When I started this class I was afraid that I would not be ready for the work and the time it took to be in this class. I was wrong, I was ready and I completed the class and test with confidence. During this school year I learned a lot about my writing strengths and weaknesses. I learned that I need help on making my essay’s exhibit a mature prose style. I learned I needed more analysis for quotes and to make my thesis statements more central in argument essays. Performing these methods in every essay was quite a challenge, but I managed to do it.
My journey as a reader was similar to that of my writing. I learned that procrastination is the pitfall to be avoided during the reading assignments. The literary books this school year was different from that of my past classes. These books were more challenging and took more time than in the past. Reading these literary books helped me to get rid of my habit of procrastination. Waiting until the last minute to read one of the books assigned put a lot more stress on one and sometimes did not get finished. But reading these books helped to expose me to the different genres of literature and different interpretations on certain issues.
I can apply the skills I learned this year for future classes and courses. Now I know how and what to put forth in any essay and how to approach it.
It can be seen in my writing samples that I have grown as a writer since 1st quarter. I would say practice helped me to make my essays better. Learning from my mistakes and using it to put in my newest essay helped to improve my score. Essays from 1st quarter revealed my writing skills from 10th grade, but as I received criticism and examples of how my essays should be, my scores increased as did my knowledge on certain issues. Changing from a high school English course to a college English course took adjustment and hard work.
Ms.Fograty’s instruction this year was different from my past English teachers because hers was more in depth and critical. Ms.Fograty is one of the best English teacher I have ever had; she helped me to grow as a reader and writer this school year and also help me prepare for future courses. The assignments were not hard, they just it took more time than past assignments. I learned that during this class you shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions on what you don’t understand. I feel like I am 80% ready for more college courses because I believe that this class prepared for what frture college english corses are going to be like.
To any future AP Language students who like to procrastinate, don’t. This course is only difficult if you make it. You have to do all work and make deadlines. Procrastinating is only going to set you back and make this course dreadful and hard. Trust me I know. Procrastination is like my middle name but as I look back it could’ve been better if I didn’t procrastinate. Also don’t be afraid to ask questions, its only going to help you for the future and pay attention. This class goes by fast before you know it is time for the AP exam, so pay attention.
Takiah I like your reflection letter and how you told us about your experience in the class and I would like to say that I had a similar experience, of course it was not the same exact experience, but I can comprehend you. I too was a little afraid to take an AP class because it was going to be my first year taking such a course. I did not know if I was qualified to take this class, however as the year progressed I started to gain more confidence in myself and in my work. I agree with you procrastinating is a bad thing and if you do it, it will make the class hard. One has to learn how to manage their time so they will not suffer and I know this because of personal experience. Whenever I procrastinated I would have to stay up really late just to finish my work and would usually do a poor job on it. However as the year progressed I learned to manage my time better and made schedules so I could finish my work before it was due. I admire you because you were not afraid to ask questions if you did not understand something.
ReplyDeleteHi, Takiah, it’s funny we share similar opinions about this AP English class. Initially coming into this class I had a very low self-esteem too, which I further explain in my reflection essay. I did not know what to expect and assumed everyone in my class was a step ahead of me, but really we stood on similar grounds. In the beginning, this made me hesitant to hand in work because I was constantly comparing my work to my peers. I was so worried about being perfect and actually held myself back much too far then I could handle. This is a great example of how much procrastination can set a student back, which you also stated in your reflection essay. If it were not for my hesitancy and procrastinating characteristics I believe I would have been better off in this class, but what I can do now is take my mistakes and weaknesses from this year to improve and do better in the AP classes I aspire to take in the future. That’s why I titled my writing “Shoot for the Stars”. I don’t think anyone, for one second, should limit themselves educationally or academically. Even If you do not do as well in the class as you would have hoped, it is a great learning experience you do not want to miss out on. Nice job Takiah!
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