I began all the my paper by first creating an outline based solely around my opinions, then as I continued my writing process I added in literary criticism and evidence from the book. On all my papers I want them to be of literary merit and of higher structure but I still want my personality to shine through. Throughout each paper I kept a step by step process, begin with an outline in word, then create a draft on a different shit, and then I began making my final draft. My whole English project was placed in one folder within my Google docs and then moved them into my blog, though I tend to have a hard time writing a paper just with a pen/pencil and paper, words come better when I am typing them. Throughout the project I believe I did well, while of course I know I could of done better. Projects have never been my strong suit and it's been difficult for me to channel all of my opinions, that has really been a struggle of mine all year long. Thesis sentences of mine have never held much complexity even within this project I struggled with the complexity of my own writing. I enjoyed how my classmates like Ashley, Kara, Grace, and Austin were able to bring all of their complexity into simple sentences that brought all of their papers and projects as a whole together.
I thought all the presentation were amazing but I felt like I could of used a lot of what my classmates thought of to reinforce the topics. My project held a video though I felt like I could of used a better one to portray the topic of forgiveness. I enjoyed Kelly Wo’s videos because it made me laugh and truly attracted me to the rest of her presentation. The papers I wrote were well but as I revised papers of my classmates around me I noticed how I could of added much more description from not just my book but also the literary criticisms that I based my papers off of. My powerpoint was strong and held a lot of things that I enjoyed. Talking in front of others is something that I don’t truly enjoy, it simply kicks my anxiety into overdrive but I enjoy being able to create a powerpoint to convey my thoughts. The use of colors and fonts are something I enjoy using to put emphasis on the thoughts and feelings that I am trying to portray to my audience.
If I could redo this project I would change many little things throughout the context of my writing and presentation. After looking at my classmates I wish that I would of added much more complexity to my writing thus helping my classmates taking the exam with furthering the description within their thesis sentences. The AP Exam is something that I was very nervous about so I did not sign up to take it. I feel as though that if I were to take English in college I can further my education and become better and much more confident with my writing that I currently do not feel. As the date gets closer I am happy with the decision I made because I feel like my writing throughout the presentation is yet to be at the level it should be. I wish that all my papers would of been better within the complexity context, as well as, organized with all of the criticisms and quotes needed within the text to get all of the information I wanted to convey throughout.
Blog Reflections for classmates:
Madison
Throughout Madison’s presentation I was engaged and truly focused on everything she was saying. I loved her comparisons throughout her presentation I have learned that I understand material better when I can compare it to something outside of regular literature. The comparisons she used with Gossip Girl to show gluttony and her WWII reference all helped me understand Fitzgerald's writing. The way that she sees Fitzgerald opened my eyes to a new opinion of his writing style, something I had not originally seen, such as how he views the room around him through a biased lens or how he favors fortune and decadence throughout about all of his writing. As she was engaging and helped me understand the overall concept of writing, all of her thesis were concise and held lots of complexity, though my favorite was her research thesis. It truly helped me understand the writing style that is throughout Fitzgerald's books.
Melissa Phillips
http://phillipsmelissaapenglish2015.blogspot.com/
The big brother concept was nicely shown throughout her presentation but her use of all the little concepts was perfect to reinforce the way Orwell writes. Both her passage and poem heavily reflect the concept that Melissa was trying to convey to all of us. She was one of the few people that played the concept of food with the rest of the presentation, though I think she did the best job. The cupcakes that she brought in helped the rest of us understand the idea behind the book she had read. Monster faces with big eyes seeming to watch you, farther helped me connect with all of her writing throughout the thesis in her presentations. Throughout the cupcakes are shown in everyone of her pieces and that helped me lock it into my memory so I can use it again at a different time.
Grace Huang
Lolita was an interesting book to her about but was really surprised me was the way that Grace was able to tie her poem into the rest of the book. Her book is really about her stepfather and his obsession with her, and throughout the poem the same action occurs. Both men are focused around the idea of the young girl's innocence, which for many would be a hard topic to focus on. Lolita is a book that is heavily criticized and so is this poem. To understand the poem she uses a book we had previously read Hamlet, which I really did enjoy. The poem as a whole confused me in the beginning but with that comparison I was finally able to connect the two with each other.
Austin Woodruff
I have always admired Austin’s ability to focus on the literary context and create thesis on the complexity of all the things around the writing. He has shown me how to truly create a complex thesis. Throughout he not only focused on the context of the writing but still played in the writing style from the Author themselves. He has truly prepared me the best for future writing and that is something I have always struggled with. He not just engages a reader but he addresses all the topics and makes them flow with a subtle cohesiveness that is interesting and responsive. Overall he did an amazing job throughout this process that was hard for most of our class to accomplish.
Ashley Kramer
Ashley is very focused on her believes and is able to find them in everything around her, in this case she found them within the book the Color Purple. All year long she has included them throughout her writing and I find that very admirable. She is able to bring it all together and find her passions in everything she does. It truly was within all of the writing that was within her text and that is something I really enjoyed. Her use of the complexity within her book back the author without any real need to go into much detail. But what made the presentation so good was the fact that she did go into detail and explain the things that the class any know but not fully understand. 