One Thing
What is the ONE work you think would have helped you in this course?
posted by correa at 7:17 PM
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
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in an attempt to liven debate and discussion, this forum has emerged from the labyrinth of correa's mind to provide students with a vehicle for questions, expressions, musings, and bemusings.
posted by correa at 7:17 PM
64 Comments:
Multiple choice.
We wrote plenty of essays, something I'm glad happened, as I believe it helped with the AP.
I think this should be tried out on sophomores next year.
1 quiz every week. One selection from a released MC test. Give them the proportionate alloted time at the beginning of class. Will start class off well (since sophomores are loud). If time is 11 minutes, 2st period quiz will be done at 10:51.
The selections usually aren't longer than 10 questions.
Graded by how many incorrect. 4 off per incorrect answer. Let's say one gets 7/9 correct. They'd receive a 92. 7/12 would be an 80, as opposed to a 58.
Maybe have some other grade with corrections. With explanations.
If done, effort should be made to do it once a week. Peer-grading could be done for simple grading. All done within 1st 15 minutes, class is calm and already thinking.
By AP, they will have analyzed roughly 30 passages, equivalent to about 6 AP's.
To reinforce corrections, one could reuse a test after 3 weeks. If they actually did it, they should get 100.
-There's a reason it's anonymous. It should help with every course in future. Reading analytically is always a plus.
More class analyses. Does that count? :D
It might have been helpful if we had read more material discussing use of rhetoric or rhetorical devices. We had a good amount of discussion on argument and stating one's point, but we didn't spend enough time on how to answer the rhetorical analysis question on the AP.
More practice test. Especially timing with the multiple choice, which was a definite problem for me on Wednesday. I finished without guessing but I had about a minute to check anything/everything.
More class article analyses.
Fahrenheit 451 is a must-read. Our class read it with Mr. Templet as freshmen but I think it would be a very good book to discuss for future classes that may not have encountered it.
I think one-on-one discussion about my essays and possible revisions to them, whether during or after class, might have helped me to fine-tune my writing skills.
I think that more practice on writing and organizing the essays would have helped as well as a book on women's rights. Getting some of our work back will some editing wouldn't have be so bad either...
I think that getting back some personal feedback on all of my writing assignments would have been great because then I would have seen which things I should improve and how I should approach things from a different angle. It would have also let me know if my writing is improving or if I need to start focusing on a certain aspect of writing such as grammar, format, etc. I think that without some criticism, some students cannot step up their writing.
I agree with some of the previous comments pertaining to feedback, with a few added remarks pertaining to feedback. First, I think that the amount of writing we were asked to do this year was beneficial. It is difficult to be good at anything without doing it fairly frequently, and I think that perhaps even a little bit more writing would not have been out of place. Second, in respect to the second semester, I think that more AP-style essay prompts would have been helpful.
I believe that class discussions on and ideas pertaining to AP-style essay prompts and how to approach them would have been a beneficial factor in this course.
I also agree with what my other peers have suggested. However, I do want to add that a little more practice writing AP-style practice essays, or a little more AP practice tests would have been beneficial.
Perhaps it would've helped to write essays in class in a teacher-led group, where after discussing a subtopic, people read their paragraphs aloud, improving content and structure with peer and teacher feedback. Also, maybe working through some multiple choice tests as a class would have been beneficial.
I also believe that feedback on our work would have been beneficial. It would have helped to know what I was doing wrong, and then I could have targeted that area and hopefully improved by the time the AP came around. I would also like to add that more timed multiple choice tests would have helped. They would help us pace ourselves better and learn to adequately manage our time.
I think it would have helped me for you to show us, in synthesis essays, how to take notes on the important rhetorical devices in the essay.
Also, the feedback idea would probably increase scores that you give us on AP prompts and of course on the AP.
I also think that feedback on all of our essays would be very beneficial. I think if it would start from the very get go, our essays would have improved over time and we would have been even better prepared and confident about the essays on the AP. The class discussions were great, maybe more discussions about the rhetorical essays and how we are to approach how to find them and how we elaborate on how the impact of the story is enhanced.
After reading Postman's Amusing Ourselves To Death, considering its implications and message, and viewing how it could be applied to the modern day, I think that reading Aldous Huxley's Brave New World would have been an interesting way to compare and contrast what Postman spoke about with the actual piece itself, and see just how relevant the message in Huxley's novel is today as well.
I agree with the many comments about feedback and revisions on our essays. Our writing skills could have increased greatly in preparation for the AP. Discussions over former AP responses to the rhetorical analysis prompt would have helped as well.
