Dear First Year Writing Assessment Committee

In the article “Literacy Behind Bars”, author Malcolm X tells the story about how he taught himself to read and to write while being in prison. Malcolm X began his essay by saying people would have thought he “went to school far beyond the eighth grade.” Anytime X tried to read a book he had very little understanding of what he read because he couldn 't read most of the words.

I have acquired many literacy opportunities throughout my literacy life my parents, grandparents, and teachers ,I hold them very close to my heart because if it wasn’t for them pushing and encouraging me to read and write I wouldn’t be the literate person I am today. I bear a huge family so there are always many voices going through my head so it wasn’t long until I started speaking, as well as comprehending what all these strange words meant recognizing the words was very difficult before I started practicing them. My parents always encouraged me to read and write in a way no child can resist with toys and candy who could say no to that. Every chance they got to help me read they would read with me. I wasn’t forced to read on my own because I didn’t know how.

Can you remember what your teacher taught you back in kindergarten? Chances are she was introducing you to the basics of reading and writing. Literacy is the ability to read and write, and because I did not think I was very good at either of the two, it had never been my favorite thing to do. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I had an English class that I actually enjoyed. My teacher was Ms. Holly Eubanks. The past classes had boasted about how good of a teacher Ms. Eubanks was and how, even though she may take a while to grade your papers, she was always trying to help you improve in every possible way she could. On the first day

I can recall many people who have enriched my literacy development in some way or another throughout my life. The most influential literacy sponsors in my life include my mother, myself, my high school English teacher, and even my librarian. Even the authors Deborah Brandt, and Malcom X have supported my claim. The essay, “Sponsors of Literacy” was written by Deborah Brandt, who connected her writing with her sponsors. Malcom X’s essay, “Learning to Read”, reminded me of one of the most important things I know. These people, myself included, have made a crucial impact on the literacy information I have and will always need in order to succeed with literature and in life itself.

Literacy plays a huge role in many people’s lives everyday, whether it is learning how to read and write for the first time or writing a five-page essay for the hundredth time. We experience literacy differently and have our very own unique stories on how it has impacted our lives and had made us who we are today. It is an essential aspect that I use in my everyday life, such as in relationships, daily interactions with others, and learning. It has become such a powerful aspect and human right in which it allows one to speak his/her mind and in some cases express their opinion to the world. My personal literacy history has shaped me into who I am today because without my experiences I would not have been able to gain the confidence and

Before one ever starts attending school, their very first lesson is to become literate in the language they speak. From reading sentences to reading paragraphs to reading novels, we try to achieve literacy. However, some of the greatest public speakers and writers did not achieve it through the way most people did. This is shown in the literary works of Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, and Sherman Alexie. Like these people, literacy isn’t achieved by simply going to school. It’s achieved through great perseverance and through great tenacity.

Learning a new set of skills can be off putting and come with many difficult challenges. In the excerpt, “Learning to Read and Write “ by Frederick Douglass and “Learning to Read” by Malcolm X it discusses each mans challenges to be literate as black men in America. Though set almost half a century apart, hardships occur as both strive for greatness. Through their use of diction, details, and language each speaker differentiates themselves from each other and forms their own unique way of sharing their story.

Today, I read two articles which about the two author’s experiences of learning to read and write. One is Frederick Douglass Learning to Read and Write. Another is Malcolm X Literacy Behind Bars. These two articles inspire me to learn more knowledge at the same time, and these two authors set us an example of diligent study. After I compare with these two articles, I found that they both have a lot of similarities, but they still have some differences.

Fredrick Douglass and Malcolm X were African-American men that were raised in two different, racist time periods. Douglass wrote “Learning to Read and Write”; which is an excerpt from his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass (1845). Malcolm X wrote his autobiography in 1965 from which the excerpt “Learning to Read” comes. When comparing and contrasting these two works, it can be observed that each author harnessed a strong passion for furthering their literacy. However, similarities and differences can be seen in how they came to read and write, as well as the obstacles they each faced in gaining those skills. The insight that can be acquired in comparing these two excerpts is that each man, despite his unfortunate situation,

Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X both experienced teaching themselves how to read in similar ways. They both recognized in order to be free from their situation, you must be free in the mind. You see, once you accept your situation, then you become empowered. That hunger for literacy was as Frederick Douglass states; “In teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch and no precaution could prevent me from taking the ell.” Malcolm X states “I became increasingly frustrated at not being able to express what I wanted to convey in letters that I wrote.”

Literacy is the basic building block for the rest of an academic career and the lifetime that follows it. Research shows that kids who come from homes where reading was a priority, and they were read to by their parents, perform better academically throughout their lives. It starts at home, parents have to make their children read the book as well as see the films. Only 53 percent of children ages 3 to 5 are read to every day by a family member, though, and that number drops for families with incomes below the poverty line. If you look at History African Americans were not allowed to read for such a long period of time and it’s like now we’re getting the hang of it. Knowledge is power and reading is the beginning of it all. Society doesn’t want Black to be powerful or educated so they take it all away by sending Blacks to prison. It’s how they keep it all under control. Reading allows you to write your own future and is very

The power of literacy is not the ability to read and wright or to have good penmanship but rather than an individual’s capacity to combines those skills and express one’s thoughts and feelings and comprehend the same from others. An individual’s capacity of combining these skills and using them to trudge a course for his or her own life is where the power of literacy lies. In the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Mr. Auld warned Mrs. Auld that if you give a nigger an inch he would take an ell (Douglass 1845) and Fredric Douglass did just that. Literacy is the key that unlocks one’s ability to increase learning process. Fredrick Douglass is prof of this and should serve as an inspiration to others to learn how to read and wright and or to enhance their literary skills.

Deciding what University to attend, can often be a difficult decision. There are many factors to take into consideration. First being, how much time you want to spend in and out of the classroom. Second, the amount of money you want to spend on your education. And lastly, how accredited is the school of your choice. I came back to school as a working adult. I had little time, and financial responsibilities, so I knew a short term program was what I was looking for. At first, I thought an online university was my best route. As I began to analyze my choices, I quickly began to see that a completely online university might not be the best option.

This first semester at the University of Akron has flown by. I learned many new writing concepts that helped me become a better writer. English composition was a required class that I had to take in order to get my degree. Although this class was required I still wanted to take this class to become more knowledgeable about writing. Coming into English Composition I was worried about all of the papers and the workload that I would have to complete. I knew that I was going to have to write a lot more than I previously had in highschool, but I was unsure of just how much. The works that I decided to include in my portfolio comprise of my Literacy Narrative, Image Analysis Paper, and essay titled Mayas Hardships based on Maya’s experiences in I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. I selected these works because I felt that they are the ones that require the most improvement to them. The papers i've chosen show how far I’ve came In English Composition.

First year students are faced with various social challenges. One of these challenges will be attempting to manage a level of cultural and social diversity which may differ from what they are familiar with in their communities. First year students enter a new social realm as they begin their studies. They are forced to recreate their social world, as the meet new people and make new friends. A first year student will be faced with making his/her own decisions about drugs, sex, alcohol and other. Partying may cause problems as bad decisions may be made due to the use of drugs and/or alcohol.