Langston's English Blog

 Prompt: Clustering helped me think of ideas and concepts that were similar and linked the different aspects of the main topic together. I think clustering is a great way to connect and organize brainstormed thoughts. The part of the clustering method that was most useful to me was the levels to it. By starting with the main topic, then subtopics,  then the smaller topics, it's easy to see what to focus on and then what to incorporate later. I think this strategy could be useful for planning an AP Lang Essay. Summary: Today in class we practiced clustering- and AP Lang essay planning technique Reflection: In class to day we practiced planning for an AP Lang essay. This will be helpful to speed up my time spent planning so I can write more on the AP Exam.

Prompt: The part of my essay that was easiest for me was linking my points after I had thought of evidence. Commentary is difficult for me when I have adequate claims and evidence that supports my thoughts. The most challenging part for me was developing subclaims and evidence. The evidence was one of the hardest parts for me because I'm still in the process of increasing my readings about certain topics. One of the things I would do differently is plan more quickly and focus on evidence and then claims Summary: In class today we practiced writing an argumentative essay. Reflection: Today's practice will directly translate to the AP exam. By practicing like we will test we will improve at pacing, writing the required points, and generating complex thoughts.

 Prompt: One time when I felt that I truly belonged was during a family gathering over thanksgiving. Everyone was huddled around the table and holding hand preparing to say grace. Throughout the evening, I interacted with almost everybody and all of my family members seemed to care about what was going on in my life. What created this feeling was kindness and love. When one is surrounded by people that love and care about them, it is hard not to feel belonging. Summary: In class today we read an article and answered questions. Reflection: In class today we practiced reading comprehension. This will be helpful practice for the AP exam to quickly read passages and answer questions.

Select the vocabulary word from today that you think will be most useful to you in the future. Explain what the word means in your own words and describe a situation in which you could realistically use it. Prompt: The vocabulary word that I believe I will use the most in the future is arable. I think this will be the most useful word as I want to study medicine or environmental science in college and land use and preservation is a large part of that. The word arable means land that is easy to farm and rich in nutrients. A realistic situation I could use it in is when describing environmental land usage during my college studies. This is what makes it the term I would likely use most. Summary: In class today we worked on vocabulary. Reflection: In class today we worked on expanding our vocabulary. This will be helpful to increase my vocabulary for writing and the SAT.

Prompt:  I think the "So What?" method was very useful today.  It allowed me to practice generating reasoning and commentary to prove why a multitude of claims hold true. One thing I understand now about commentary that I didn't fully understand before was how exactly to say the so what? I understand now that you must say why something is important, and from there explain why that importance proves your claim. This will be good to apply on my next AP Lang argument to improve my commentary and hopefully obtain 4/4 for the evidence and commentary section. Summary: Today in class we practiced writing commentary for provided evidence and reasoning. Reflection: This practice will be very helpful on the AP exam to quickly provide commentary. Hastily providing quality commentary will allow me to get the points and move on during the exam.

Prompt: After reviewing and scoring other Ap Lang essays, One important takeaway I can apply is picking a topic that I have extensive knowledge, experience and understanding about. By picking a topic that I have a high level of familiarity with, it is easier to come up with readings, experiences, etc. to write about. Another important takeway I learned is that the structure of the essay can shift and change depending on how one presents their argument.  I learned how commentary is very integral to the essay; it shows depth and makes it easy for the reader to understand your way of thinking. In addition, evidence provides the reader with specific accounts of your topic, but commentary is necessary to link evidence to claims and other ideas. Summary: In class to day we reviewed previous essays and graded them Reflection: We worked on reviewing and grading essays other AP Lang students had written. This will be useful on the Ap exam to understand how to earn the points for the respect...

Prompt: The approach I usually take is looking at the rubric as I complete the assignment. The rubric is an excellent tool to map out preparing to write the argumentative essay. It details the exact points needed for a sturdy claim, supporting evidence,  and concrete reasoning. In addition, it also gives examples for what qualifies as adequate in all categories and inadequate as well. I could use the roadmap to increase my planning efficiency and to understand what things I need to do to get the points and get going. Summary: In class today we practiced brainstorming evidence for an argumentative essay Reflection: In combination with the ideas we came up with on Monday, we finished brainstorming evidence for the reasons to support our claim. this will be helpful on the Ap Exam to practice quickly coming up with strong ideas.

