My Sophomore Year Experience
this is my blog about my sophomore year at New Trier :))
HEY!!
8/19/15 - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!
8/25/15 - getting accustomed
So far:
- I like my teachers
- I have a great schedule
- I was able to switch my lunch to get into the same lunch period as my friends
- the homework level has been doable
- I have only been lost once!! (it turns out I was just 1 floor level below)
- I haven't gone up the D stairwell to the third floor and had to do the walk of shame down (knock on wood)
8/28/15 - spoke too soon :/
10/01/15 - Sorry I haven't posted in awhile!!
10/03/15 - homecoming!!!!
10/8/15 - The Catcher in the Rye
10/21/15 - New paper
11/04/15 - confused & overwhelmed
11/09/15 - 11/14/15 - The Triangle factory fire project show week
11/17/15 - just meh
11/26/16 - Happy Turkey DAy!!
12/01/16 - lord of the flies
12/14/15 - 12/16/15 - Finals ahhhhh
12/25/15 - Merry Christmas!!!
1/14/16 - $17 book!!!!
1/21/16 - math test back
2/08/16 - 2/13/16 - footloose show week!
2/16/16 - proud
One thing this year that I have been really trying to work hard on is my analysis. In years past, I had had a hard time understanding the purpose and what exactly was supposed to go into an analysis. But this year it all seemed to click for me. In my first body paragraph of this essay I wrote about how Wes' grandparents rules helped monitor his involvement in street life. I choose a quote describing Wes walking down the street showing his obliviousness to the drug life in his community. After that quote, I wrote, "Although Wes did not recognize it at the time, the rules put in place by his grandparents and enforced by his mother, were shielding him from the dangerous, outside world. They kept him innocent" (1-2). I later go on to say how these rules prevented him from falling into the life that many young boys his age fall into - the drug game. I think this analysis does a great job of explaining how the quote connects to my argument. An analysis should also tie back to the thesis, which I tried to do as well. This analysis was focused and developed so I think I achieved my goal for this paper.
Another one of my goals this year is to improve on writing conclusions. Unlike analysis, conclusions have NOT clicked with me. At all. I find them VERY difficult to write without completely repeating what you just wrote in the paragraphs above. Well for this paper, I WROTE A STRONG CONCLUSION!! Hoorraayy! Not only was it strong, but it was longer than my typical 4 weak sentences excuse for a conclusion. In this paragraph, I was able to do both of the following: 1. "revisit your thesis" and 2. "the so what" (revisit your hook). Normally, I either do not include both parts or I do add both but the whole time I am just re-wording the same sentence over and over and over again. I reconnected the conclusion to my hook by completing my anecdote about my brother's school experience. Overall, I am proud of this paper!! :)
2/20/16 - turnabout!!!!
3/1/16 - French Revolution Déjà vu
3/7/16 - Third quarter slump is real
4/04/16 - Too many tenses
4/22/16 - The last goodbye
One thing about the paper that I did like was my analysis. My first paragraph was about Sydney Carton and my first impressions of him - "a man with severely low self-esteem and confidence" (1). My quote describes Carton looking at himself in the mirror and disliking what he saw back. Following this, I stated, "Carton has little to no dignity in his own eyes, and no self-worth. As he sees his reflection staring back at him, he identifies that there is 'nothing in [him] to like.' His low confidence is shown through the way 'he muttered' his words, as if he was disgusted at what he saw back in the mirror" (1). Within each analysis for every body paragraph I try to incorporate words/phrases from my quote to help tie it all together. I think it also helps show the connection of the quote to my argument. I believe I have successfully learned how to write a strong, focused analysis that proves the connection of the quote and my thesis. :)
Remember when I wrote about how I was very proud of my strong conclusion for my The Other Wes Moore paper? (see day 2/16) Well unfortunately I CANNOT say the same for this paper... :( :/ I had written, "I find them VERY difficult to write without completely repeating what you just wrote in the paragraphs above... but it was longer than my typical 4 weak sentences excuse for a conclusion." This conclusion is a PERFECT example of what I was talking about. I wrote, "When put side by side to the compassionate Lucie Manette, readers see Carton as a selfless, self-respecting gentleman. The character's connection allows readers to see the truth behind Carton. ... Once readers discover the relationship between Lucie and Carton, they are able to see past their original glimpse" (3). Not only is this conclusion lame, but it is a summary of what I had just previously talked about in my essay!! I also failed to connect this back to my introduction where I talked about self-respect. I think this conclusion could have used a lot of work!! My goal of writing conclusions that include the big picture and connect back to my thesis will have to carry over to junior year...