Through out my year in AP English
my writings have made a tremendous change from the beginning of the year, till
now. I came into this class not knowing what the expectations were for an AP English
class. As I continued in the class my understanding for what was needed became
clearer. My essay scores first started low and gradually started getting higher.
My Information Technologies essay and Thomas Paine Argument essay were two
essays that show growth from the 1st quarter.
My
Information Technologies essay and my Thomas Paine Argument are two essays from
the middle of the year that showed improvement from quarter 1. My Florence
Kelly essay from the beginning of the year compared to the two from the middle
of the year gives great evidence. In my Florence Kelly essay my thoughts are
not as complete as they should be. I did not give dept enough examples to back
up my point. As the year went on I began to expand more through those areas. I
learned hat you can receive a higher mark if you elaborate on the point you are
trying to get across and expand on your train of thought. It is also good to
expand on your vocabulary. If you include all this and more in your essays, you
should be excelling in the class.
Throughout
the year many, a lot of what Ms. Fogarty was doing worked for me but some did
not. We would receive vocabulary quiz a few times a month that helped to build
our vocabulary. If you studied for these test, it was an easy grade to increase
your over all average. Out of class essays that were assigned also worked for
me more then in class essays. I was able to take my time and expand my thought
more while writing out of class essays. With the pressure of a time limit it
was not always easy to develop all that you have to say. When you have more
time it is easier to get it done. I also enjoyed the ten minutes writing
sessions where we had to keep writing with out stopping. That exercise helped
the brain to keep thinking even though you were not sure what else too write.
I
feel as though this course did prepare me for my college classes. Before taking
this class I was not sure what to expect going in to this class, but now I am
more aware of what college classes will be like. I advice other students to
manage their time well while writing out or in class essays. Also it will be
better if students practice writing in class essays more so they get
comfortable with the time limit.
Taking
this class really prepared me for what college classes will be like and I know
now what to expect. I am going to use all of the skills I learned from this
year in my future classes.
I just wanted to start off by saying I love your title. Anyway I know how you feel, starting this class off on not knowing what to except. I was somewhat afraid that I was not cut out for this type of class, which brought my self confidence way down. But as time went on it wasn’t as bad as I thought or imagined it was just a lot of work. I can relate to how the vocabulary quizzes brought our grades’ up. One may think that the vocabulary quizzes were easy grade boosts but they were actually beneficial to our learning. Those quizzes brought my grade up while also expanding me different words, some I used for my SAT essay. I never really got used to the time allowed for each essay either. It was like I never had enough time to say everything or respond accordingly. But the 10 minute exercises also helped me to work with the time for the AP essay’s. As you stated the 10 minute exercises were useful in helping us write without stopping no matter if you went off topic. These 10 minute exercise helped to build my confidence for the test.
ReplyDeleteDear Tessa,
ReplyDeleteI can completely agree with Tessa! I had no idea of what to expect from this AP English as well. I wish I could say the same about my writing scores gradually getting higher but they seemed to cut off and level after the second quarter. I am glad to hear that you where able to improve your scores! I too did see drastic changes from my first essay compared to my later essays. One thing that I showed major improvement in was my vocabulary, and this was evident within my writing and speech, in and out of class. As I said in my reflection, I feel as if Ms. Fogarty did all the work and I just wrote what she told me to. In other words I agree with you Tessa I feel that almost all the things that Ms. Fogarty did to improve our sagacity along with reading/ writing ability worked. Knowing that this was a college course, I feel as if I am prepared for more college courses, but I do not know what to expect. Practice makes perfect, as long as you focus hard listen to directions, and put you mind to what you are working on, you can make it possible. Good reflection Tessa and good luck to you for next year. :)