Hillary Du

Mr. Gallagher

AP English Literature

24 May 2010

End of the Year Reflection Paper

First off, I would like to acknowledge Mr. Gallagher for guiding me throughout this

whole year. I could only describe my writing as abominable when I first came into this class, but

I believed that the previous year’s AP Language could easily transition me into AP Literature.

The beginning seemed easy since it allowed much more creativity than I was used to. However,

when one of my essays came back with a 4/9 (based on the AP rubric) I was utterly shocked. I

did not know what I was getting into, but I was determined to improve my essay writing in time

for college. Mr. Gallagher created clear rubrics and guidelines that outlined what was expected

of an AP/college essay. He was always available after school, which had me comfortable asking

questions. His critiques were always helpful because they were simply suggestions. The freedom

within each assignment is probably the reason why I was able to improve to such an extent.

The year started off with summer assignments. I chose to exemplify my Heart of

Darkness dialectical journal on my blog because I believe it was one of the more in depth ones I

had been able to produce throughout the whole year. I made good consultation of another text

and quoted words from the original text. I was able to incorporate what I thought about the quote

and also the philosophical message the quote possessed. Even though it was in the beginning of

the year, I feel that it shows I had some sort of support in the subject. I was more of a note taker

than an essay writer though. I had to find a way to translate my notes and outlines into enjoyable,

college leveled papers.

 Soon, college applications were all I could think about and it was soon time to write my

college entrance essay. I decided to write about my dual race. My first draft tried to do too much

in a single two-page essay. It tried to cram the history of Vietnamese and Chinese conflicts into

a single paragraph. I then figured that a personal story would work out better. I then identified

my problem and the conflicts surrounding being a person of two races. My conclusion not only

concluded my essay, but also aided me in achieving the purpose of the essay. That was the first

essay that I felt that I wrote from the heart because it affected me so much. It was then that I

realized that writing was a very relieving activity. I believe it reflected my growth as a writer, but

also as a person.

We had done a lot of in-class essays throughout the year. My essay on Katherine

Mansfield’s Miss Brill was one of my best in-depth essays. I struggled a lot with pacing myself

while doing these Question 3 prompts. I always felt rushed and felt as though I did not have

much to say. However, I found that if I prepped myself the night before then I could breeze

through the essay the next day. I realized that creating a well-done introduction beforehand

would create a guideline for me to complete the essay. My Miss Brill essay did not start off too

well, but the rest of the essay was solid. This is why I chose to revise this one. I rewrote the

introduction and made sure to include all of the important points such as literary techniques and

addressing the human condition. These are staples to all of my introductions now. I also learned

that I do not need to start off each essay with a generalized statement. Mr. Gallagher always

mentions to remember to have the reader know why what I have to say is important.

Lastly, the class worked on two research papers. I decided to include my artist research

paper on Raissa Venables into my portfolio because I felt much more confident about this one.

Poetry was never my thing so I did not understand much while working on it. However, art was a

much more comfortable area for me. Art allowed me much more freedom to express different
ideas rather than being somewhat restricted by pre-written words. I work well with objectivity.

Of course, there were times where I became lost within a piece and struggled with meaning or

purpose. I worked around those by going off of what I noticed first in the pictures. I notice that I

habitually attempted to write everything in one sitting. However, giving me a certain time span

would allow more creative juices to flow. I think I still struggle with time management, but am

slowly improving.

One extra thing I have learned this year is to always credit others for their work. I got that

lesson when points were deducted from my poetry project from using a quote from an unknown

author. Credentials are important and Works Cited and Consulted are musts.

Overall, I have learned a lot within this one short year. There are techniques that

concerning introduction paragraphs and prepping that I will never forget to apply during college.

I hope I never forget to mention the human condition. I think if I manage to prove it every time

then my essays will stay consistently well. My flaws as a writer are still numerous, but compared

to the beginning of the year, I am content and happy with my progress.