benefitted from the classes on MLA citation
because it provided me with the opportunity to learn clearly the various nuances of citations. I
learned about the Purdue OWL website that proved very resourceful in terms of citing my works.
Then, the magazine that I chose for my assignment also provided me with useful knowledge
about English.
While preparing for the three papers on week one, seven and nine respectively, my writing
ability was enhanced. In addition to that, my ability to research about the work in hand also
enhanced because previously I never used to research much about what I wrote. I learned that I
still have to work on my citation ability although I have greatly improved my writing ability.
The first and most important advice that I would give is that you should always be up-to-date
with your online student portal because there are many important announcements and
information posted on the portal by our tutor. In order to be up-to-date, you must make sure that

you not only have access to a desktop or a laptop but also a smart phone where you could check
your portal anytime.
My second advice for you would be to be acquainted with all your online peers from the first day
of the online classes. Your peers would prove good source of knowledge and I say this because it
has proved fruitful for me. The online discussions that are part of the class would help you
understand your peers better and develop new ideas as well.
The third advice that I would give is that you thoroughly go through the materials provided to
you by the tutor because the materials are the most vital for your successful completion of
course. I was lagging behind in the course because I did not give much time to going through the
course thoroughly and hence, missed out some extra points.
Fourthly, I would advise you to have a separate note for yourself where you could jot down the
important things from the provided readings. You could also use the note to include your daily
experience with the class and the course because this might help you in many of the assignments
as well.
The advices that I have suggested are for excelling in the online course. However, some advices
are also applicable in college as well. The advice to be acquainted with your peers also applies
while you are in college as well. Remember that peers constitute a vital part of your college life
because they will motivate and inspire you at every step.
Further, I could advice you to be always in touch with your professors and maintain a good
rapport with them because individual bond could help you have access to their vast knowledge;
the knowledge that could help you succeed not only in college but also in life.

Apart from that, I could advice you to never miss nay class unless there is any emergency
because the information that you would have in the class and the knowledge you will have, you
will not be able to have anywhere. Yes, there is technology and everything is available at the
click of your fingers but discussions with teachers and peers are more enriching, trust me.
To end my letter, I could only say that make the best of all the opportunities you have in life.
Best Wishes,
Leslie Gordon