15

Secrets are evident in every aspect of life. In Sante's essay, there are three main reasons for secrecy: Soviet Union, internet, and confessional culture/media.

First up, the author discusses the Soviet Union. This was the part of the essay that was initially confusing, but I think that the main point of it was that people in the Soviet Union had to keep secrets because they didn't want to get in trouble with the government. This type of secret protects the safety of the individual who has the secret.This is not normally a secret that they would share with their close friends due to the possibility of the government finding out.

Next, the topic of internet comes up. The internet is one of the biggest places where people share secrets. Nobody over the internet knows who "animegirl27" is. These people feel that they are making real connections with other people, and that alone is reason enough to trust them with their deep secrets. However, Sante argues that the internet is one of the places where secrets can spread like crazy. Some people might in fact know who "animegirl27" is. Posting secrets onto a place where the whole world can view it is not exactly a very smart idea.

Sante's last thought is on confessional culture and the media. We live in a place where we feel insecure if we are the only ones feeling a certain way. Confiding in a close friend and letting them know the secret is a way that humans get emotions off of their chest and into the open. Being human, we have the desire to tell something that we know that we shouldn't.

14

I have a friend who is one of the nicest girls ever. I will bet my life on that. She is always so polite, I've never seen her mad or frustrated. She is the definition of a polite young lady.

When I see other people, especially the rude boys (mostly freshmen) I can't help but wonder why they aren't as polite as my friend is. 

The main problem is that public schools don't place as much emphasis on ethics and values as they should. Schools these days are obsessed with raising their test scores by supplying their students with busywork. Class after class, students are just handed the material and expected to learn it. While these are important for their education, this does not necessarily make them a good citizen.

Students should be taught important values. "Respect" is a wonderful value, since everyone regardless of age or status deserves respect. It's a value that is very positive, and it's rare that it can be taken negatively. Along with "respect", "kindness" and "honesty" go along with it. Being "kind" and "honest" is giving "respect" to someone because it is the opposite of "mean" and "lying".

While values are important, it's also important to keep in mind that some believed values can do more harm than good. On the subject of education, the student is expected to turn in their best work. This goes along with consideration, because the student is taking their time to put forth the best effort into their work. This is a good value, as long as it is kept in moderation. If teachers expect good work from students all of the time, and assign a lot of work, students may get stressed and resort to academic dishonesty to be "considerate" to the teacher by continuously putting forth their best work.

13

"Hey, this movie came out this weekend! It looks pretty awesome, let's go check it out!"

"No, it actually sucks. Don't waste your time or your money."

Conversations like this happen on a constant basis. What makes that movie "super awesome" or "absolutely terrible"?

First off, this shouldn't be a generic topic about movies. There are so many different kinds of movies in all sorts of categories. There are funny movies, and scary movies. There are dramas and musicals and romantic movies. 

I personally like the darker movies, especially those associated with Tim Burton. One of my favorite movies from him is Corpse Bride. I would classify it as a good movie because of all the elements it combines effectively. There is always the need for visual appeal, especially in animated films, and Corpse Bride has some great graphics. As an artist myself, I know how difficult it can be to make an art detailed while trying not to clutter it. The artwork in this is very detailed, but it does not give any sense of clutter to it visually. A movie like this also needs a good storyline. While Corpse Bride is a completely fictional tale (there's no way a corpse could talk in real life!), it ties in realistic elements. For example, the corpse bride, Emily, was betrayed by a lover before her death. The betrayal led her to wait for the marriage vows. This is a natural human emotion of hope. I believe that hope is one of the main themes of the movie.

On the contrary, there are elements that can make a movie "terrible". For this, I will use the film The Last Airbender as an example. The Last Airbender is a film based upon an animated series, "Avatar: The Last Airbender". The previews tricked many viewers into thinking that high tech special effects could be the basis for a great movie. Personally speaking, I felt that the special effects were the only part of the movie that was worth watching. This film had many actors that I had never heard of before, and their lack of experience showed. With a film based on a series like this, it leads a lot of viewers to have high expectations, and this movie did not meet those expectations. The Last Airbender's viewers expected the film to move along the same plot as the series, but were disappointed when so much from the series was left out of the film. There were some viewers who were mad about the mechanical details in the film, like the name pronunciation. The names are Asian-based, so it's easy to see how they could be difficult to pronounce, but viewers believed that the actors should have watched the series to get into character better.

