Walking into my AP English class, one gloomy October afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised with a 100% written across the top of my essay. It was the first time I had ever received a perfect score on an essay. I was, undoubtedly, pleasantly surprised; however, inwardly, I knew how much effort I had to put in to excel in a language that used to be alien to me. As a Polish American, I grew up solely speaking Polish, not knowing a single word in English upon entering Kindergarten. This, consequently, qualified me for a spot in my elementary school’s ESL program, which was implemented into my class schedule. Only a seven year old at the time, I recall sitting amongst a small group of ten students, whose diverse ethnic backgrounds spanned three …show more content…
My papers were continually filled with red pen marks that circled blatant spelling errors or underlined incorrect verb tense usage, making for one mess of a paper. On the contrary, whenever I looked over to see my best friend’s paper it was unblemished, without a single red mark to be seen. Yet, instead of being dissatisfied with my poor performance, I became motivated to improve my writing through reading. As a youngster, I quickly discovered the Junie B. Jones series, and, before I knew it, I owned the entire twenty-eight book series. Barnes & Noble became my second home away from home, and, for Christmas, I remember receiving peculiar stares from my peers when I told them that a gift card to the bookstore was at the top of my list. Of course, at the time, I did not realize how beneficial this would be to improving my writing skills; I purely chose to read the series out of pleasure, delighted by Junie B.’s witty sense of humor. However, coupled with my continual ESL program, I gained the skills necessary to improve my English; by the end of third grade I was already on my way to a level Q reading level. Moreover, I successfully passed my ESL test, which meant that I no longer needed extra English support. Nevertheless, I still recognized the fact that not everyone passed the test; therefore, using my newly acquired skills, I helped another Hispanic student in my ESL group, who, like me, spoke no
They ask the DeLillos and the Updikes and the Styrons, but they don't ask popular novelists. Yet many of us proles also care about the language, in our humble way, and care passionately about the art and craft of telling stories on paper. What follows is an attempt to put down, briefly and simply, how I came to the craft, what I know about it now, and how it's done. It's about the day job; it's about the language. This book is dedicated to Amy Tan, who told me in a very simple and direct way that it was okay to write
Rhetorical Analysis of “Teaching Taco Bell Canon” “New studies show that children read for leisure less as they get older, with 45% of 17-year-olds saying that they read by choice only once or twice a year” (Time). The lack of interest for reading is unfortunately true. Moreover, it is causing students to spell and pronounce words incorrectly. In this highly descriptive article, “Teaching Taco Bell Canon”, James E. Courter recounts the hilarious misspellings that students wrote in their essays.
In the essay “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” (1981), Richard Rodriguez, an experienced writer, expressed that “…it is not possible to for a child – any child – ever to use his family’s language in school” and began expressing his past experiences with bilingualism (510). Rodriguez recollects his feelings toward the accents he has listened to throughout his childhood, his “disabling confusion” from gaining fluency in English and Spanish, and the intimacy passing between sounds and words (519). By implementing his personal experiences, he entices his reader into reading actively in order to express how confusing, yet beneficial bilingualism can be. Rodriguez’s audience is focused to those who can relate when using more than one language
Nnabugo Obichere #29 Mrs. Davis AP Language 1/A 10 October 2016 Classwork Essay Any reader would be able to tell at least one thing after reading this excerpt from Welty’s autobiography. That these memories clearly meant a lot to her.
I discovered my love for English throughout my Puente classes. It exposed me to my passion for writing and learning new things. An example of this was when we read “ Borderlands” by Gloria Anzladúa which deals with how we identify ourselves composed of poems and written text. Explaining her story of being a Chicana; someone who is Mexican American dealing with the differences of both cultures.
2004 AP English Language & Composition Free-Response Questions: Question 1 In the 1746 letter to his young son, Lord Chesterfield asserts to his son the importance of taking the full advantage of education in achieving excellence through the usage of various rhetorical features such as understatement, irony, and rhetorical questions. Throughout the first paragraph, Lord Chester repetitively uses understatements to establish a tone of sympathy. By acknowledging that parental advice is often“ascribed to the moroseness, the imperiousness, or the garrulity of old age” in lines 3 to 8, Chesterfield seeks to build an illusion of understanding with his son, setting the scene to present his assertions in disguise of friendly advice.
