Semester Wrap-Up

1) “Most Beautiful Work Award” - Which piece of writing (formal or informal) are you most proud of and why? What other skill or habit have you developed (maybe as a reader?) that you are proud of?

I take the most pride in the Snapshot Narrative. The assignment really pushed me to paint a picture with my writing, which is a fairly unique approach. I put a lot of effort into, changed everything several times, and eventually came out with a good piece of writing.

2) “Lesson Learned” - What content do you feel you have mastered? Or, which skill(s) did you enjoy learning and feel that you have had some success in developing? How so?

Even though I only had one presentation in this class, I feel like my presentation skills improved. Presenting in front of a large group has been troubling for me in past years, but I felt confident and prepared for my inquiry presentation.

3) “Lessons I’d Like to Learn” - Which skills would you like to develop before graduation? What content do you feel that you need to know in order to feel ready for college? Do you have any project ideas?

Maybe study literary devices more. Also, we should have some essay workshops to help prepare us for college essays. I don't have any specific project ideas yet, but anything that improves my writing and reading skills will be good.

Inquiry Project

The inquiry project has confirmed one belief I hold. Nothing in this world is standard. The three books I chose to read for this project, Catch-22, Time's Arrow, and Slaughterhouse V, all deal with the concept of non-linear narrative. This means time is reversed, flipped around, or rearranged. The thesis of my essays on these books has been that time should be accepted the way it is, and not twisted. However, I'm starting to think Slaughterhouse V is an exception. The story follows Billy Pilgrim, a decorated war veteran, alien hostage, and successful businessman. He has become "unstuck in time," meaning he can rearrange it however he pleases. This is the manner in which the story is told. It seems that it's not a bad thing in this plot. He has control. It's not like I've anticipated in other books. In those and in real life, time is either forwards, backwards, or random. Slaughterhouse V is proving that it may be confusing, but treating time as a manipulable fourth dimension isn't so bad. I haven't reached the end, but this seems like a good conclusion thus far. I wonder how I'm going to present what I've learned.