My name is Cameron Willette, but since you’re reading this you probably already know this. When I came into the school year I thought I had everything under control, I thought I could bang out any assignment that Mrs. T-F would throw at me. Boy was I wrong. The writing styles between my AP History classes and this class very different and that caught me off guard. Due to this I would describe myself as writer in September as a DBQ Extraordinaire. After having two courses that constantly stressed the DBQ methods, I started to think that’s how you write all analytical essays. It was also very easy to write in DBQ form. There’s a set way to write that will get you good grades and that’s what I became accustomed to. Since September I feel that I’ve moved out of the DBQ routine. Comparing my first analytical essay to my last, it is evident that I’m more engaged in my writing instead of just going through the motions.
Along with the shifting from the analysis styled DBQ to a more interesting style of writing, I’ve also noticed myself enjoying writing analysis papers less and less. My favorite papers have been the ones were we had to do a creative piece while mimicking an author. The thing that surprises me is that I used to prefer the ridged style of the DBQ. Now I enjoy just being able to sit down and write whatever I feel. It allows me to ramble a little bit because it’s hard to move away from a topic that you create. That’s probably why I like creative writing so much now. My biggest problem at the beginning of the year was organizing my thoughts and not allowing myself to ramble and go off topic. With your own topic, it’s harder to do that.
The imitation pieces we wrote aren’t only some of my favorite essays for this semester, but my favorites throughout high school. Especially the one I titled “The Shower
Area” which was the mimic of Holden from Catcher in the Rye. It was a piece were I could finally write about football without it being a play-by-play or a cheesy “I didn’t win the game but here’s what I learned” reflection paper. It allowed me to write about something I’m very familiar with, and expand on it. I believe I like it so much because it is so relatable to me. Being able to pick my own topic to write about is much more appealing to me now than an analytical essay. The same goes for the author project. Being able to pick my own topic and books lets me enjoy the process more than if everything was laid out for me. I think a few of my classmates will agree when I say that
I’ve disliked a majority of the books I’ve been assigned but I like all the books I’ve picked out.
Another thing that I had trouble with in September (and still now) was deriving meaning from writing. In my writing I still sometimes say things just to say them. A lot of my thesis statements were just lists of things that happened as opposed to the finding deeper meaning. This is one of the bigger issues in my writing, along with continuing to improve the organization of my thoughts. My goal is to conquer this second semester.
Now a little about the Wikifolio. Since in school we like to view the year as a progression, I’ve decided to set up this Wikifolio in the same way. The essays I’ve uploaded start with my first essay from September to my last essay I wrote for my second quarter author assignment. I’ve included some essays in between as well. The essays I put in show the progression of me as a writer, from my first, worst essay and the later mimic essays which were my best. I look at each essay as a step towards honing my skills as a writer. Therefore my evaluation of each will be what skills I gained from the essay, what skills I used, and what skills I could’ve used to make it better.
My name is Cameron Willette, but since you’re reading this you probably already know this. When I came into the school year I thought I had everything under control, I thought I could bang out any assignment that Mrs. T-F would throw at me. Boy was I wrong. The writing styles between my AP History classes and this class very different and that caught me off guard. Due to this I would describe myself as writer in September as a DBQ Extraordinaire. After having two courses that constantly stressed the DBQ methods, I started to think that’s how you write all analytical essays. It was also very easy to write in DBQ form. There’s a set way to write that will get you good grades and that’s what I became accustomed to. Since September I feel that I’ve moved out of the DBQ routine. Comparing my first analytical essay to my last, it is evident that I’m more engaged in my writing instead of just going through the motions.
Along with the shifting from the analysis styled DBQ to a more interesting style of writing, I’ve also noticed myself enjoying writing analysis papers less and less. My favorite papers have been the ones were we had to do a creative piece while mimicking an author. The thing that surprises me is that I used to prefer the ridged style of the DBQ. Now I enjoy just being able to sit down and write whatever I feel. It allows me to ramble a little bit because it’s hard to move away from a topic that you create. That’s probably why I like creative writing so much now. My biggest problem at the beginning of the year was organizing my thoughts and not allowing myself to ramble and go off topic. With your own topic, it’s harder to do that.
The imitation pieces we wrote aren’t only some of my favorite essays for this semester, but my favorites throughout high school. Especially the one I titled “The Shower
Area” which was the mimic of Holden from Catcher in the Rye. It was a piece were I could finally write about football without it being a play-by-play or a cheesy “I didn’t win the game but here’s what I learned” reflection paper. It allowed me to write about something I’m very familiar with, and expand on it. I believe I like it so much because it is so relatable to me. Being able to pick my own topic to write about is much more appealing to me now than an analytical essay. The same goes for the author project. Being able to pick my own topic and books lets me enjoy the process more than if everything was laid out for me. I think a few of my classmates will agree when I say that
I’ve disliked a majority of the books I’ve been assigned but I like all the books I’ve picked out.
Another thing that I had trouble with in September (and still now) was deriving meaning from writing. In my writing I still sometimes say things just to say them. A lot of my thesis statements were just lists of things that happened as opposed to the finding deeper meaning. This is one of the bigger issues in my writing, along with continuing to improve the organization of my thoughts. My goal is to conquer this second semester.
Now a little about the Wikifolio. Since in school we like to view the year as a progression, I’ve decided to set up this Wikifolio in the same way. The essays I’ve uploaded start with my first essay from September to my last essay I wrote for my second quarter author assignment. I’ve included some essays in between as well. The essays I put in show the progression of me as a writer, from my first, worst essay and the later mimic essays which were my best. I look at each essay as a step towards honing my skills as a writer. Therefore my evaluation of each will be what skills I gained from the essay, what skills I used, and what skills I could’ve used to make it better.
Enjoy, Cam