Flashback to the first semester of junior year--sitting in Mrs. Rutan's class--and this is what I am most proud of. It took a lot of reading, theme changes, rough drafts, and editing, but I did: I completed my own version of a true war story. I was able to tap into the fictional world of my own creativity, and it was fun! This is the writing piece that taught me the importance of imagery and repetition, and sparked my intense interest in English.
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Fun fact of the day: poems are hard. I have written crummy poems before, but this is the first poem that I took seriously. I used a sudden death in my family as the inspiration for this piece of poetry, to create something with more depth. I learned the importance of grammar tools and diction with this piece, which continues to help me with other great works. Read this poem if you'd like, and I hope you give it some deeper thought (even if it is only a little).
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Like "A Letter of Closure" I was given a lot of personal freedom when writing my personal narrative.When writing about an experience in my life, I decided to write about what I know best--running. I wrote about one of my best races in my high school cross country career, and learned more about using dialogue, flashbacks, and organization. This piece shows the progress I have made since writing "A Letter of Closure" and I am very proud of it.
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When thinking of Great Works for English, what comes to mind? You may think of writing writing writing like most people. I am excited to provide you--my dedicated viewer--with the privilege of watching my mini movie. That's right, MINI MOVIE! Recreating the plot of The Metamorphosis created a whole new literary experience for me. I learned about the importance of lighting, camera angles, setting, and much more, and I can truly tell you that you will love this 6 minute movie!
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Continuing my collection of great works, I had made a digital essay. Making a digital essay is very different than when writing a traditional paper; I learned a lot about making essay claims and evidence look visually appealing, and more enjoyable to read. It is more challenging than a traditional paper because you have to be creative and think outside of the box. Always remember: be the pretty moist cake on a crystal plate (you'll understand once you read)!
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Much like a digital essay, blogs also have to be more enjoyable to read than traditional essays. When writing my Othello blogs, I played with the style of my writing, adding a satirical affect to make my 3 blogs easy and fun to read. Blogs are challenging because you have to state your point/intention of the blog, but in a way that makes the reading enjoy what you have to say. I learned a lot about how to hook your reader and keep them intrigued. If you've read Othello, you are sure to catch my sarcasm of that glorious play!
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While I have done a mixture of different types of writings, the AP Lit Exam free response prompt is one of the most mentally taxing. I had taken an essay I had written under a 40 minute time constraint, and rewrote it into a stronger piece. This rewrite taught me a lot about reaching the strict requirements in achieving a high score on the AP essays. I feel that this is one of the strongest essays I have written, and it is due to the continuous practice and many papers we have written throughout this year. Although it is more serious, I hope you can have a couple take-aways to help you on your own essays.
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Another more creative project we have done in this class is a top 10 project. This was a group power point presentation, which taught me about making an engaging presentation, including handouts to the audience. I also was able to practice putting minimal information on a power point slide, and explaining without reading off the slide or an index card. It was fun to make a visually appealing handout that went along with the themes of the power point, but wasn't redundant in restating information (sadly the handout is not included on this page).
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One of my favorite creative projects I have done is recreating the book cover of Beloved. This project was also part research, and it was very interesting to learn about the author--Toni Morrison--and the hidden inspirations of the novel. It was also cool to learn the process of how a book cover is designed, and all of the different things that need to be taken into consideration. You'll have to wait until the end of the slides to see my book cover, but I promise it is worth the wait.
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The last "Great Works" piece I have done in high school is the AP Lit final speech. This was a formal presentation that incorporated visual aids. The most challenging part of this presentation was the time constraint, and making sure that I didn't rush through my information. This was a great way to wrap up my English career at Harper Creek, because it was a reflection on the things I have learned, and the things that I will take with me while furthering my academics! I want to give Mrs. Rutan a thank you for being such an amazing English teacher!
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