Reflection

Nature Essay
I wrote the nature essay to link my experience with nature with Emerson and Thoreau's experiences. I wrote about how my experience with nature wasn't like normal experiences; my experience included the ocean instead of trees and fish instead of insects. I learned how to include more sensory detail. This writing was easy to practice sensory detail on because writing about an enjoyable experience is fun and I could include personal detail in it. Writing about nature was more fun to relate to because it was about me and what I saw, not a character from a book. When I revised this piece of writing I added much more description in my actual experience. I also tied in Emerson & Thoreau's views into my experience more.

Memoir
In this writing, along with the nature essay, I was trying to practice using alot of sensory detail. I used the many different types of brushstrokes we learned in class and in this essay I had fun too. Again, I was able to write about me and my personal experience instead of having to analyze someone else's work. I enjoy this much more than doing a review from a book that I barely understand.
To revise my memior I added and took out so many sentences and words. I practically changed my entire paper when I revised it the first couple of times. There were several parts that started to stray away from the main story that I had to erase. Also I kept remembering funny or important details about it that made the story. I also added a little more descriptive language when I revised it the last time.

I didn't see the connection until this reflection but my two favorite pieces of writing were very similar. Both pieces were papers that I wrote about a time or experience in my life. I chose these two because they were my favorite; I felt like I did a better job of portraying the picture of what I wanted to write, in my head, to the paper. I used a much better vocabulary when I was writing about something I enjoyed.
I learned, in this class, more about commas and how to use them. I also learned the different styles of detailed sensory language and what the different types are called. Taking English III also reminded me how to write better, in a sense of me not getting distracted in my papers and staying on topic. One other thing I learned, had nothing to do with the Google Documents, was how to prepare for an essay on a major test. I didn't do very well on one essay but pretty well on the other and I'm excited that I am learning this before I get to college when they don't walk to you through it like Mrs. Turner does.

Classmates
Three of my favorite pieces of writing were Chelsea's Nature essay, Molly's Nature Essay and Hannah's Crucible Essay. Chelsea used alot of funny metaphors and similes. She also described her experience differently than alot of people; and that made hers unique in a good way. In Molly's essay she did a really good job, to me, in corporating the idea of transcendentalism to her experience. I liked the way it tied in and that it was pretty deep. Along with Molly and Chelsea's writings I enjoyed reading Hannah's essay about the crucible. She compared a character to fire, which was interesting and I like the way her essay was organized. She did a really great job of writing this piece.