Everest English Blog

 Prompt Response: It is important to write essays in your own voice rather than using AI because you will never develop the appropriate skills to write/think later in life when it may be required. By using AI you cheat yourself out of the academic integrity of the school or whichever board of education you are pursuing.  Summary: I was absent.  Reflection: I have never used AI before to write my own essays or assignments. Though I can see the appeal of using it if you are running low on time or lazy. I think a helpful use of AI would be to develop an outline with AI along with brainstorming.   

  Prompt Response: What I found most difficult was finding the right way to explain my quotes. I had to remind myself I wasn’t summarizing, and make sure every line was building off the point of the argument. Once I reminded myself of that, it began to flow well. I think it's more difficult to make an arguable claim, because if your claim is good then the rest will fall into place. But if you have an alright claim you’ll find holes in it later on making your paragraph less effective.  Summary: In class we went over body paragraph structures, and did a brainstorming idea activity.  Reflection: It was fun writing a body paragraph for class again. I think once I start writing more and we do more practice in class, the process will become a lot easier. I enjoy the process of writing and if I can imagine the argument working in my head, then it's only a matter of time until it works out on paper. 

 Prompt Response: My most intense writing experience was taking AP Lang last year. During that year my skill was pushed to its extreme and I found that finding quotes was the most annoying thing for me. I could always make good claims and find ways to explain them in ways that made sense but fitting a quote in the middle of that always felt awkward to me.  Summary: In class, we read chapter 16 of Wild, and went down essay format along with making some claims for ideas in the chapter.  Reflection: I like writing essay's unless the topic personally bores me. I can do it, its just a miserable process. If I can find passion in writing for something then I can make something out of it. 

 Prompt Response: The feedback on what your classmates said was helpful because it highlighted what was good about it. What they didn’t talk about you could use to improve on those parts.  Summary: In class we did a gallery walk of our classmate’s posters regarding their similes and metaphors.  Reflection: I enjoyed creating the similes and metaphors for the project but what I did not enjoy was decorating the poster. My weak point was creativity and how to look. Next time we do something similar to this, I think I’ll structure my text and images in a manner that is more digestible. 

 Prompt Response: The topic that challenged me the most was mental or emotional struggles prompt. When answering the prompt finding a way to explain my thoughts and feelings in a comprehensible way to someone other than myself was strange. Its hard to explain why something is mentally harder for one person versus another. I worked through it by focusing on the larger picture instead of the details, which although a bit more shallow provided a more presentable answer.  Summary: In class we went over the simile and metaphor paper.  Reflection: When you try and explain what is going on inside your mind, for me its one of the harder things. I don't find trouble see how other's minds works, but trying to explain how mine works to another person is a different matter. I can do it, its just awkward. 

 Prompt Response: I am a very stubborn person. I often have to learn things the hard way if I don’t immediately pick up on it. This has led to developing my own inner strength which serves me well today. Just because you may go through a lot doesn’t mean it defines you. What it does is give a better definition to your image.  Summary: In class we finished reading our poem then wrote 6 similes and 6 metaphors about various triumphs and negatives in our lives.  Reflection: Inner strength was not something I was born with. I was an extremely weak person who struggled to do anything above the bare minimum for a long time. What changed was my self-talk. When I gave myself positive affirmations and despite some of them being lies it gave me enough strength to form habits that kept building on myself. Now I have willpower to spare for the hard stuff, because it's not all wasted getting me out of the bed in the morning to attempt to eat something.