I think that it would prove beneficial to all students to be able to have a class discussion about the AP-multiple choice questions from previous year or AP-styled questions. Having a class discussion would have helped me know as to what way I was supposed to think during the actual AP exam.
Getting feedback on previously written essays would have helped as well. This would point out my weak areas, so I could refine them.
I think if we were to have read more novels of various genres it would have been beneficial to help distinguish our individual voice in writing. In other words, the exposure of many different authors, by sampling and analyzing their work, could have helped create our own voice.
I agree that edited/revised essays would have been beneficial but I also think that a lesson on how to annotate would have been extremely helpful because a lot of people have not been taught that skill yet.
I really would have liked if we could review and correct our essays for both grammar and content, so that we could know our faults and improve for the AP and essays in general.
I think the discussions in class really helped me a lot. You went over arguments and we made arguments and I really feel like I learned a lot of things that I will actually use in REAL LIFE. As for the AP test, I don't know if this year the multiple choice was just a little easier or that I just learned most of it in class. I think that this class really taught a lot 'under the scenes' because we had few actual lessons about parts of speech or whatever, but I learned a lot. At least enough for the test.
It would have been helpful to have group discussions, breakdowns, and analyses of example AP test questions more frequently during the year as well as more individual attention per student in terms of determining writing skills and preparedness for the test. Identification of areas that need the most improvement may have also boosted test readiness in some students.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen would have helped tremendously in sharpening our annotation skills. I know it would have taken forever to read but the amount of practice we would have received in retaining information would have been very valuable.
I would think feedback on the essays we wrote would've enlightened us as to the mistakes we made in writing and how to improve such. I really liked all the discussions we had about politics and ongoing world events and maybe having large class discussions about several current events would've helped us sharpen our skills when it comes to arguing in favor of a position, something that would've been nice for the synthesis :)
I think I should have practiced more with timed rhetorical analysis essays.
I would have loved to have read more, even though our class in the composition part of AP English. IT still would have been beneficial to everyone and brought up new spheres of thought. I thought feedback was good for my essays, I just think most people didn't know they could ask and come back later to further discuss their essays. More AP multiple choice would have been helpful, and pop essay prompts, otherwise it was a good year.
As others have stated before me, I think that feedback on our essays would be the most beneficial to developing our timed-writing skills. Practice is one thing, but refinement requires thoughtful review, and that was something we really didn't do much of.
It would've been nice, perhaps, to have had after-school sessions to examine our essays.
More timed assignments, such as practice AP tests, would have helped me. Also, more frequent class reviews of literary terms and rhetorical devices would have been helpful as well.
I would have liked to go over the books we read to point out literary devices. It's one thing to memorize them, but seeing them written in published works would have been great practice. Especially with the ones that are difficult to recognize.
I believe a couple more reviews of rhetorical devices would of helped me more. I understand that you gave us a list, but maybe a few quizzes just to make sure we're reviewing them accordingly.
I would have liked to receive feedback on my essays which would have better prepared us for the ap.
Another "feedback on the essays I've written could have been beneficial" post. Or at least after writing essays on AP prompts, reading a 9 or high scoring essay to us would've been good enough (at least for some). I would also recommend reading and analyzing feminist articles/passages just because they seem to pop out very often.
Analyzing current trends in society, like those that usually appear in synthesis essays was really helpful.
It seems extremely repetitive to say. However, more feedback would have been very helpful in assesing my writing level and figuring out what areas could use improvement. Besides that, I've loved this class.
I also agree with the few others who mentioned review of the rhetorical devices. A quiz every once in awhile over them would probably help. There's also never too many practice AP tests. I honestly felt really confident in the test though.
FEEDBACK. I know it was mentioned earlier, but I agree with everyone on that point. Though the amount of writing assignments we had this year was beneficial, we never really heard your critique on our work. Practice makes perfect, but we could've been consistently "practicing" incorrectly and never known the difference. Other than that, I would have loved to have more reading assignments. I feel like we could've taken on more books this year.
obviously, you aren't the best ap teacher.
^ OBVIOUSLY, Mr. Correa's students only had two or three specific suggestions. Overall he's a phenomenal English teacher who doesn't spew bullshit out of an "AP English Guide to a 5". He actually teaches his students to analyze, question, and think independently.
