Goals

I want to get better at starting assignments earlier, as this will lower the amount of stress. Though I haven't turned any homework in late yet (with the exception of the summer homework, I suppose), it's pretty stressful scrambling to get it finished right before the due date. I also want to get better at analyzing literature. I feel that it would benefit me to annotate more - I don't really like annotating things, and when I do, I have to write on the text itself; I hate sticky notes.

What I’m Thinking About Reading and Writing in College

I'm going to be going into engineering, so I don't anticipate much flowery writing just for the sake of writing. All of the writing I hope to do in the future will be straightforward reports. If I go to U of M, only one year of writing is required for their undergraduate engineering programs, and that requirement can be fulfilled by several classes that only vaguely involve writing.

Areas of Weakness

- staying focused

I tend to get distracted very easily, so it's sometimes hard for me to stay focused on one thing for extended periods of time. To get around this, I only work on one thing for about half an hour to an hour, then switch to another subject.  

- study habits

Aside from having trouble staying focused, I also tend to put off assignments until right before they're due. I'm sure this is the case with many other students, but I feel that I should start doing my homework earlier. This would mean a lot less stress for me as well.

- analyzing literature

Pretty self-explanatory here. I'm not that great at analyzing writing. It's difficult for me to pick up on certain subtletie. 

- discussing literature

This kinda ties in with my difficulty analyzing literature. I can't really discuss literature very well unless I can analyze it effectively.

Areas of Strength

- reading speed

I can read very fast and still pick up on the content.

- writing speed

Once I actually sit down and start a paper, I can get through it fairly quickly. Writing comes very easily to me. It's just starting that's difficult.

- web savvy-ness

I'm more than halfway decent with computers, so it's easy for me to find resources if I'm having trouble with something. On the other hand, this means that the flaws in Spruz really bother me.

 

- ability to devote time to ap lit

I have lots of free time that I can spend working on ap lit work. 

- test taking skills

I'm pretty good at taking tests; specifically, remembering the content in my notes. Even though I rush through the online class notes, I can still remember most of the stuff in them afterward.

What I've Learned So Far

So far, the most important skill I've learned is how to read literature for deeper understanding and annotate it. I feel that this helps me pick up on the author's intentions with his/her writing much better than I could before.

I've also learned a lot about poetry and literary techniques. I knew about everything we've learned about so far already, but I now have a deeper understanding of many of the topics.