 Prompt: One instance where I completed an assignment without fully understanding the rubric was an AP environmental science project. I didn’t quite understand the requirements on the rubric so I had to try and piece together its. Because of this, I had to incorporate many elements and ideas into the project to try and hit all points. However, if I better understood the criteria and rubric, I could’ve taken less time and been more concise with my answers. Earlier today in class we discussed the rubric which allowed us to be more efficient with our planning and ultimately better comprehend the prompt. Summary: Today in class we went over the rubric for the argumentative essay of the ap exam. Reflection: After looking at the rubric carefully and underlining parts we need to emphasize, we practiced generating our own ideas and planning for an essay. Practicing and planning is a crucial part in preparing for the ap exam as speeding up prep time means more writing time.

Prompt: It was really interesting to see how other people express their ideas. I was surprised by how many different approaches there were to writing. One thing I found interesting was someone establishing their claim and reasoning in a broader context to further explain why their reasoning made sense. It was helpful to see approaches different from my own to get a better understanding of diverse argument. This activity was overall helpful for knowledge and to learn how to critique my own writing. Summary: In class today we revised our writing and critiqued others' writing Reflection: This will be helpful on the ap exam. Learning how to critique my writing will aid in me being more critical and improving my efficiency in argument and reasoning.

Think of a time when you or someone you know used  informal language in a situation where formal language may have been more appropriate . What happened? Looking back, what could have been said differently, and what did the situation teach you about choosing your words carefully? Prompt: One situation where my language was less formal than it should've been was when I was discussing something with a teacher. The teacher had made a mistake with my grade, and I sent them a polite email. The email was structured well however some informal language was used. The teacher fixed my grade but they didn't respond as positively as I expected. This taught me the importance of word choice and using formal language in the appropriate scenarios. Summary: In class today, we examined other groups paragraphs. Relfection: By reading other writing styles and ideas, I can get a more complete concept of argumentative paragraph. This will help me with future writing and improving my writing style.

Prompt: One suggestion from my group members that changed the way I thought about out argument was a suggestion about not adding the ingnorant part of the claim. This allowed guys to lean more into that uninformed part of the argument. As a whole, I think leaning into the more uninformed part of the argument allowed us to hone in on our claim and be more specific with our examples. Honing in allowed us to use the athlete example to explain why uninformed can lead to poor decisions. All in all, I think this suggestion made our paragraph more concise and changed the way I thought about our line of reasoning. Summary: Today in class we worked in groups to create a paragraph supporting an unpopular opinion. Reflection: Practicing with our group will improve my writing for the Ap exam. By practicing, I can gain different perspectives to benefit my writing overall.   

 Prompt: One thing I’ve always been curious about is life after death. My background is Christian, leading me to believe that there is a heaven and a hell and one’s decisions during their life determine where they will be after passing. However, the science says otherwise. Biology and neuroscience show that there is no life after death. They state that once you stop breathing and your heart and brain stops there is just void. This will forever be a mystery and I will always wonder if a soul exists or not. Summary: In class today we got in groups and started to write a paragraph together. Reflection:  We practiced planning a paragraph in class. This will be helpful to increase my planning efficiency for the ap test.

Prompt: Remembering evidence is the hardest part for me. I think it is because we discuss various topics in AP language and. It is sometimes hard to recall recent, and relevant knowledge about a topic. To improve this I am trying my best to increase my readings and experiences to create a more full bank of evidence. I think reasoning is the easiest part for me because with evidence you can connect your points by just talking about how they relate to each other and your claim. However, to have strong reasoning, you need strong evidence. Summary: Today in class we took notes and learned about how the line of reasoning is used to connect points. Reflection: Today’s lesson about line of reasoning  be helpful to strengthen my arguments. By studying how lines of reasoning are created and strengthened I can improve my writing and hopefully score in the ap exam.

 Prompt: A fear I have overcome was the fear of the darkness. When I was younger, I used to fear the darkness, especially in a place with many windows. I would avoid going downstairs in my house at night at all costs and would sprint up the stairs when I did. To overcome this fear, I gradually spent more time in the dark by myself and this allowed me to overcome this fear. It’s cool to see how I can go down the stairs in the dark without any issues now due to my efforts.

  Think about the word or phrase you find yourself using the most right now. What is it, what does it mean, and why has it become part of your everyday vocabulary? Explain when you typically use it and what your choice of this word or phrase might reveal about you. Prompt: The word that I use the most right now is most likely "Brother". The dictionary definition of the word brother is a male sibling sharing on or both parents as the person. However, it could also mean a person that you have a close relation with. I find myself using it a lot as a term to address my close friends, as well as an exclamation in reaction to an array of statements. I'm not quite sure what this would reveal about me but I do like what my use of the term shows about my relationship with my close friends. Summary: In class today we practiced vocabulary and synthesized information from a short text. Reflection: I can use what we learned in class today to increase my vocabulary. By increasing my vo...