Post 3: Q2 Reflection for "Breath" Essay

 Here are my answers to the reflection worksheet I completed on 9/06/2021 after writing my first Q2 style essay about Tim Winton's novel Breath. 

DESCRIPTION CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.3.d What were you asked to do?  I was asked to write a well-written essay in which I analyzed a specific piece of literature that used a house as a symbolic role in the overall plot.  What is being examined? I was examined based on the AP 6-point rubric. Sections included how well I provided a defensible thesis, expanded on my analysis to further the line of reasoning, and overall sophistication.

SCORES CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.4  What score did you give yourself? Why? Use the language of the rubric or scoring guide. I would give myself a 1-3-1.  I believe that I deserve the thesis point. My thesis can be found at the beginning and end of the piece. The beginning one, in my opinion, is stronger and more defensible. I also think that my thesis discusses all of the necessary objectives to complete the point.  In terms of my analysis, I feel better looking back at my evidence than I did writing it. I would give myself 3 out of 4 possible points. I provided specific evidence from the text in organized paragraphs that proved my thesis. One of my strengths was writing about the metaphorical and historical significance of rivers. Instead of only using my analysis to describe the text, I tried to push it out to a much more broad and general topic. I concede that I did not carry through enough textual evidence to address the added complexities that the literary merit of the article provided, and that may have taken me down to a 3. I think I still did plenty of things well. I think all three main points of evidence contribute to the overall theme of my essay, which was something I do think I have already learned how to do this year. . The line of reasoning is there, especially when I refer to the river being a continual point of tension in many overarching essays. I think with a little more practice, I will be able to go deeper with the text to be able to earn all 4 points! In terms of the sophistication point, I think I earned the pont. As I mentioned above, I intentionally tried to bring in more about the meaning of the river and how that tension added to the passage. I think my evidence overall was clear and convincing. I did not give myself this point on the last benchmark essay, but I think I made more of an effort this time that should help me go to the next level of analysis.

INTERPRETATION CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.c & CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.a (Knowledge of scoring guide, sample essays, scoring commentary) How is it similar to and different from other tasks or assessments that we have completed in class?  This essay was similar to some of the rhetorical analysis essays I wrote in AP comp. Instead of coming from a point of rhetorical terms and identifying specific and skillful terms, This question asked me to analyze the passage as a whole. Being that this asked for more thematic generalizations, I can also relate that back to the ideas of the “embrace your complexity” assignment, where we were asked to create complex thematic statements about our lives.

OUTCOME CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1.c What have I learned from this about my skill levels at this point? ? I am going to give myself some grace in this passage. It is a true pretest and I think I did quite well for that! Considering that I gave myself the sophistication point, I think It may be enough to build a strong foundation for all we are going to learn and expand upon in the coming school year.  What do I need to do to improve my performance on future tasks? When I first started to read the article, I was reading as a writer. I noticed more literary techniques and less of the overarching complexities of the text. Next time, I’ll try to address some of the ideas in the passage in my annotations and reading so I don’t have to go back and re-scour the text for every body paragraph.