This chapter can help young writers in English class with their papers in many different ways. For instance, Trimble gives examples on what a veteran writer does in order to make their writing interesting. He also gives out techniques on how you can get a reader’s attention or how you can fix your writing to make it readable instead of having nonsense. What makes this difficult for me as a writer is that I write what ever comes to my mind and it will not make sense. Another thing that makes it difficult for me as a writer is that I am not good at getting the readers attention and having him hooked on to my work.
Most individuals are apprehensive about changes, but there may be no reason. Changes can bring benefits to those who experience them. In the essay “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” Richard Rodriguez explores his life as a bilingual child. He discusses the many changes he experiences as he goes from being fluent in Spanish to being fluent in English. Rodriguez dissuades the reader against bilingual education which is the education of nonnative English speakers in their native language.
In order to conduct the in depth college interview assignment, I decided to interview Lisbeth Luna, a 11th grade from Middle College High School at LaGuardia Community College Lizbeth Luna was born on Ecuador, she came to the United States with both of her parents and her brother when she was around four years old. Lisbeth, definitely describes herself as a Latino/Hispanic student. Lisbeth is eligible for free lunch, she actually stated that she believes everyone or the majority of students at her school are eligible for free lunch. Even though Lisbeth describes her first language to be Spanish, she stated that the majority of the time she finds herself speaking English with her friends and brother, expect with her parents. She attempts to talk in Spanish with her parents, but the majority of times she is always speaking English.
I deserve ninety points out of the three hundred and sixty points for our propaganda group project in AP Language and Composition. The amount of time and effort I put into the assignment was equivalent to my group members Graceyn, Dallas and Caitlin. There were six bullet points listing requirements on a handout saying what needed to be included in the final product. Each member of the group picked two requirements, and once a requirement had two occupants, it was no longer up for grabs. Therefore, the fraction of work I completed was the same as everyone else in my group.
English 1121 has helped me to become an enhanced reader and writer. I now have confidence in my writing and reading abilities. I never realized that I could become a good writer. A tremendous amount of effort was put forth into each of my papers and I asked questions whenever I was frazzled. I strived for success.
With nations becoming increasingly connected through mediums like the internet, the world has changed substantially within the last decade. It’s a time where Spanish songs such as Luis Fonsi’s Despacito can top the American music charts, where traveling to the other side of the world takes a few hours instead of weeks, and more importantly, where states like California and Utah are continuing to promote and provide for a growing demand for bilingual education through dual-immersion programs. Although the states have great strides in the right direction, bilingual education should not be encouraged but rather be required for K-12 students. Because bilingual education integrates languages into the student’s lifestyle through instruction, it enriches the lives of children, the adults they will become, and the community to which they will contribute to.
This week’s reading by Wyman, McCarty, and Nicholas was very interesting and brought back some memories when I was in elementary school. Growing up on the Navajo reservation, I was told by my grandparents and my parents to learn my language. I remember them telling me as a child that the youth are the ones who will keep the language and tradition alive so we must learn it. To this day, I remember the pressure of trying to learn my traditional language and learning English at school. I felt the pressure from not only my family but other members of the tribe.
Imagine a scene straight from Matilda, but even better because I looked like harry potter being so pale and having the same style of hair that sat on top of my eyebrows. That was the 6 up to 8 year old me that sat in the corner of the classroom that didn’t speak English fluently yet, but understood how to read from the big textbooks that were all based on insects, from there on reading changed and continued to change my life as I knew it. Going back to the earliest memories I have of reading and writing for me, it was Spanish that I learned first at the side of my mother that taught me all the vowels and rewarded me along the way as I made progress. As my Spanish kept improving on a daily basis, I continued getting better and better until
I’d be asked a question in Spanish and I’d have to answer in English, knowing this raised a mountain of questions. I wanted to call myself Latina, to finally take pride, but it felt like a lie. So I set out to learn the language that people assumed I already knew” (631). I can easily connect with Barrientos here because I also felt awkward not being able to speak the language my friends had been speaking. However, this was not a language you are taught when you are born, it is the language of the book you have read.