Even though I haven’t been in class for a full week yet I feel like I have really learned a lot in AP English. I think that after the summer and first few days of school I already look at literature in a completely different way. I really enjoyed The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing by Michael Harvey. The most influential idea in this book to me was that pompous writing with big fancy words and formal structure does not always mean that it is good writing. Through the summer work I have realized that ideas are the most important piece of literature. Ideas are the backbone that words cannot hide but instead are used to aide the presenting of ideas. How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster showed me how to read and understand literature better. I think this book showed me that the “what” of literature is not important unless you understand how it relates to the story itself. In the past I have always been taught to figure out the “what” of literature but I never understood its relevance. The power-points and this story have made me realize that the “what” (diction, syntax, symbols, etc.) are there to aid in the understanding of the big picture. The terms test we took on September 7th (Friday) made me realize that it is not enough to just know the definitions of terms but you need to know how to identify them in the text. Overall I think I have learned more in AP English so far than my other three years of high school english combined.
Hahaha, I loved what you said about learning more in this class than your past 3 years combined. i agree about Foster's work I actually really enjoyed that assignment and he had so many interesting ideas that I found myself telling my friends about a few of them...they were bored, haha. Maybe you should try including specific examples. The pompous idea was good, was there any other specifics from the books that reminded you of something? You could try relating some of their ideas to books you've read lately or in our hs lit classes!
ReplyDeleteI would most likely agree with you,I've probably learned more this year than my entire literature career! Well, Ms. Dockus taught me a lot but this is definitely the most useful information I've learned in a while! Did the power- points help you understand the importance of DIDLS in meaning of literature, or did it help you understand the application of DIDLS? I found it much easier to notice little detail that does contribute to the authors goals after reading Foster's novel.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you about learning a lot in these past weeks. We are learning everything really quickly and a lot of information. Did you find any specific examples that you could relate Foster to? Or something that you read that helped you study his "what" of literature? How did the powerpoint help you realize the DIDLS? I think you are absolutely right about learning a lot.
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