Writing This Year

 

Cole Berggreen                                                                                         Block 4                       

Dr. deGravelles                                                                                        4-30-12

Writing This Year

This year, I have learned much from writing because we have written multiple papers in various categories. For example, we learned how to write a literacy narrative, a profile, a literary analysis, and a global issues paper. I feel that my writing has grown  through my experience in writing this year, however I still have much to learn. This year’s course has been much more demanding than last year’s, but it helped me improve my writing. Because it has been demanding, I have had help along the way.

One thing that helped me become a better writer is the feedback that I have received from Dr. deGravelles, as well as my fellow classmates. As I look at that feedback, I can see the improvements that have been made. My ideas are probably my strongest point in my papers because I have received either an A or a B in that grading category. If I were to develop my ideas, my writing would be much improved. On the contrary, my organization is my worst writing category, although it could be more effective if I were to organize my paragraphs in a way so the audience can easily understand the point I am trying to get across. This is my main problem with my organization, although I believe it has improved much as well because my grade in this category has improved.

Along with organization, I have developed my choice of transition words from a difficult aspect of writing to a much easier one, which has been reflected in my last two papers. Another category related to word choice is sentence fluency. As I look over my papers and the WRAP, I have noticed there is a little choppiness in my sentences and  transitional phrases. Sentence fluency is a key component to my success, so I hope to keep improving it.

The last category of writing that I will discuss is conventions. It has also given me trouble throughout my entire English career. I have noticed a few patterns in my convention mistakes. First of all, I tend to have trouble using possessive apostrophes. I especially have trouble with the word “it.” I do not know when to use the apostrophe when trying to express ownership, but also do not know when “it’s” means “it is.” I also have trouble with comma usage. I am not sure where and when it is appropriate to use a comma. Still, my use of conventions, just like all of the categories of writing, have greatly improved throughout the course of the year. My feedback has been very helpful in improving my writing.

I agree fully with all of the feedback that I have received. The way that I evaluate my papers has also changed. I look more closely at the sentences by themselves, rather than looking at the paragraphs as a whole, which has made my sentences more clear. 

I have a very obtainable, reasonable goal in mind. Now that I have read and responded to my feedback, my goal for my English career in the future is to write high quality, easy to understand, successful papers. I also want to write more emotionally, and connect to my writing topics more closely. Furthermore, I want to improve my conventions and word choice. This goal will help me become a better, more successful writer.

Common Errors List

1.) Comma splice - Literacy narrative. “But Hitler did not stop at the persecution of the Jews, he also killed many handicapped people, Gypsies, and Homosexuals.”

2.) Underlining titles - Literacy narrative “I read the book Night by Elie Wiesel.”

3.) apostrophe use - Profile “i can hear the tone of his patients.” Profile

4.) Quotations - Profile quotations not attached to sentence correctly

5.) Pronouns - Profile pronouns used to much, t got confusing

6.) Capitalization - Literacy analysis “Truman” Need to capitalize proper nouns

Outside reading

Catching Fire Suzanne Collins 150 mins

Catching Fire

          I have continued to read Catching Fire. I am getting very close to the end. After Katniss and Peeta made an alliance, they devised a plan to kill of the others. They were tricked, and their companions turned on them. The entire arena was blown to pieces, as Katniss was trying to survive. It is interesting to see all the survival skills That Katniss uses.

        I noticed a few key things as I read this book. First was the voice of Suzanne Collins. She has a dark tone in theses last couple of chapters. Also, the way that she characterizes Katniss, Peeta, and all the others is interesting. She characterizes them all as fierce, but striving toward a common goal. Lastly I notice the word choice that is used. The word choice in this book enhances the story, and makes it more exciting.

Catching Fire 100 mins
Poems 50 mins
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bandofhorses/thefuneral.html

"The Funeral" by Band of Horses

        I am analyzing "The Funeral by Band of Horses. I chose to analyze this song, because it has poetic meaning. It uses caesura, enjambment, image, and personification. My first literary devise I found was an enjambment.


Really too late to call,
So we wait for; morning to wake you
Is all we got
To know me as hardly golden
Is to know me all wrong, they warn.


            The enjambment contributes a few things to the song. The author uses this enjambment to make the reader look at the sentence alone. This line alone gives a sense of sadness and loss of hope, which is the main idea of this song. " Really too late to call," gives us this feeling, because if you can not do what needs to be done. 


            My second literary devise I found in this song is caesura.At every occasion, I'll be ready for the funeral" This caesura breaks the idea into two parts. It shows the importance of each as an individual. It adds meaning to "At every occasion" because it is seen by itself. It is important because it lets the reader know he will always be ready.


            The last two poetic devises I found are personification and image. Personification is used in the lines 
"To the outside: the dead leaves lay on the lawn For they don't have trees to hang their own." This personifies the leaves. By personifying the leaves, the reader can better understand how the writer wants us to see the leaves. Lastly I saw image. In the same lines, I could picture the smell of the lawn, and the look of the tree and leaves. This devise gives the reader and idea of what it would be like to be in the place being described. All these devises contribute different things to the poem, that makes them better.
 

"My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke

          "My Papa's Waltz" is about a drunken father, and the daughter not wanting him to leave her. This poem shows a few of the Literary terms we talked about. First, I notices the Imagery in the poem. In he fist line is says " The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy;" I could imagine the smell of the whiskey when I read this.

          Also, there is a use of a simile. In the third line a=of the second stanza, it says "I hung on like death:" This is saying she was hanging on to her father, and was holding tight, as death would hold on to someone. It also creates and Image in my mind. I can see a hooded figure in my ming when I read this. This line creates a sense of sadness and fear of the girl.

Also I noticed an enjambment in the poem. in the fourth stanza, second line, it says " With a palm caked hard by dirt," This makes the reader focus on that line alone, because it is important to the poem. Also in this poem, I did not notice any assonance or consonance, but I did notice rhyming throughout the poem. This poem uses those elements or poems to see the poem the way the poet sees it.

Catching Fire

          I continued reading Catching Fire, after I took a break from it. I was near the end when they were in the arena. They had a alliance with a couple others. Katiniss and Peeta try to ignore the fact that they have to ffigure out who will kill the other. Peeta tells Katniss that he will die, because she has a life to go back to, and he does not. She does not refuse this, but in her mind, she wants Peeta to live.

          As is read, I noticed a few key things that the author does. Suzanne Collins uses suspense to keep the reader reading. I could not put the book down. Second, she creates a very clear image in the readers mind, so it is easier to understand what is going on in the book. Lastly, I notice her use of characterization. She characterizes all the characters in their own special way, that makes them unique.

Catching Fire  140 mins
My Papas waltz 10 mins