AP Literature Class Reflection

Looking back at the amount of writing I’ve done for AP Literature, I can see growth in my understanding of poetry and of literature. There are skills and concepts that I need to focus on and refine as I continue on through the class, but I am confident in the abilities that I have picked up so far.

This English class was the best English class I have ever had. There were no tests, vocabulary quizzes, or in class essays, which made the class less stressful. Before this English class, I was afraid that I would not enjoy writing many essays or writing so many words in one paper. Afterwards, essays have become something that is not so much my favorite task in the world, but it has become more enjoyable to an extent. Professor Sullivan’s class has taught me to formally write a research paper, to analyze a book through responding to different quotes from the story or novel, to understand magical realism, and to understand my own passion for school and how much effort I will be willing to put out in years to come.

The five-minute warning bell goes off. I rush to my first class of my junior year, eager to see my classmates, who I was going to spend the rest of the 9 months with. I find myself stumbling into a classroom plastered with decorations of Denzel Washington with a Dr. Seuss book in his hand, a t and college flags galore. My AP English 11 class suddenly seemed so appealing to me. As a beautiful, curly haired short lady stood in front of me and said “Welcome to AP English 11,” I knew that I had found a treasure so much greater than just a pretty classroom. Little did I know, that short lady was going to inspire me throughout my challenge filled second-to-last year of high school.

The debate of what literature is or how it should be defined is an ongoing battle even today. Many have expressed that literature should be well-written, worthy of study, and also stand the test of time, despite most of this criteria catering towards classical literature written by wealthy white men, while others believe this is all too subjective to work fairly. I personally believe that literature is at least three of the following: An embodiment of the human experience, a reflection of cultural perspective, and the relationship between author and reader.

In an age where the printed novel has been somewhat on the decline, and the necessity of readable fiction has almost faded into obscurity. I believe that literature still harbours a crucial part within our society; from the very foundations of most theatrical adaptations, to preserving the culture and encapsulating the feelings of generations past. In this case literature cements itself as one of the most decisive elements of our civilisation, and combining it with history makes it become a testament to who we are as people, as well as the conservation of both our progression and degradation. I have always enjoyed reading literature, from reading J.R.R Tolkien’s classic ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy within my childhood, to perhaps more sophisticated,

After taking honors English for the past three school years, I now want the challenge of taking a higher level course: AP literature and composition. At this point in my high-school career, I’ve been able to take three advanced classes, and I want this class on my belt as well.

The grade that I think that I should receive for the first semester of AP Seminar is an A. I believe that I should get an A for multiple reasons, such as I complete all my work, I have always given my full effort throughout the class, and I work well in group scenarios. Throughout the first semester, I consistently finish my assignments. While we were doing the practice PT1 I had finished the individual research report and the drafts that went along with it on time. Additionally, I found and read research to help myself prepare for the socratic seminar. During the course of the class I have constantly completed my tasks to the best of my ability. The second day of school we were to prepare a short presentation about a picture. In the beginning

The reason that it took months for me to finally master the key writing skill was because of the personal hurdle of time management and procrastination. I had a ton of new commitments to work around, and a larger workload than ever before. For nearly every essay of my freshman year, I did not even start writing until the night before the due date. While I was still able to turn in acceptable writing, the main focus while I was writing ended up being getting words on the page so that I could go to sleep. Therefore, I really did not focus on improving my paper from past pieces. With the Of Mice and Men paper, I actually wrote a legitimate rough draft and was able to actually edit and expand my ideas rather than write a brand-new essay. I was finally able to focus on improving, and the time and effort yielded good results. I do regret my procrastination, for I could have come so much farther in my writing without it, but I am grateful that I was able to work through my time management issues now, rather than later. Procrastination will always be a constant battle, but as I keep fighting against it, my writing will continue to

Starting this class, I’ll be honest, I was afraid when I heard about AP Seminar. I didn’t really know how I got into the class because I know my writing isn’t as great as most kids in my class. AP Seminar involves a lot of hard work, and I felt as if my writing wasn’t good enough. Out of my 5 essays from last year, I only got one A. That one A didn’t make me feel smart though, and I didn’t understand why. Writing this now is difficult for me because I don’t know how to explain things in my own words. I heard a lot about how hard this class is and about the speeches. I can’t stand talking about speeches because that is my greatest fear. I still haven’t figured out my main writing strength, but what I do know is I am taking small steps into

After writing three papers for English 802, I feel like I have improved as a writer. I learned how to better develop an argument and to use relevant evidence from articles to strengthen my argument. I also learned how to find and use databases. I do feel I have to improve making a stronger thesis in general and to spend more time researching articles. I did not spend enough time researching and I do feel if I spent more time, I would have found better articles. I also had a tough time writing my introduction and conclusion paragraph with each of my papers. I did not know how to summarize my essay in a concise way, but with each paper, I do think I have improved. I do feel I am more of a confident writer. I learned to write out an outline before

Throughout my years of high school, I never had an effective English teacher. Every year I would get a new instructor, and though some did try, they just wouldn’t know how to run a high school class. As for the others, they simply did not care to teach the information we needed in order to succeed. Because I never felt that I truly had an English teacher who cared about my education, I began not to care about my own. I saw no point in trying if I could get an A while putting minimum effort into my studies. Walking into my junior year I had yet again a new teacher, but this time, it was different. At first, he was the scariest man I had ever met. This man was over six feet tall, weighing a minimum of 300 pounds, and for the longest time, I thought he was bald. For some reason, big bald men have always intimidated me, but later in the year I found out he just had a severely receding hairline.

I believe that my approach to writing has changed over the course of the semester. My confidence in my writing has grown, as well as my knowledge in sentence structure, grammar, and word choice. At the beginning of the year, I doubted my writing abilities, but at this point, I feel as though I can handle large, intricate papers. I did not expect my writing to change drastically, but I did expect the small, technical details in my papers to improve, and I think they did. Overall, I have grown about as much as I expected to as a writer, and it has been very beneficial.

Over the past few months, I have learned several different writing techniques. While all of the different types of papers were difficult to write, I believe that my writing skills have improved. In fact, I did not understand all of the assignments, but I did try to do my best on all of them. While I should have used more transitional words in between sentences and paragraphs, I feel that I learned a great deal. It is true that I have not had very much writing experience and the writing process is difficult for me. Sometimes, I do admit, it takes days to complete one assignment, but it will be worth it when I am a proficient writer.

Sitting in the classroom, I was irritated by the unbearably hot and humid air, and silently waiting for the essays we wrote to return to us. The teacher stood at the front of the classroom. She called my name, saying, “Your writing is good, but the story doesn't have enough depth.”

I've had the worst luck when it comes to English class. This was a recurring event, particularly in high school. Every year I would dread walking to my English because I already know that it would be horrible. The class itself wasn't horrible, it was just the teacher themselves. I was always shy and my teachers would never help motivate me to be a bit more interactive in class. In my opinion, the way you teach and the way you approach your student is very important because it has such a huge impact on the student's perspective for that material. So I wonder, will this impact my interaction forever or should I choose to not let this experience bother me?