Mid-Term Check In

Mrs. Cline,


Thus far, this course has allowed me to enrich skills regarding thesis development, essay structure, vocabulary, and reading between the lines. My first essay was bogged down by quotes and did not transition well between paragraphs. My biggest success has been learning to structure essays to allow a superior flow for the reader. It has been about five years since my English 101 course and I appreciate the opportunity to refine literary ability, as well as add new tools to my literary arsenal. My biggest challenge has been formatting appropriate theses. I struggle with narrowing the focus of my theses and tend pack in excessive information. I believe this results from a fear that my paper will not be sufficient in length. However, I am making great progress and am more confident about upcoming essays.


The readings in the class have affected me in different ways. I did not enjoy A Modest Proposal because I constantly had to use a dictionary to decipher the text. It was very distracting and, repeatedly, made me lose my train of thought. Bartleby, the Scrivener was somewhat more enjoyable, but it did not have enough storyline for my taste. To this point, Winter’s Bone has captivated me most. I lived on a farm in rural Pennsylvania for six months and the Ozark community and its values strongly resonated with me. Up in the Air has been trying because, frankly, it is boring. I am hopeful things will pick up as I progress through the novel.


Practicing literary analysis has forced me to be less objective. However, it is not entirely subjective either; one must be able to substantiate their opinion using examples from the text and secondary sources. In past courses, most papers required a completely subjective or objective approach. In addition, summary is emphasized much less in literary analysis compared with my previous writing endeavors. I learned to assume the audience has already read the literature in discussion; therefore, I was able to devote more content to analysis.


I will strive to improve formulation of concise theses and to uncover deeper meaning within literature. Transitioning between paragraphs effectively is also a work in progress. One goal I have for the remainder of the course is a better practice of annotation. It is much easier to annotate important quotes and information than to search for them afterwards. I struggle with knowing what is important or relevant for an essay before generating a thesis. Another goal I would like to achieve is completing one more level six paper to add to my portfolio. Thanks for a great semester so far.


Sincerely,
Aaron Isaacson