Writing and Reading Reflection

As a senior, I am in my fourth year of High School, and I feel like my writing and reading have both improved drastically. This year especially, for the first time, I felt confident in reading and understanding novels/plays. It may be the small class of only four that has allowed me to share my ideas and be engaged, or just maturity that has come with experiencing different English teachers and taking on board all of their advice. Regardless, I feel that I am able to write strong essays in which I really make a point and convince the reader of. Although I feel comfortable writing strong thesis statements and body paragraphs, I feel that I still struggle with writing conclusions that completely wrap up my essay and give the reader something to think about with respect to the world. Another simple thing that should be easy to fix is being more careful about punctuation and quoting mechanics. I feel that I can write strong thesis statements; however, they are not perfect. Often I do not explain the thesis enough, and don’t make my thesis specific enough. I also need to be more careful about letting my ideas flow during my intro paragraph; sometimes I put too much detail, and sometimes it takes away from the logical flow making it unclear. The thesis I am most proud of this year is probably my Hamlet Essay thesis (text, not film). “His father’s death has thrust Hamlet’s solitary self into extreme confusion: only allowing logical thought process when interacting with others, yet denying himself coherent deliberations when isolated.”