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The House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros

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A blank page. All writing begins with a white sheet of unnamed possibilities. And yet with skills, knowledge, and ideas, a blank page can morph into something magical. Shakespeare did not simply stumble upon Romeo and Juliet. Instead, he had to use his heart, mind, and pen to produce his masterpieces. Throughout freshman English class, we have been developing the skills to fill that daunting blank page with meaningful words. Moreover, students have been exposed to esteemed authors and asked to synthesize their thoughts in individual writing assignments. Consequently, I have learned a variety of important and life-changing skills that have sculpted my English knowledge throughout my time as an English 9/10 student.
However, while Shakespeare …show more content…

We were asked to write an essay that utilized literary elements to support a central idea of the text. However, while completing this assignment, I reflected on the major strides in writing I had made since the beginning of the year. In the first body paragraph of the first writing assignment of the year I use three lengthy quotes in addition to convoluted sentences such as, “Even though Jem had disobeyed Atticus, Atticus understood that what Jem did was mature and thought-out, and Atticus respected Jem’s actions.” Conversely, in the final task for The House on Mango Street, I was able to demonstrate control in my writing. I had learned to reduce the wordiness of my writing and also that complex ideas stated in simplest terms were the most enjoyable for the reader. When explaining a quote by Mamacita, I was able to be brief but poignant showing great improvement since the first essay. Within the writing assignment, I explain that Mamacita’s lack of ability to express herself is “... represented by the metaphor of the skinny thread in the form of Spanish that acts as her only road to ‘that country.’ However that thread is being torn by ‘the man’ and his belief that English is Mamacita’s present and future while Spanish is her past.” I was able to express the complex idea of the Spanish language being a part of Mamacita and not just a language, using a minimal amount of …show more content…

With the guidance of Mrs. Smythe, my peers, and my parents, as well as my own determination, I have gained much better control over the English language. However, I also learned something about myself as a person throughout my time in English 9/10. I used to let fear control me in English, which would translate to other parts of my life. Throughout my seventh and eighth grade years of Middle School, I would sit in silence for entire class periods, afraid to begin my essays, afraid to have to accept that it may not be as good as my other school work, afraid of what others would think. However, I learned this year that people like my mother and grandmother were not disappointed in my work but instead would suggest ways by which I could improve my writing. Additionally Mrs. Smythe constantly helped through the feedback she provided. Even when I received my first essay back, one that was clearly not to the best of my ability, she gave balanced feedback between ways to improve my writing while also providing supporting for future assignments. “It is not necessary to convert an entire scene, just the moments that are important. The inclusion of text in the last body paragraph is most appropriate, although there is still a bit too much of it. Good effort...” Even if I forget who said what in Romeo and Juliet, or the name of the main character in The Book of Lost Things,

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