Dylan's English blog

  Prompt: During brainstorming, one idea usually stands out. What is the most interesting or strongest idea you came up with for your essay, and what made you choose it over the others? The strongest idea I came up with is writing about Cheryl's dealing with loss. I chose it because it shows her growth and how she dealt with her loss. I picked the idea of being in a state of isolation because it clearly shows change and personal strength. This is important because it helps me write a meaningful essay that shows who she is and how she's grown.

  Prompt: After completing the assignments on making college affordable and finding the best college fit, what is one thing you learned that you did not know before? Why do you think this information is important for seniors to understand? One thing I learned is that the price of college isn’t always what you actually pay. Financial aid and scholarships can lower the cost a lot. College may be expensive at first, but the real cost can be much cheaper after aid. This is important because we seniors might avoid schools that they think they can’t afford. 

  Prompt: Writing is a process, and the first draft is rarely perfect. Strong writers improve their work through revision. After reviewing and revising your literary argument paragraph, what changes did you make to strengthen your writing? After revising my paragraph, I'd add more explanation to my ideas and make my sentences clearer. I also fixed some grammar and tried to make my evidence connect better to my claim. I improved my paragraph by adding more explanation and fixing grammar. Revising helps me see what I need to change and make my writing stronger. 

  Prompt: Today we discussed why academic writing must reflect your own thinking and understanding rather than relying on artificial intelligence to generate your ideas. After learning about the expectations for authentic writing, reflect on why it is important for students to write essays in their own words Students need to write essays in their own words because it shows what they really think and demonstrates their writing skills. When I write my own ideas, I learn the topic better and improve my writing. If I let something else write it for me, for example AI, I would not really learn from the assignment. Writing in my own words shows my real thinking and helps me learn. For me, writing my own essays helps me practice explaining my ideas and become a stronger writer

Prompt: Today we focused on constructing a strong literary argument paragraph about  Wild  and whether discomfort is necessary for meaningful personal growth. After working through the claim-evidence-analysis structure, explain which part of the paragraph was most challenging for you and why. Do you find it more difficult to create an arguable claim or to move beyond summary in your analysis? The most challenging part for me was the analysis. It's hard to explain how the evidence connects to the claim instead of just summarizing what happened in the book. Sometimes I know the idea, but it is difficult to explain it clearly in writing. The hardest part is writing the analysis and explaining how the evidence supports the claim. I want to get better at explaining my ideas and not just repeating what happened in the story. Maybe over time, my analysis can become stronger

  Prompt:  Reflect on your experiences with essay writing. What aspects of writing essays do you find most engaging or challenging? Discuss your personal strengths as a writer as well as specific areas where you experience difficulty or would like to improve. Support your reflection with clear examples from your own writing experiences. I have written essays in school. I like sharing my ideas, and I am good at thinking of ideas for my essays. Sometimes I have trouble organizing my writing and adding more details. Essay writing lets me share my ideas, but organizing and adding details can be hard. I want to improve by organizing my ideas better and explaining them more clearly