Cheesy Way Of Saying "Thank You"

When I first decided to sign up for AP Language and Composition, I expected the class to be much more challenging than I actually found it to be. While I knew it was going to be hard, for some reason, I thought that I would have to write a full essay just about every night that would be due the next day. I learned by the school year that I was overreacting when I had that thought in my head. In reality, the class is definitely tough, but not too stressful. Any major assignments that we were given out were usually do about one week later at least. Of course, being the procrastinator I was, I had learned the hard way that waiting until the last minute to do an entire AP assignment is extremely tedious and stressful. However, procrastinating on these assignments taught me how important it is to manage my time and be more efficient. I learned that taking a little bit of time each day to work on an assignment made me feel more accomplished and I did not feel stressed when I did not know the answer to a question. That time management also came very useful on in-class essays as well. In the beginning of the year, I found it extremely difficult to finish an essay in about forty two minutes because I was so focused on how to word my essays. However, as the year went on, I learned how to get through my essays without the need to rush and finish up any final thoughts.

Time management was not the only thing I learned from AP English however, I also learned to improve execution in my essays. I learned that I did not have to start a sentence with “the author uses...” to analyze a passage of a reading, and I could embellish my essays by going more in-depth by explaining how the passages connected with the literary elements I used. AP English also taught me to be use more analysis, something that Ms. Fogarty would comment on in my essays. This was evident in some of my early essays, most specifically my Florence Kelley free-response question (FRQ), where my analysis was as shallow as a kiddie pool and my analysis was not as mature as an AP-level essay either.

As the school year went on, I realized how overly critical I am of myself. I would constantly chastise my own work because I felt as though my writing was sub-par. I felt as though my writing was not mature enough or my examples were vague. However, I learned to appreciate my writing and gain more confidence in myself. This was something I realized when I received my grade for my Thomas Paine argument FRQ, which was also when I think I truly started to grow in the class. Though this is going to sound cheesy, AP English taught me to be less critical of myself and have a more positive outlook in my work rather than just automatically assuming everything I write is bad. After receiving my grade for that essay, I started feeling more proud of my work, especially with my technology argument with sources essay, which I feel really truly showed the most growth compared to some of my first essays.

I definitely do not regret taking this class one bit, and I owe it all to my teacher, Ms. Fogarty for teaching me how to become a better writer. If it weren't for her help, I have no idea where my writing would be today. Though there were moments through the year where it seemed like it took forever to get my graded essays back, I learned a lot that will come in handy in my future college-leveled English classes, and quite possibly all of my other future classes as well. I now know how to make my point in an essay with deep and mature analysis involved.

 For anybody who is planning on taking the class, or maybe quite possibly on the fence, the class is worth your time. You will have plenty of time to finish all of the assignments, and as long as you put time and attention into your work, you will do fine. If you do not understand something, ask for help, because Ms. Fogarty will be happy to explain it to you if you are unsure. If you have a rocky start in the beginning of the year, do not get discouraged, it happens to the best of us, and as the year goes on, you will see improvements in your work. Of course, you are going to face challenges in this class, but what is life without a little challenge?