SWA #1

One of my best writing experiences was when I wrote an in-class essay in AP Literature and Composition about the novel 1982 by renowned controversial author George Orwell.  We had to read the book in my Literature class. The class was then assigned a 40 minute essay evaluating the behavior of the characters and how this played a role in deciphering the culture displayed in the novel.  We were given a scene from the book in which the main character goes into the house of a woman and her two children. The children act out and the main character contemplates their behavior.

In the essay, I analyzed Orwell’s choice of details, language, and sentence structure to portray how the children’s and their mother’s behavior reflected where and how they lived, and the corrupted world around them.  I tied into the essay themes of human nature and self-doubt, and described how they influenced the main character’s interpretations of the world in 1982.  My literature teacher gave me a score of nine out of nine, and considering that I wrote the essay in just 40 minutes, it continues to be the work of literary analysis that I am most proud of.

My worst experience with writing, however, was about a year earlier. I took US History as a junior in high school, and we were assigned a research paper that we would write in unison with our AP Language and Composition class. We could pick any historic topic we wanted, and I picked the sinking of the Titanic. We were required to turn in the paper once as a rough draft to get both teachers opinions before turning in the final draft.  We were given a number between 1 and 4 indicating how ready the paper was to be turned in. My history teacher gave me a 3- on the rough draft, meaning that it didn’t need much work. Or so I thought. Truth be told, I probably didn’t work on the paper as much as I should have, but when I turned the final draft in, I got a C on it.  My teacher told me that I hadn’t done enough research and that most of my facts were wrong.  I was upset, but I understand that I should have gone for more help when I thought I might have needed it.  I will admit that research papers are not my strong point, as I am not good with writing arguments. However, now I know that in the future I should check with my teacher ahead of time and actually go over my facts to make sure I have them straight.

I am sure that the first described experience affected me the most, because it gave me a lot of confidence in my writing, and contributed to my doing well on the AP Exam at the end of the class.  It made me realize that I can write better than I may have thought I could before I wrote it, and it convinced me that literary analysis is my favorite kind of writing.