Dylan's English Blog

 Prompt Response: Clustering helped me generate ideas because it helped me connect big ideas to more ideas that connect together. Clustering really helped me bring all my thoughts together and connect ideas very well. I think the most useful part of clustering for me is the part where you add tinier ideas together in front of the main ideas. I would use the strategy of clustering for my AP Lang essay because it will help me bring together my thoughts for the topic being presented and answer the essay accordingly. Summary: Today in class, we took notes on the first of three main points for brainstorming being clustering. We took notes on clustering and did some practice examples as a class. Reflection: This helped me with brainstorming my ideas and keeping my thoughts together to answer a question. This will help me with the AP Lang essay(s) that I will be taking in May of this school year.

 Prompt Response: Looking back at my AP Language argument essay, I have a lot to smile about, but I feel a little on edge about a couple of parts of it. I think I did very well on my claim and most of my evidence. I feel like I have a very strong and concise claim that clearly states my position and provides reasoning. I also think I did great on my two pieces of evidence; I feel I had lots of good reasoning and evidence to support my claim. However, I feel I could have refined it by avoiding extra thoughts. The most challenging part of my essay that I will do differently on my next argument essay is my conclusion and my time management. I spent so much time perfecting a part of my argumentative essay, and my conclusion lacked reasoning and support. Summary: Wednesday in class, we started off the class period with brainstorming our thoughts for our argumentative essay we had to type in class. Then we typed up our AP Language argumentative essay, including our claim, evidence, and t...

Prompt Response: A time that I felt like I truly belonged was when I went to my friend's Super Bowl watch party last year for the Patriots vs. the Seahawks. I had never met or talked to over half of the people at the party, so it was a little bit awkward at first, not knowing everybody. It was also awkward because everybody knew each other. I was not expecting much from this party. Eventually, I started to get out of my comfort zone and realized I shared a lot of interests with the guests, especially in football. The party ended up being great for me, and I felt like I truly belonged, laughing and having good conversations with everybody. Summary: Tuesday in class Mr. Rease was not here that day so we did a commonlit assignment assigned by Mr. Rease on why belonging is so important and how to create it. There were five reading comprehension questions, and then, to finish the assignment, there were four assessment questions. And a short paragraph we had to type up, citing evidence f...

 Prompt Response: The vocabulary word I learned today that I think will be most useful to me in the future is "cosmopolitan." I think it will be most useful when complimenting someone. Complimenting someone can go a long way by making someone's day and making them more appreciative of you. I think the word "cosmopolitan" means to be advanced or very good at something. I could realistically use this word in everyday settings like when I am at school, home, football games, etc. Summary: Today in class, we spent all of class expanding our vocabulary on part two of the vocabulary book. We had to write all fifteen terms in our notebooks, and for the work portion we had to write an example sentence for each word and underline where we used it. We also had to do sections three and four of the vocabulary book. Once we finished it, we were required to hand it in to Mr. Rease by the end of the class period for a grade. In the last ten minutes of class, Mr. Rease made sure...

 Prompt Response: One thing I understand about commentary now that I did not fully understand before is that I need to respond more on the evidence. I need to expalin further rather than just giving the general answer, I need to be more specific in my evidence and how it is useul to the argument made by the person. I will apply this much more often now when wrtitng argument essays and during my next AP Lang Argument Essay on Wednesday in class. Summary: On Friday in class, we were handed out and finished four claims with evidence, where we had to explain the evidence, why it mattered, its relevance, and the point it proved for the overall claim. We then had to craft up 2-3 sentences or more for each part, which was then due at the end of class as we left. Reflection: This will help me with my writing skills and time management in finishing assignments like this on time. This also helped me with my argument essay skills to help me prepare for the argument essay we will be doing in c...

 Prompt Response: Two important takeaways that I can apply to my own writing in order to prepare for argument essays in this class and on the AP exam are to make sure I provide specific, relevant evidence to support the claim I make. I noticed in one of the essays I reviewed on when overatted should be said I noticed that the student did not have or use lots of evidence to support their claim. To me, it was just the student saying what they thought rather than specific, relevant evidence to support the claim they made. The second and final important takeaway that I can apply to my own writing would be making my writing very interesting by not putting too much unnecessary wording and sentences into my essay. I noticed in the essay by one of the students on overatted can be applied to capitalism, their essay was very compelling and interesting while there was not any unnecessary wording or sentences I noticed while reading it. If I can apply these two important takeaways to my writin...

 Prompt Response: I use any rubric I receive for an assignment or project as a guide to guide me through the assignment or project and what I need to follow. This is to ensure that I get a good grade on the assignment or project by following the directions in my best ability to do so. After reviewing the AP Lang Argument Essay rubric on Tuesday I can use the rubric to guide me and improve my argument writing by crafting up my own argument essays and following the rubric. Once I am finished I can review my work and see if it matched everything asked by the rubric. I can also use it to improve my writing skills to make my argument essay flow better and look more professional. Summary: Tuesday in class, we brainstormed ideas to craft a good meaningful argument essay. We also reviewed the notes and what we highlighted on Monday in class to make sure the whole class is on the same page of what it takes to create a good argument essay. Reflection: This will help me with my argument essay...

