AP Language: How to Grow as a Writer

 “You can’t grow when you’re comfortable” – Dave Anderson, Becoming A Leader of Character

This year, I was challenged with the arduous task of going out of my comfort zone to explore my identity as a writer, reader, and analyzer. From developing personal style and constructing various tones to analyzing society and growing as a writer, many accomplishments have been attained this past semester. These feats, however, were not achieved alone; there were many experiences and magnificent people who have influenced me to aspire such goals. 

First of all, I would like to recognize the impact the piece Me Talk Pretty One Day (written by David Sedarsis) had on my growth this year. This writing was the first piece I read in this class that was digestible and simple, yet fascinating. At first, the piece seems like a humorous anecdote about one’s struggles with learning a new language, but hidden under all those jokes lies a powerful message. In order to decipher that message, I had to hone my analysis skills and this piece challenged me to do exactly that.

 

    Another similar piece I would like to extend my thanks to is The F Word, written by Firoozeh Dumas. After an overwhelming period of reading about heavy topics or deeply analyzing books whose topics do not interest me, this piece was like an escape to paradise. Reading pieces for analysis over enjoyment diminished my interest in reading, but this piece recovered that passion. Dumas presented a topic that I could personally relate to, giving me the ability to instinctively delve into deeper analysis without having to contemplate why I had to read yet another tedious piece assigned for English. 

I cannot forget to acknowledge the refinement of analytical skills that was fostered through my In-Class Essays. The skills that I nurtured throughout this class truly blossomed as I wrote these essays. I'm extremely grateful to the 6th ICE, a rhetorical analysis on a letter written by Abigail Adams to her son. In class, we had been focusing on hidden meanings, so in this letter I strived to find such components and did so with great success. In my essay, I had detailed how Adams implements veil threats and an indirectly imposing tone to slyly convey her expectations for her son. Such analysis along with a developed overall style earned me a 6 on the essay! Having been discouraged from my past essays, I was able to establish great motivation going forward. As such I would like to extend my sincere thanks to this essay for providing me with a sense of unwavering pride and a perfect culmination for rhetorical analysis. 

  I’d also like to extend my thanks to the 8th ICE in which I was able to develop my unique style and further my awareness of the prompt’s context. Such growth gave me confidence in my argumentative skills and was a great way to end our argumentative ICE phase. Overall my growth in writing would not have been possible without the practice and experience I gained from writing these essays. 

The techniques I learned from inspirational writers and from our essays, however, were best demonstrated in my creative writings. Out of the many works I had, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the Wallace-inspired piece which focused on analyzing a specific eating environment. This piece showcased my growth as both a reader and writer as I was successfully able to implement another writer’s style while also constructing a piece where I analyzed a common, seemingly irrelevant environment for larger meanings. 

I cannot begin expressing my gratitude for my blog posts, specifically the 1st one of the semester. With this blog post, I was able to compile and apply my skills from the past semester. With the aid of vivid diction and an inspiring tone, I created an engaging piece with an important, underlying purpose. 

I’m also deeply thankful to the blog post titled Colleges Want an Ideal Student, as this post provided me with an avenue to experiment with irony and developing sardonic, satirical tones. This piece also allowed me to vent while also completing a school assignment–two things that were both favorable! All in all, my success in writing would not have been possible without such blog posts as they allowed me to witness my peers’ and my own growth while enabling creative freedom through the entire process.

However, most of all, I am indebted to my class and my teacher for fostering a positive, engaging learning environment. By communicating with other writers, I was able to learn new insights and see various elements of the course material from a new perspective. Writing a partner essay also allowed me to expand my scope of knowledge as my partner, Sparsh, had many great ideas that I would not have thought of on my own. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to Mrs. Valentino for constantly i
mploring the class to strive for improvement and providing us with a plethora of literature and techniques to prepare us for future writing. 

As I’ve learned this year, challenging yourself invites a multitude of benefits. In the future, I will continue to learn from others’ ideas and conquer adversities as they come along. If there’s one thing this class has taught me, it is undoubtedly that you can only flourish when you are not competing against others, but rather with your past self.