The movie industry is a serious business, and there is always a risk involved when making a movie because of the public opinion. However, as long as they put forth their best effort and make the best movie they could make, hopefully the public will appreciate it.

12

I answered the Pink Flamingo prompt, but I could have added more to the beginning of the thesis. I did not really explain my point until the end of the essay. My thesis was there, but it was not as clear as it could have been. My paragraphs were linked, but my transitions were a little off. I think I tried to cover too many ideas, so I was not able to develop all of my ideas as fully as possible. I feel that I included a lot of details and quotes to support my analysis.

I felt more organized during this timed write because I had the experience from the Rodriguez essay "under my belt". My thesis did not go well, so if I had the chance to revise this, I would work more on what my essay would actually be about. If given more time, I would change my essay to incorporate a better-thought-out thesis. The organization went mostly according to plan, but as I wrote it, I changed some of the structure here and there to make the language more vivid. As I wrote the essay, I began to understand more of what the author was trying to say. I saw her point of view more clearly as I wrote this essay. If I had to write a timed essay tomorrow, I would try to organize my thoughts on another sheet of paper before beginning the writing process.

11

Upon entering the class, I've become more aware of how I write almost every time I pick up a pencil. Since August, my writing has changed because I've noticed I've used a more mature voice. I've written with a more formal attitude about my topic, and I haven't used casual sentences. My writing has stayed the same since the beginning of the class by always needing improvement. I am very critical of my work, and almost always feel like I need to add just something to improve it. As a writer, my strengths have almost always concerned grammar, punctuation, and spelling. I read everything I write to myself in my head first, and once more after I write it. If there is a sentence that sounds odd, I take another look at it to see what I can fix about it. However, I still see a weakness of it being too basic. I have not strayed from my "comfort zone" as a writer, and I feel that I need to take a little risk with my writing to improve it. I plan on using more action in my writing to make my words stronger.

If I had time to write another draft of my definition essay, I would organize my ideas and put more thought into making the essay flow more smoothly. I rushed through the essay, and I feel that if I had the opportunity to fix it, I would be able to produce a better essay if given more time. Unfortunately, my essay was not read and given peer feedback. However, I am still revising the essay because I was not satisfied with my grade. So far, my biggest problem is organizing my thoughts to flow smoothly.

So far, through my revision, my biggest success has been a thorough organization of an outline of my topic. I've listed what points I want to keep in the essay and what points I felt pulled me away from my topic. So far, my narrative, descriptive and illustrated elements are not combined all into one, but they are in the essay separately. My best success considering audience is that I understand that not everyone in my audience is as familiar with my topic as I am, so I am careful not to go into a description that will be difficult for an average person to understand.

I was intimidated by the fact that it was the first major AP English essay. In my sophomore English class, my teacher let us read some essays that his AP students wrote, and some of the essays really impressed me! I was always unsure of whether or not my essays could come out as impressive as those did. As we studied methods in class, I was influenced to use more vivid language in my essay, since normally my essays are very bland with a lot of boring simple sentences. After hearing some student examples, I wanted to try to incorporate a story into my essay, which I will hopefully accomplish in my revision. My peers also helped a lot when I asked them if my essay was "good or not". Most of the time, they said that I wrote such a good essay, but they are also my friends. The best advice I received was for me to slow down my writing because it sounded like it rushed too much to get to the point. After completing this writing assignment, I feel that I have grown as a writer, but there are still many writing techniques to learn and incorporate into my essays to come!

10

It's the feeling that everyone in the world ignores your problems. It's feeling like everything in the world can and will go wrong. It's feeling like you don't exist.

This is what it's like to be a "nobody". They are always in the background of life, and unnoticed. Perhaps they don't know how to be noticed. Everyone has been a "nobody" at least once in their life. Some people choose to get away from that status by doing wacky things. We can all remember that one "crazy kid" from middle school who did something insane. Other people get away from being a "nobody" by doing things to make other people like them and know who they are. 

It's our desire to be noticed that makes the idea of being a nobody one of the worst imaginable situations. Humans want people to know that they exist, that they aren't just in the background. Humans want to feel that they have a purpose in life.