Dear Reader,
Writing Philosophy
A description of my progress this year as a writer and my view on writing. It also includes why I write and how it has effected me as a person. I also delve into my strengths and weaknesses as a writer.
VBCPS PreTest
A sample argument AP prompt on the morality of providing incentives for good deeds. This was the first essay that I wrote for the class and wasn't done very well. It was a very haphazard essay.
College Essay Collage
This is a picture of the project that I made for Mrs. Self's class in order to embody any creative ideas and memories that could be used in brainstorming our college essay. My poster had fallen apart and was missing some of the vital areas unfortunately but still characterizes the three sections of the military, puzzles, and marching band that were important to me.
Collage Discussion
An essay written to explain and respond to each of the elements of my collage. In a way it creates a little storyline for each piece and incorporates quotes that fit my situation. This was used in developing my college essay later in the year.
College Essay Final
A piece written in response to a sample college essay prompt. I wrote it on how the military has influenced my life and focused on my conflict of the pressure to join the military. Overall I'm not very proud of the piece and would never submit it to a college.
College Essay Reflection
This is the process paper that I wrote in response to my college essay where I explained how I went through each draft and what changes I made. I also explain how hard this piece was for me from a creativity and writing standpoint.
AP Argument Prompt
A piece written in preparation for the AP Language and Composition Test. It was a timed piece on Thomas Paines' The Rights of Man and discussed the implications of democracy. The essay was incomplete.
AP Synthesis Prompt
Another AP prompt that was a document based question. It focused on the local eating movement and the green movement. It was more critical of the benefits claimed by the movement. The essay was incomplete.
AP Rhetorical Analysis Prompt
An AP Prompt based on analyzing a speech by Florence Kelley on Child Labor. The essay focuses on her use of syntax, diction, and imagery to engage her audience and make her speech stronger. The essay was incomplete.
Persuasive/Argumentative Research Paper
This piece was written on the conflict of legalizing assisted suicide in the case of terminal illness. I favored its legalization and took on the Rogerian style of argumentation in order to get my point across. Much of the piece dealt with combatting the negative feelings held by those opposed to assisted suicide.
Persuasive/Argumentative Speech
This speech was based off of the persuasive/argument research essay. It was also pro-assisted suicide. Most of the piece focused on the pathos appeals and presentation.
Reading Journal Excerpts
Taken from the fifth entry for the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Hurston it discusses my reaction to the end of the novel. This journal really describes how my opinions changed through reading the book and how Janie's character has really affected me in real life. I really liked that book.
Vietnam War WebQuest
After reading several pieces on the internet about the Vietnam War I responded to five of them. It was mainly in response to how the pieces made me feel about the war and how they moved me. The links to the pieces are above my commentary.
Selected Role Questions for Vietnam War
This piece was written in response to the specific questions address in the Vietnam War WebQuest on my role as a politician. It mainly focused on how a politician uses ethos to maintain the support of those they are giving the speech to.
Historical Fiction for Things They Carried
I was chosen as a politician for the Vietnam War WebQuest and was assigned to write a speech as a politician at the time would. I wrote on the My Lai massacre while making sure to maintain the support of my "constituents" through constant calls on the honors of America and flattering them as much as possible.
Wildcard Piece
A speech that I gave at the VBCPS Portfolio Night. It was based on the school wide diversity initiative and focuses on my views on the matter. I'm very proud of how the piece came out and the presentation went well with few mistakes. There are many key lines in it that really make the piece.
Final Thoughts
For my final thoughts I chose a quote from Ernest Hemingway. It represents how much writing tells about a person and how personal it really is. Writing is hard an I appreciate it so much.
A description of my progress this year as a writer and my view on writing. It also includes why I write and how it has effected me as a person. I also delve into my strengths and weaknesses as a writer.
VBCPS PreTest
A sample argument AP prompt on the morality of providing incentives for good deeds. This was the first essay that I wrote for the class and wasn't done very well. It was a very haphazard essay.
College Essay Collage
This is a picture of the project that I made for Mrs. Self's class in order to embody any creative ideas and memories that could be used in brainstorming our college essay. My poster had fallen apart and was missing some of the vital areas unfortunately but still characterizes the three sections of the military, puzzles, and marching band that were important to me.
Collage Discussion
An essay written to explain and respond to each of the elements of my collage. In a way it creates a little storyline for each piece and incorporates quotes that fit my situation. This was used in developing my college essay later in the year.
College Essay Final
A piece written in response to a sample college essay prompt. I wrote it on how the military has influenced my life and focused on my conflict of the pressure to join the military. Overall I'm not very proud of the piece and would never submit it to a college.
College Essay Reflection
This is the process paper that I wrote in response to my college essay where I explained how I went through each draft and what changes I made. I also explain how hard this piece was for me from a creativity and writing standpoint.
AP Argument Prompt
A piece written in preparation for the AP Language and Composition Test. It was a timed piece on Thomas Paines' The Rights of Man and discussed the implications of democracy. The essay was incomplete.
AP Synthesis Prompt
Another AP prompt that was a document based question. It focused on the local eating movement and the green movement. It was more critical of the benefits claimed by the movement. The essay was incomplete.
AP Rhetorical Analysis Prompt
An AP Prompt based on analyzing a speech by Florence Kelley on Child Labor. The essay focuses on her use of syntax, diction, and imagery to engage her audience and make her speech stronger. The essay was incomplete.
Persuasive/Argumentative Research Paper
This piece was written on the conflict of legalizing assisted suicide in the case of terminal illness. I favored its legalization and took on the Rogerian style of argumentation in order to get my point across. Much of the piece dealt with combatting the negative feelings held by those opposed to assisted suicide.
Persuasive/Argumentative Speech
This speech was based off of the persuasive/argument research essay. It was also pro-assisted suicide. Most of the piece focused on the pathos appeals and presentation.
Reading Journal Excerpts
Taken from the fifth entry for the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Hurston it discusses my reaction to the end of the novel. This journal really describes how my opinions changed through reading the book and how Janie's character has really affected me in real life. I really liked that book.
Vietnam War WebQuest
After reading several pieces on the internet about the Vietnam War I responded to five of them. It was mainly in response to how the pieces made me feel about the war and how they moved me. The links to the pieces are above my commentary.
Selected Role Questions for Vietnam War
This piece was written in response to the specific questions address in the Vietnam War WebQuest on my role as a politician. It mainly focused on how a politician uses ethos to maintain the support of those they are giving the speech to.
Historical Fiction for Things They Carried
I was chosen as a politician for the Vietnam War WebQuest and was assigned to write a speech as a politician at the time would. I wrote on the My Lai massacre while making sure to maintain the support of my "constituents" through constant calls on the honors of America and flattering them as much as possible.
Wildcard Piece
A speech that I gave at the VBCPS Portfolio Night. It was based on the school wide diversity initiative and focuses on my views on the matter. I'm very proud of how the piece came out and the presentation went well with few mistakes. There are many key lines in it that really make the piece.
Final Thoughts
For my final thoughts I chose a quote from Ernest Hemingway. It represents how much writing tells about a person and how personal it really is. Writing is hard an I appreciate it so much.