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I was able to learn several different things while creating the author biography for my short story project. While working on this project, I was able to put things into an easy-to-understand format. This made it simpler to locate and group information that flows together. I was then able to arrange the paragraph information in different orders until I found the order that made the most sense. I was able to look at the author’s overall life so I could decide what information was needed in the biography based on the key events that affected him. Organization is truly the key when it comes to projects. When you group information together it is more manageable to format paragraph information together. From there, I could reorganize and remove information that was unnecessary to the paragraphs could be more clear in it’s main ideas. Then I edited the information I wanted to use to format my paragraphs to a final layout. I also figured out how to deem whether certain information is important or not. When you figure out what information stops you from getting to the main idea or topic of a paragraph, you can decipher what information you can do away with. Organization also helped me create a flow that connected the paragraphs. These lessons will help me in the future when I write papers throughout the rest of high school. In college, I will have to write thesis papers as well as medical papers. Now that I am equipped with the tools of organization, writing papers will not be as daunting a task as it used to be.

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The Merchant of Venice classwork was incredibly helpful in several ways. In class, with a partner we were able summarize what we were reading so we could help each other understand what was going on in the play. Hannah and I, did this for the entire play, which really helped with reading Shakespeare. As a playwright, Shakespeare came up with many insults and he used a large vocabulary. In modern times, it is hard to understand what was happening throughout the play based on the fact we do not use that type of language anymore. As a group we were able to write a thorough explanation of each act and scene as well as character development. These summaries gave me the full picture of what was going on without confusion. This led to my full understanding what was going on in The Merchant of Venice and gave me a premade study guide. Looking through these summaries helped me be prepared and ready for the test. Now I have a new understanding of Shakespeare. By studying the text piece by piece I was able to understand his writing techniques and literary devices. Now I have a new way to annotate and recognize Shakespearean plays. Throughout high school, Shakespeare will be studied in almost every English class. With this new tool, I will be ready to annotate Shakespeare’s works. Most importantly, I learned that teamwork, with the right people, can be helpful. While working with Hannah, I learned teamwork is good when you equally share the work. It takes stress off the both of you so you can annotate thoroughly. Equipped with these tools, Shakespeare will now be more enjoyable to read as well and be an easy way to boost my grade.

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There are several reasons I have included my Merchant of Venice in class essay in my portfolio. The first reason is that it was the best in class essay I have ever done. Usually, I over-analyze the third level question and run out of time. My anxiety causes me to stress about tests and over complicate them. I either forget all of the information that I knew the night before or become overwhelmed by all of the information that I have to use to answer the test. For once I was not rushed for time which truly showed in my past essays. By knowing all of the information like the back of my hand, creating a thorough outline for each paragraph was easier to do by listing the main ideas and key information by using bullet points.  With an outline guiding the paragraphs to hit the main topics without over-complicating them was easier than before. When a student knows the information thoroughly, it is much easier to answer third level questions about the story. The better you create an outline, the easier it is to answer the prompt without over complicating things. By finding a new way on to study, outlines should never be as difficult as they used to be. The first thing I did was look over the acts and section notes and then wrote down key events and a summary of each section from memory. If I could not create a summary, I would look over the key concepts in each of the sections. By analyzing what happens between the characters of the play, I was able to thoroughly answer the essay questions. This new tool can help me in the future when answering test questions in future classes.

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The Macbeth, Act 1 quiz is the best quiz I have taken in Honors English II. This was a real confidence booster because I was unsure of whether or not my study techniques were working. I figured out how to study Shakespeare from reading the Merchant of Venice, which I talked about in my classwork portfolio. As a perfectionist, I am always unsure of myself as well as what I do, so this really helped. Another thing the quiz showed me was the further understanding Shakespeare and how he wrote. These elements, such as dramatic irony and soliloquy, are in all of his plays so understanding them will help me in future English classes. Shakespeare will never go away so the assurance I am studying the right way will help me in the future. This is how the Macbeth, Act 1 quiz will help me in future courses and classes.

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My House on Mango Street test represents several different things to me. This is best test I have ever taken in this class. I usually do not do well with short answer questions; however, on this test I did.  I prepared it in a different way which was to my benefit. I looked over each chapter we had read in class and took notes while I was reading them. The notes consisted of main ideas, events, character interactions, symbols, and how the chapter relates to everyday life. By doing this type of preparation I knew the story thoroughly. Shorter chapters were not as difficult to summarize which resulted in more in-depth analysis. This way of studying can help me in the future with short answer questions. They will continue to haunt me throughout high school and college. However, now that I have a more productive way to study for them, they are not as awful as they used to be.

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My bad poem assignment is significant to me in several different ways. When this project was assigned I had never written a bad poem before. I did not even know what it took to create one. Although I knew this was going to be difficult, but I was up for the challenge. After discovering what a bad poem consisted of, I wanted to challenge myself with this project. I decided that I was going to incorporate not one but two of the literary techniques that go into a bad poem. After researching  examples of bad poems so that I got several ideas from inspiration. While creating this poem, I learned that outlines truly are a student’s best friend. My outline helped me have a place to lay out all of my ideas and organize them so the poem would make sense. This poem also let my creativity run wild; with one topic where I could be as funny and clever as I wanted. By the end of this project I was enjoying the process and found a new appreciation for poetry. Before this assignment, when I heard the word poem I would automatically roll my eyes, but who knew poetry could be fun. Now I have a new-found respect for poets and their works. All of these discoveries wouldn’t have ever been discovered if I had not been assigned the bad poem project. Going forward I will be able to decipher whether or not a poem is strong or not.