Personal Narrative: Advanced Sophomore English Class

So, I got lost in the middle of Silverwood in Idaho with my little cousin…

I have truly enjoyed writing for most of my life and after this class I will continue to enjoy writing hopefully with more skill. I have always viewed myself as a fairly strong writer and this class has reaffirmed that for me, but it has also shown weaknesses in my writing. As an introduction level class this has been one of my favorites; at some point I will take a higher level, even though it is not required for my major. Even though this class is almost over I am continuing to learn. I also love that this class will help me with literally ever other class in my college career. I am not a particularly strong reader, but as my writing skills improve so do the reading skills. While in this class I have learned a lot about everything from what I can improve, to subjects that interest me, and constructing a successful paper.

The journey that has brought me to this class has been dependent on my academic drive. I am currently a dual enrollment student and this class is one of many steps along the path to receiving an AA degree. I am taking advantage of the opportunities that dual enrollment offers and furthering my understanding of literature with this course.

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.

Last year, in October during the cheerleader’s concert, that my mom and dad were singing at, I asked, “Do you want to dance?” My mom said, “yes”. Walking out to dance, she fell and accidently tripped me and landed on my ankle. It felt as if someone was breaking my leg in half. It got really numb where I couldn’t feel it, but I still knew I was in some pain. Picking me up off the ground, my mom sat me on the bleachers. Everyone came over there and it was really embarrassing. My dad carried me to the car and we drove to the dollar store to buy me an icepack to put on it.

When I first started thinking about college schools I never thought about going to MSU or Ole Miss. I wanted to go to the bigger universities, but I knew I wouldn’t do well if I went there my first year. My high school did not prepare me enough for University, and I hadn’t decided on a major either. I choose East Central Community College (ECCC) as the school I would go to for many reasons, and when I got here I knew I made the right choice.

To start off, I would like to say that I am interesting in taking AP English Literature and Composition for a variety of reasons. I believe it would be a great class to get me ready for collage, which would be the main reason. I love to read and I want to become better at analyzing my reading and learn strategies to get better at that skill. I want to continue to grow in the areas of analyzing literature and to transcend in that area of expertise. Also, not to mention, it would look good on collage applications. Lastly, I know that there is a lot of reading in the class and I want to explore more novels and read more of the olden classics.

Going into ENG 102 I aim to challenge myself as a writer and an online learner. Having never taken an online class at Stout before, I look forward to this new experience. By taking ENG 102 online I would like to improve my time management skills, by having the freedom to take ENG 102 while I also take a speech class this semester is important to me. While I enjoy writing, my greatest weaknesses are spelling and grammar. By improving my weaknesses, I plan to develop a more professional writing style, along with expending my vocabulary. Throughout high school, I greatly enjoyed reading, and discussions, that come along with analyzing literary works. Two of my favorite authors are Donna Tratt and Willa Cather, I look forward to learning with

From day one I knew I would face some challenges with this class just bases off of past experiences with English classes overall. Not being a native speaker and having dyslexia have been two big hurdles but I can say this class has made me over all a more knowledgeable writer. Each assignment given was something different and something interesting. The one that left the biggest impact on me was the Sister Flowers story by Maya Angelou. I’ve always been a fan of her work and the fact that I got to read something by her in my English class was amazing. Most of the classes I’ve attended have been very euro centric barely deviating from that path but here there was plenty of variety from the racial backgrounds of the authors to the topics themselves. My strengths as a writer have always been in the passion I can channel into my writing. That skill really came to birth as a way to balance out my lack of proper grammar with sheer emotional impact. An example of this I believe was in my essay entitled Glossy “I felt the rage tinged with fear claw at my stomach and wrap around my neck constricting my breathing.” Although my English may not be the best I’ve found ways to convey certain emotions. Although I have some strengths naturally I have weaknesses as well.

During these past three weeks I have realized that college is going to be very challenging, it is not what I expected it to be like. This class has helped with my reading and writing experience and has contributed to my understanding of expectations for college and goals for my future. It has helped me with preparing and planning my work ahead of time. Dr. Sariscany has helped me with becoming a better writer and helped me prepare for college level work. She has showed me that college is not going to be easy and we should get used to it and put in all our effort and time into everything we turn in.

I believe I have grown a lot since the beginning of this course. My writing was severely lacking grammar and punctuation. I didn’t use any punctuation other than periods and very few commas spersed throughout my papers. My papers still need help in that area, but I have improved. I now know where they need to go and when it’s appropriate to use them. My papers aren’t exactly flawless but they are better than before. I would write how I speak at times and I knew it wasn’t right, but I would still do it because it allowed my papers to flow better in my mind. I read my papers out loud to help avoid my problem with writing how I speak. I’ve learned my writing style in this course, or lack thereof. I found a program that would benefit me now and

I have learned a lot in just 16 short weeks. I have learned how to organize my thoughts on paper, even when I have a fear of a writing assignment. I learned about pre-writing, outlining, rough draft, and finals. In each of these steps, I have learned to depend on each of them. They also help me find out what I need to do next. I always try to reflect on what I have written, even if it may be terrible. I use every bit of information I have to make sure I keep my thoughts in order. My strengths have increased as a writer. I love to write, and I know what to write about when given a topic. I feel strongly capable of writing more assignments, and essays in the future, especially in my Composition 2 class next semester. Having 2 English classes this semester really helped me with being able to

I can still remember my heart pounding out of my chest. It was my first time in Writing 1, and my nerves were mostly the result of a friend’s advice. Winter quarter, my friend told me about her struggles in her writing class and she advised me not to take Professor Bernstein for Writing because as she said “he is really tough and a very hard grader.” However, I had no other option but to take writing with Professor Bernstein because all the other writing 1 classes conflicted with my schedule. Nevertheless, nine weeks have past since I first stepped foot in Writing 1, and I can certainly say that I have learned more than I ever expected. Yes, it is true, this class has been a challenge like no other, especially for me, being that English is

An Advanced Placement course is an introductory college level course for willing and able students. This course will engage students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. This senior level advanced placement class will provide challenges typical of an undergraduate university English literature/humanities course. This course is designed to comply with the curricular requirements described in the AP English Course Description.

“Hey boys! Let’s go pick up trash around the park!” During dog walks around our local park, my family and I had noticed an accumulating amount of trash scattered around the park, making it look like “No Man’s Land”. Cigarette butts littered the ground like bullet cartridges and broken bottles were strategically arranged like barbed wire. My dad thought we had a responsibility to help our neighborhood, so he drafted my brother and me to pick up trash, yet the responses he heard were not from patriotic soldiers but from ungrateful eighth graders: