Last semester I realized that I was never too great in formal writing.

Every time I attempted

to write a formal writing, I would feel very pressured and uncomfortable. I would be engulfed by
such feelings that would usually cause me to perform horribly, especially when the writing is timed.
Although I still have the tendency to fear formal writings, I believe that I have gotten much better,
comparing myself from last year, at handling it. By venturing outside my comfort-zone of writing
multiple times and practicing to better my weakness through many writing exercises and
assignments, I have become a better writer in general.
On the first portfolio, I have constantly stressed my weakness of organization and
argumentation, mainly because I wanted to improve upon them. Looking back at my second
semester writings, I could see some degree of improvement. Through the many writing practices
that I have partaken in AP Literature class, I could fill in the gaps I had in my original skills. Also,
the interesting part of my growth as a writer is that the stages in which I improve is clearly visible.
For example, looking at my major artifacts Good and Evil, Hamlet Essay, and Author Study
Final in the order they were written, I can see the difference in level of each essays, mainly in
organization and argumentation. In the essay Good and Evil, I suffered a rudimentary mistake of
repetition. In fact, the repetition had such impact in the writing that it made my argument sound
childish and unprofessional. Throughout the essay I have repeatedly stated the plot of East of Eden
in similar ways. This caused me to talk less about my thesis and gave little room for argumentation.
Although Good and Evil turned out to be rather unpleasant, I could see that I have gotten
better as I approached Hamlet Essay and Author Study Final. In Hamlet Essay, although I
have made an unfortunate mistake of not having an original title, I have given a clear argument and
successfully supported my argumentation with multiple quotations from the novel itself. Quotations
such as I am more an antique Roman than a Dane. Heres yet some liquor left (5.2. 293-294) were
relevant to the arguments and therefore gave great credibility to my thesis. In Author Study Final
which was the toughest assignment of all, I have tested out my writing skills that I have built up
from the aforementioned essays and many other practice assignments. Through the Author Study
Final assignment, I could truly identify my improvement as a writer. The essay was 8 pages long
with required citations and research of the content. Looking back at this essay, I could see that most
of my quotations were great supporters for my adequate thesis and arguments.
Looking back at a few of the essay that I have written in the second semester, I could see
that I have improved quite a bit as a writer. I have bettered myself in some factors of writing such as
argumentation and organization, which were my main concerns and therefore I am satisfied with the
results that AP Literature has gotten me.