MId-term check in

October 17, 2011


Dear Laura,

It is the halfway mark of this class and it always surprises me how fast the time flies. There are many things that I have improved on and still some in the process of being fixed. My biggest success in your class would probably have to deal with the blog posts. I have always posted my responses right onto blackboard and so having to not only go to another website to post my blog and responses was something new and different to me but I feel as if my critiquing style has grown and my responses are coming out clearer and in a manner where it will be helpful and beneficial to the person I am commenting on. My biggest challenge in this class so far would have to be the essays. It’s not on the essay as a whole but certain parts such as, making it too personal or not having the paragraphs flow into one another without confusing the reader, are some of the things that I have been working on and am hopeful when it comes to my final project, have been fixed and resolved.


The readings in this class have affected me a pretty good amount. Sometimes in English classes, the reading is either very interesting or very boring, but I feel that the articles that you have had us read and the book Frankenstein along with the articles in there, have redeveloped my way of looking at a story and to try and see just what exactly the author wants me to pull out from their story and have a clear understanding of. I feel that this had benefited me not only in this class but in my other writing classes that I am taking at the present moment.


The literary analysis is different because the writing classes that I have taken so far are for either writing fiction or just giving my opinion on something for a discussion board. Though my Creative Writing class did have me go into a bit of literary analysis, to look at a story through the lens of a writer, not a reader. There has been more of it this semester in the classes I am taking but this English class builds more onto it and expands the amount that can be seen and accomplished.


My goals for the second half of the semester are to continue on strong with my blogs and responses, make sure that I read as a writer, bring interesting and creative things into the classroom and to have an amazing final project. I hoping that the fact that diving in head first for my research and topic that the outcome will be something to be proud of. I hope to keep the A that I have in this class to the end and keep improving on my writing skills.


The piece of work that I am the most proud of would be the analysis of a poem. I loved the poem “Lady Lazarus” and just couldn’t pick any other one to do the assignment on. The visuals hit me hard and I knew what I would talk about and try to have others in vision and see what they might see differently from the first time they read the poem. I had to check back at the assignments tab to see what has happened before this week because I’m starting to forget all the assignments that have been in this class already and we are only halfway through. I’m looking forward to the second half of this semester and what other assignments it brings.

Sincerely,


Delaney Abajian