Reflection Letter

Over the course of the year in EBA English Honors 10 I have learned an

immense amount about reading, writing, and overall knowledge. We have read various

novels, play writes, and even books of our choice that have helped us to broaden our

perspectives, and increase our learning. Additionally, we have written literary analyses

to further deepen our understanding of the ideas in the books and even expanded our

sentence structure through our analysis writing. This year in English has taught me how

to become a better reader, thinker, writer, and reflector on myself and my work;

moreover, this year will ensure success in my future and instill essential knowledge in

me moving forward.

As mentioned previously, our class read a variety of literary works that

challenged and advanced my reading skills. ​Julius Ceasar ​by William Shakespeare was

my biggest challenge this year. The wording and design of his script were extremely

difficult to comprehend and required a tedious examination of the text. However, I

persevered and eventually became proficient in my understanding of Shakespeare's

​ y Sophocles was another that challenged me but also aided me to

work. ​Oedipus Rex b

a deeper understanding of the literature of that time. In contrast, there were two books

that were beneficial but also enjoyable and possibly my favorite books this year.​ Anthem

by Ayn Rand was one of my top books due to the potential reality of the events in the

future. It was an eye-opener that suggested what could happen to our society through

the creation of a collective society. Moreover, my favored book was our student
selected dystopian novel. I chose the book ​Cinder​ by Marissa Meyer which is a spin-off

of the fairytale story ​Cinderella. ​The reason that this novel was my favorite was due to

the mystery and various dystopian elements. Additionally, it was multiple stories in a

story which made it very exciting and interesting to read. Apart from my favorite books,

there were some that benefitted me as an EBA student and helped me to grow in ways

that help me become a more productive business student. Our EBA nonfiction

independent novel and ​Lord of the Flies​ by William Golding were the best books for

EBA development. They both showed how teamwork and leadership, as well as trust,

are important for success. Reading has by far lent a hand in my growth this year but is

not the sole aspect of my growth.

Writing has definitely been a big factor for our English class and is something

that will stay with me in the future. We have written assorted essays this year including,

analyses of themes, opinion based essays for a mock trial, research essays, and

character-based essays, among others. Through all of these, I found the most challenge

in writing in the PPE style (Point, Prove, Explain). I am so used to writing freely that

trying to confine my writing to certain sections was arduous. I truly enjoy writing,

however, so none of the works were especially challenging but according to the grade I

got, I would have to say that my ​Lord of the Flies ​essay was challenging. I made some

mistakes on my citations which I have since learned from and have reflected on.

Furthermore, through our class lessons, I have acquired new sentence structures and

how to cite sources in MLA format, along with being able to analyze the author's theme.

Specifically, sentence structures like gerunds, infinitive phrases, participial phrases, and
others. Through our assignments, we have had to cite plays and websites and ensure

that we use the proper punctuation. Finally, we learned to identify the author's message

and their usage of literary tools in formulating their theme and discuss how they did that.

For example, in our ​Julius Caesar​ analysis, I had a hard time figuring out the tools

Shakespeare used, but with the help of Mrs. Jenkins and her explainations, I feel

confident that I could do this for any book. Overall, despite the challenges that I have

been faced with this year in writing, I know that they have benefitted me and will mold

me into a better writer and communicator in the future.

After learning all of these things this year, I got to go back to some of my writing

and edit it with the new knowledge I have now. On my research paper and my ​Lord of

the Flies ​paper, most of my revisions included fixing my citations and wording. However,

I did add some different sentence structures that we have learned and moved around

my wording to create a better flow. For my leadership research paper, I also had to fix

my citations for the play ​Julius Caesar ​and I changed how I referred to Walt Disney in

one of my paragraphs. Additionally, I revised some of the sentence structure.​ ​Since I

have grown as a writer this year, I can more easily identify what needs to be fixed. I also

used the revisions that Mrs. Jenkins made on my paper to know what to fix. Making

revisions on your paper helps it to become more professional and creates a better flow

and tone of the paper overall.

English class is not just about doing the work and getting the grade, it is also

about growth and finding a passion for reading and writing. For me, reading will

definitely play a role in my future. I genuinely enjoy reading when I am not swamped
with school work and have free time in which to do so; most of my reading is based on

pleasure and I enjoy getting into a book that takes you somewhere where you can

unwind and be free from reality. Blogs and articles, although not technically books, are

also something that I delight in. I don’t necessarily have a set plan for how often I will

read since I usually just wait till I find a book that hooks me in. Writing is another

important part of English that can be used for so many things. One can write to express

emotion, to convey their ideas and opinions, or to persuade others. Writing is so

important because it is a way to show yourself and who you are without actually having

to verbally say anything. Writing is like a time capsule of the different stages of your life

and is universally beneficial. As for myself, I think I will be writing more literary analyses

in the future for my AP English class. I also have a journal that I have written in when I

was younger and I want to continue doing so in the future. Keeping a collection of my

growth and life through writing is important to me.

Reading, writing, and reflection are all parts of my successful year in English

class. I have learned so much about myself, literature, and writing. From analysis to

revisions, my growth is highly beneficial for me in the future. I am so grateful for my

learning experience and can’t wait to see how much I grow in the future.