I have come very far in this class from the beginning of the year. I developed new skills and abilities that I know I will use in the years to come. It was not easy, but things that are beneficial rarely are
Over this past school year in AP English, I have matured a lot as a writer, reader, and thinker. This class has increased my writing skills because of the numerous essays I wrote throughout the year. Because of this, I write with a more mature prose style, organize my essays more effectively and know when and where to use counter claims, rebuttals, and literary devices. Also, I have become a more proficient reader. I can now read more critically than I could have at the beginning of this school year and can find literary devices, tone, and purpose in works with much less effort than before. As a thinker, I have developed the ability to think in different ways. I can think about the perspectives of other people, characters in a book, and the author of a book. This allows me to have a deeper understanding of a literary work and the effect the work can have on people.
I plan on using these skills a lot over the next few years. I will use them in English 101 and English 102 next year, and in my college English classes. I know I will use them because the class was college level, and that let me develop skills and abilities to be used in a college setting. I think that everything I learned during this past year will give me a huge advantage when taking other college level English courses.
One of the most important skills this class has taught me is how to manage time and how to handle a college level course. This class has forced me to fine tune my planning skills so that I effectively complete all my essays on time, and so that I understand how much work is involved with courses of this type. These skills can be used outside of English classes, and even outside of school. Effective organization and the ability to handle workloads can help in college as well as in jobs. Having these skills will make me not only an efficient student, but an efficient worker.
I have grown substantially as a writer over the course of this year, and this growth can be seen in my Truman Capote essay, my “technology in schools” essay, and my Edward O. Wilson essay. The Truman Capote essay was the first essay that I wrote for this year. I did not fully understand how to write an AP English essay, but did my best and received a 5. After a few months and several essays later, I had my “technology in schools” essay. This essay was from third quarter and one of my better essays. I had worked a lot on my writing skills and had become more proficient with my writing. Because of this, I received a 7 on the essay. One of the main things that I fixed was connecting my paragraphs to my thesis and organizing my essay so that it is more coherent. And the last essay that I wrote this year, the Edward O. Wilson essay, was the best essay that I wrote this year; I received an 8 on it. This shows that I had really come a long way on my essays and started to develop the necessary parts of an 8 essay. What got me the 8 was my use of vocabulary and lack of awkward syntax—two problems that had been holding me back on previous essays. My movement from a 5 at the beginning of the year to an 8 at the end of the year demonstrates my progress as a writer and the changes that I made to become a better writer.
I believe that Ms. Fogarty did a really nice job teaching this year. She was helpful and instructive the entire time. She also was willing to meet with me after school if I had questions on an assignment or needed help. Also, I feel that she covered the required material very thoroughly and used exercises that built skills that were helpful for the AP English exam. One thing that really helped me was her comments on my essays. These comments really helped me to improve my writing and fix my mistakes. One part that was very hard was the amount of work involved. We had assignments almost every week and they were due only a few days after they were assigned. This helped me in the long run though so I am not upset about it. Ms. Fogarty’s helpful attitude and cheerful disposition made the class not only educational, but easy to take part in.
If someone is struggling with this course, there are a few things they should do. First, they should speak to Ms. Fogarty and see if she can help them. Ms. Fogarty can most likely help with whatever trouble they are having through advice and critique. If after this problems consist or the situation gets worse, it may be a good idea to drop the class. It is a tough, college level course and not everyone is able to handle such a demanding class. This is the only advice I can give. But, my advice to drop the class does not mean that no effort should be put into the course. Someone should only drop the class if they have tried it for two or three months with decent effort and if no improvement is seen.
This year has been one filled with growth and change. I have become much better at English overall and now I know how to handle a college level course. For what I got out of the class, the effort was well worth it.
Matt- You and I had very similar experiences with this class. First, I agree with your comment about growing as a thinker, because now,once I'm given an assignment or doing an assignment, I spend a good amount of time thinking to plan out my work. I do this to make sure I know exactly what I'm going to write. Also, the teacher comments from Ms. Fogarty both worked to our benefit for our essays. The comments were one element of advice that I personally really tried to exploit.
ReplyDeleteYou and I also had similar growth in our writing from September to May, and I think that can be due to the similar techniques and strategies that we both found effective.
I too am looking forward to English 101 and 102 next year, especially because I believe we are prepared for another college course after taking AP English this year.
Your advice to the student who is struggling to drop the class if he or she does not see improvement over a few months is probably a smart decision. It makes sense to drop the class if you are only hurting yourself and your GPA. The class is not for everybody.
I think it is safe to say that you and I agree that AP English has made us more efficient workers, and more prepared to take on future college courses.
Matt- I have to agree with your reflection. You and I and maybe the whole class have matured as writers, readers and thinkers. The skills we’ve obtained in AP Language are very beneficial because they didn’t come easy. We’ve worked hard to finish assignments and perfect our skills to get that four or five on the AP. The essays that were given throughout the year were crucial to success in the class as a whole. As we reflect on the past year, we see this as a major step in our young lives because we are going to be using these skills for the rest of our lives. Even though I continue to work on my syntax and word choice I believed I’ve come a long way. The in class essays were most helpful with my writing abilities. At first like you, I didn’t completely understand what exactly an AP essay was looking for. After months of continued practice and several essays I began to grasp the idea. The only ways to master these things are through practice. I think we can all agree on, the effort you put into the class was the effort you got out. Continue to prepare yourself for the future and English 101.
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