 Prompt Response: A time I completed an assignment without fully understanding what the teacher was looking for was on the third week of August. My AP US History teacher assigned our class a project on creating a graphic organizer on all eight periods of the AP US History cirriculum. He wanted us to display our knowledge on all eight periods with research, drawings, historically accurate examples, reasoning, etc. I did not really undertsand the rubric and what he was asking for so I did not get the grade I was looking for, but it was still a good grade. Knowing the "ins and outs" of a rubric would have helped me and changed the way I had approached that assignment because I would have known exactly what to do, and what he was looking for to ensure I got the grade I wanted. You have to make sure to follow the rubric and do exactly what it is asking you to do for the AP Lang Argument Essay rubric in order for you get a good grade, connecting to the assignment in AP US History I...

Prompt Response: I thought it was interesting how other people in the class thought and expressed their ideas on this assignment. Each group's argumentative paragraph was very different from the rest and had its own personal distinctions from the rest. Some groups had more detail in theirs while others didn't have as much; some groups relied on more personal experiences rather than readings for evidence. Overall, it was really cool how every group had their own distinction in the argumentative paragraphs, showing how other people in the class thought and expressed their ideas during this assignment. Summary: On Friday in class, we read our feedback from each group on our unpopular opinion argumentative paragraph assignment. We then had a chance to update our submitted work and fix errors that our classmates listed on the paper or errors that Mr. Rease noticed that we could improve on. After revising our argumentative paragraph, we then submitted it officially for a grade. Refle...

 Prompt Response: A time when someone I knew used informal language in a situation where formal language may have been more appropriate was my freshman year of high school, when someone I knew went up to my teacher about grades using informal language. He was a bit rude, not seeming to care or think about how he was addressing my teacher. I could tell my teacher looked pretty annoyed after that because he wasn't willing to help him with the grades and just told him to sit back down. If he was more polite and used formal language, maybe my teacher would have been more willing to help him and discuss the situation being presented. Summary: On Wednesday in class, we took notes on formal and informal language. These notes included the definitions of formal and informal language, what it contains, and when it is appropriate to use. Later in class, our groups went around counterclockwise and read each group's unpopular opinion argumentative paragraph, and we answered questions to rea...

 Prompt Response: One idea, suggestion, or approach from one of my group members that improved my paragraph was a suggestion to remove unnecessary wording and sentences. I have always had trouble typing my paragraphs because I write down everything that is on my mind. I also strive to be a perfectionist, so I try to make my paragraphs long and interesting. Because of this, my paragraph grades are not exactly what I want, though they are still good. This helpful suggestion really upped my writing, and I have noticed significant improvement in my last paragraph: not putting everything that is on my mind and keeping it simple but professional. Summary: On Tuesday in class, my group and I finished typing our unpopular opinion argumentative paragraph on why having a partner in high school is counterproductive. The paragraph involved our claim, two sets of evidence, and explaining our evidence, and our conclusion.  Reflection: This argumentative paragraph assignment helped me with m...

 Prompt Response: Something that I have always been curious about is why we dream. I always have the craziest, inexplicable dreams that I can never understand. What is even weirder is that when I wake up, I forget a lot of the dream. Another part is how long they feel; whenever I have a dream, I feel like I am present in that dream for weeks. It's also very strange how crazy it is that multiple wild things are happening at the same time; it's very confusing and comical for me.   Summary: Friday in class, we worked in groups to craft an argumentative paragraph off of a prompt Mr. Rease gave us. We then used that prompt to work together as a group to craft our paragraph. Reflection: This lesson helped me with coordinating with a group, being more active in group activities, and my argumentative paragraph skills in crafting a paragraph. This will all help me with future assignments and tests involving paragraphs. This will also help me with my coordination and working with o...

 Prompt Response: I struggle the most with crafting my claim in an argument. Because it is the first part of your argument, I feel I have to do it perfectly since the claim sets up the whole argument. I also struggle because I often add too much when crafting my argument, like extra words and unnecessary sentences. Sometimes my claim is also too short or too long, and that really hurts my overall argument. Overall, crafting the claim is the most challenging for me. Summary: Wednesday in class, we took notes on crafting a good argumentative paragraph. We also looked over our quiz and argumentative paragraph results. We also practiced good claims and how to create a good argument as a class. Reflection: This will help me with my argumentative paragraph skills and improving on my mistakes. This will help me with future assignments, tests, and quizzes involving argumentative paragraphs.

 Prompt Response: A fear I have overcome is clowns. My whole life, I have had a deathly fear of clowns because of encounters with them and movies with clowns. I never liked all the makeup and flamboyant outfits; it freaked me out. I also hated the way clowns talk and laugh and how they always smile; it was chilling. I also had lots of nightmares of clowns in movies I had watched in the past. One time at a minor league baseball game, there was a very creepy clown that stared at me, really giving me a big fear of clowns. Now I have gotten older and have realized that clowns are not that scary, and I faced the fact that it was just a normal childhood fear. Of course, I still don't like clowns, but I'm not afraid of them anymore like I was in the past. Summary: Today in class, we caught up on work and had pictures interfering with class time today. I finished taking my notes on vocab and started on my prompt for this blog. Reflection: Even though we did not do much in class today b...