Most Important Skill (Extra Credit)

     Throughout this quarter, my mind has taken in vast amounts of new knowledge, I guaruntee equal to the amount I learned within the course of my eighth grade year. A lot of this new knowledge gained has stemmed from English; with this knowledge comes important skills and concepts. Among the many important skills, I feel that the one most important and beneficial to me would be analyzing writings through the method of TWIST.

     Through the use of TWIST, we submerge ourselves deeper into the writing, giving us an even greater knowledge and meaning of it. Tone for any writing is very important, for if the reader does not know the tone, they are reading it in vain. Word choice is also important, and much easier to decide on than the tone is. Imagery will give the reader an enhanced imagination of any of the senses being portrayed in the writing. Imagery is used a lot in describing any aspect of things in the writing. Authors always will have a certain style they use in their writing, such as metaphors, similes, personification, alliteration, etc. When the writing has been analyzed for all of the previous, the theme can be deduced.  The theme gives the true meaning to the writing, and is one of the most important aspects of any book, poem, short story, etc.

     Looking at different pieces of writing using this method was very helpful to me. It has enabled me to find more meaning in the words, and I think it will make me a better writer.

"Lobsters"

     To delve into the true meaning of the poem "Lobsters" one must read, reread, think, and discuss it; without this approach many would take this poem as merely decribing literal events, with no symbolic connections. In the discussion of the poem "Lobsters" I felt the most intriguing topic brought up was that of how the poem could be against consumerism. This change in subject greatly enhanced the flow of discussion, opening everybody's mind to new, fascinating, ideas. This idea was about how lobsters are a delicacy, yet they are mass marketed and people take advantage of this.
     This topic brought yet another meaning to this poem, one of great satire. It truly made humans out to be no dumber and no smater than lobsters, infact, rather similar creatures. It showed us to be ignorant as to the consequences of our actions, and that in the end both beings will have a 100% mortality, some going before others. We are all fearful to face this inevitable fate awaiting us. The comparison brought a better sense of the inner meaning of this poem to my mind.

Five Part Paragraph

     In these five part paragraphs, one issue in many has to do with embedding the quotations, or concrete detail. If not properly embedded, the concrete detail ruins the flow of the paper because it isn't tied in, or it just starts without any words to flow into it. Another significant problem in these paragraphs is the use of plot summary within the selected commentary. Commentary is supposed to reflect your own ideas and beliefs, and not a rehashment of what occurred in a certain part of the novel. In the commentary, it was important to tie in the book's theme to our own thoughts, yet many papers just stated what happened in that part of the novel, perhaps attempting at putting in their own ideas; but not quite making it. In my opinion, things that make a great paper are: great word choice, intriguing ideas, unique topics, and obviously correct formatting.
     In my paragraph, a major thing for me was using too many very long sentences that would have been better off with periods. To help fix this problem I feel that I need ro reread my paper out loud to get a feel for how it sounds, and fix the sentences accordingly. Another minor mistake I made in my paragraph was putting a "P" when I cited the page number. This is obviously an easy fix, I just need to memorize it for future papers. I enjoy the five part paragraph; it is easy to edit because it has a certain format, and for that reason they are also very easy to critique. For my next paragraph I will mainly focus on getting my sentences to flow better, and not sound monotonous or never ending.