Ap English Reflection

1. Of all of the works that we have read and studied this year, which has been your favorite and why?*

Of all the works that we have read, I had two favorite books; Things Fall Apart and The Awakening. The most basic reason to why I liked these the most was because I enjoyed reading them. Things Fall Apart I loved because it was so unique. I read this book thrice and that too extremely quickly. And each time I read it I loved it more. The way it was written was easy to understand, the language was easy, and the message was clear. I have never read any other book like Things Fall Apart and maybe that's why I loved it more. Also, I was really intrigued by the Igbo society as well as the proverbs. In many ways it made me reflect on my own society. The whole idea of things falling apart being inevitable just intrigued me even more. Also by doing the dialectical journal while reading the book helped me enjoy the book more. It made me analyze each and every saying, each and every scene so profoundly that I enjoyed it. My favorite thing about the book was how it showed the truth: it wasn't biased or exaggerated. The Awakening was my favorite too. I probably enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed Things Fall Apart. However, I enjoyed The Awakening for a completely different reason. It was the one book that I could relate to easily. Kate Chopain truly showed what almost every woman feels at one point in her life or the other. The message of that entire novel touched my heart and it made me realize the horrible truth of our society.


2. Of all of the works that we have read and studied this year, which has been your least favorite and why?

My least favorite book was The Heart of Darkness by James Conrad. The only reason I understood the book was because we discussed it in class. When I read it I did not understand it that thoroughly. I liked the whole message of everyone having a "darkness" in them but I thought Conrad neglected the natives which I did not like as well. Other than that the writing was to dense, which I did not like at all. It was too vague and confusing altogether for me.
3. As a reader, what have you learned from AP English this year? What do you still need to work on?

The one main thing I've learned as a reader from Ap English this year is the fact that while reading keep asking questions through-out the entire book. Keep analyzing. Keep annotating. The author of book writes every thing for a reason. Thus every line has a purpose and as a reader its our job to understand the purpose. Secondly, I learnt as a reader you can have your own view about the book as long as you have explanations to back it up. Because every book can be interpreted in various ways, it’s just how you prove it that matters.

The one thing that I need to work on as a reader is to know more vocabulary words. It might be something very minor but it is the one thing that has always bothered me as a reader. It’s hard to keep looking in the dictionary for a word you don't understand. If I master that then I'm sure I'll be able to understand more books easily.

4. As a writer, what have you learned from AP English this year? What do you still need to work on?

As a writer the one thing that I've learned is "less is sometimes more". I've always had a habit of writing too much and sometimes that makes my writing confusing. Also I learnt how to make my long essays short and how to organize the body. Also, I learned the MLA format completely which is a good thing because that's what we use in college. I had already learnt how to do the bibliography in Grade 10 but I never knew that the title can't be underlined or the title is the same font or that you have to put your last name and page number as the right side header. These things might be minor but half of writing as we have learned is having the MLA format perfectly.

The two things I need to work on, which I have been told time after time are repetion and language. I have a tendency of repeating what I write a lot but I personally think with all the writing we have done I have been able to limit that because its in my mind too look out repetition. The one thing that I'm still confused about is how to fix my language. I've never really gotten proper feedback on what exactly I do wrong. Maybe my flow of ideas are presented in an incorrect manner. But as they say practice makes perfect.

5. As a student, what have you learned from AP English this year? What do you still need to work on? (Here, you can think about such things as academic discipline, participation in class, working together as part of a group, making presentations, etc.)

The one thing I have learned is that being in class is the MOST important thing and being in class does not mean that to just sit there, it means to participate with the whole class. That was not the only thing that I learned, due to AP English I have realized the importance of handing everything on time, after being in class that is probably the most important thing. while I believe that compared to my previous experiences in different classes I have felt a difference in the amount I myself participate in the AP English class, but I know that I can participate even more and that is something that I will work on, not only participate alone but also within a group made in the class, to try to take the whole group together.

6. Technology has been a major part of AP English this year. How do you think that your computer skills have grown and developed as a result? What would you still like to learn more about?

Technology never thought that it would actually play a part in AP English, but I have been so surprised in such a nice way to see how much we have benefitted from this. Using online Blogs was a really good idea, it was a way to interact with each other about all the material that we had been reading and it was a pleasure to see how everyone was taking a part in this, another thing where technology played an important role was in the Google docs and the Google mail, recommended by our teacher, we saw how Google mail has gone ahead of hotmail In regard to the features it offers to its users. I have actually started to use google docs as well. Another thing is that the college I am going to requires me to use a laptop only, so by using techonology this year, it has helped me expand my knowledge and skills that I could use in my college year. I really havent explored the “digo” account because we hardly read books online but I really would like to start using that in my daily life because I think sooner or later all books will be read online.

7. What lessons from AP English will you carry forward into the next stage of your academic journey?

Well Ap English has been a hectic course. But it teaches what college level courses actually mean. So more than anything it showed me what I wil encounter in college. I am glad that I actually took this course because I got used to Ap Courses actually work. Here are a few things that I feel that I am going to take forward into my college life and probably after that as well; Always’s be in class. Attending classes is half the job. Secondly, plagiarism is definitely out of the question. Thirdly, a 50 is better than a 0 so turn in your assignments. Never be late in handing in your assignments. Also, participating in class goes a long way in making an impression on your teacher. Discussion leads to profound thinking, so discuss away. Every word means something or the other so anaylze it. Laslty, enjoy every moment of class, it’ll help your work as well.