I just realized you asked about one specific work that would've helped me in this course and I made a comment about lack of feedback. I think that Catch 22 would've been an excellent book to read, especially after The Things They Carried.
you did a terrific job teaching us :) aced that AP
I believe that the timed multiple-choice tests we had in class were extremely helpful in preparing me for the AP exam. I also feel that feedback on essays would have greatly improved my writing skills. If possible, access to student samples/examples from passed exam essays would give us an idea of what a 9 looks like and the varying styles and techniques that one can use to achieve that score. I have to agree with Nohemi that feminist pieces have become a recurring theme on past exams.
More multiple choice practice tests, and especially more lessons on devices and their applications in essays. I feel those two parts together could help other students.
While our discussions on argument and professional discourse may have been interesting and given us a chance to think critically, it is one thing to think, or even to talk about something in class, and being able to effectively portray those thoughts on the page. Analysis over structural development of our own arguments and ways we could improve them (feedback on any of the essays we wrote) would have been leaps and bounds above any work we could have gone over. Although, since you asked for it, if we had gone over some material helping us get familiar with the literary devices and their appropriate usage, that would have helped a lot on not only the rhetorical analysis essay, but also on a lot of the multiple choice as well.
I think feedback on our essays and how to correct the mistakes in our essays would have been helpful. Other than that, I felt prepared for the AP.
You could have assigned more essays out of class.
The one work that would have helped me is The Great Gatsby (novel) because it would have enhanced my understanding of the movie.
The one work that would have helped me is The Great Gatsby (novel) because it would have enhanced my understanding of the movie.
Though I agree with the prior statements about increased essay feedback, they do not answer the question that was asked, something we were warned against doing shortly after finishing Amusing Ourselves to Death. I think that the Adventures of Huckleberry Fin would have added depth to the argument concerning slavery. Also, plenty of works including The Invisible Man allude to it, so reading it may help to better interpret these allusions.
I felt generally prepared for the AP, however I would have liked feedback on the six weeks exams which help us decide if we are allowed independent study or not. It would be helpful to know how to improve on our essays.
English is fair enough a class where the benefit is determined ny the effort. Throughout the year, we had many opportunities to write and practice our capabilities of accurate expression. The only thing I wouldve hoped for more was constructive criticism. The work in itself was more than enough. It is understandable that it is difficult for a teacher to give frequent individualized criticism, but thats the only thing i can pinpoint.
The book assignments were rather useful because they expose one to literature, analysis, and more importantly diction. More feedback on the accompanying essays would be nice as well.
Our reading selections were very spread out, encompassing many different genres and styles of writing (that use diction :D). From war stories heavily topped with sentimentalism, to philosophical peices like amusing ourselves to death, and the Invisible Man which goes into the depths of racism and prejudice. I must say though, I would have liked to go into fictional pieces, allowing us to study more varied rhetoric forms. Overall, I think we read a lot of pieces that used diction. XD
I think more rhetorical practice stuff. More different things. The article analyses helped but maybe doing more of things like that and doing different things to strengthen our abilities to identify and talk about rhetorical devices used in literature.
Through the course of the year I would of liked to have gotten feedback on our in class and out of class essays. The feedback would of helped to improve our writing and how to manipulate language efficiently.,
I would have liked to get feedback on essays a tad bit more and to read more Biblical text
More focus on literary elements .
One work I think might have helped with this course would have been The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
The amount of writing we were required to do allowed us to gain an understanding of what we were to expect in future college level courses and on the AP. Though this proved to be beneficial, it would have been nice to have received feedback on our essays and to have allowed us to correct our essays. It would prove to be of value to know more reasons why our essay's might have been a seven instead of an eight or nine.
I thought the class was fine in terms of preparation. I enjoyed the philosophical discussions and the analysis of argument. The only thing that we did less than the rest was group rhetorical analysis, but even still, it was adequate to get a firm understanding of the formation of a solid argument.
I think i was prepared with the various discussions that we had in class. Throughout the year, we had alot opportunities to write and practice our capabilities of accurate expression. The only thing I would have hoped for more was more criticism. The work in itself was more than enough. Also more article analyses could have helped but overall i think the class did a very well job at giving us the tools that we needed to pass the AP with at least a 4
AP English seems to me something that focuses on themes and is tied into an essay by showing how those themes were conveyed using specific rhetorical devices. To better improve these skills, I believe it would have been beneficial to recieve feedback on my essays to know exactly what I could have worked on and what I should stop doing. However, the class discussions did help cover many themes about everyday life (especially the role of technology in our ever-changing world) that I could consider when writing my AP essays.
i definitely believe that more in-class timed writing assignments, coupled with AP style grading(and scoring) and one-on-ones over improvement would have helped the class in general.
you suck
This is the most pointless class EVER
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