Sunday, November 30, 2008

Theme Reflections

Freshmen: Now that you have completed your first theme, reflect on the process. What specific things will you do differently to enhance the quality of your next formal writing piece? What have you learned in general about how to approach formal writing assignments?

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

For my next theme, I would definately start earlier and get ahead in my writing. I also would italicize the name of the book and read over my writing more times than I did. Other than that, I thought I did pretty good and now know what to look for and fix in my next theme.

Kim Schubert
12/1/08
English F

Anonymous said...

In my next theme I am going to try not to overuse words as much as I did. I am also going to try to use better vocabulary. In general I have learned that finding quotes is not as easy as I thought. Also, I learned not to wait so long to write it like I did this time because writing takes time.

-Ryan Consentino

Anonymous said...

Writing a theme was easier than I expected it to be. It may be more difficult next time since we will not be as guided. Next time I will do pretty much the same things that I did this time but I will make sure to read it over a lot and try to reword some sentences. I have learned that it is easier to jot down some ideas and quotes before weaving them into the essay. I also tend to not write it in order, I just write in my ideas when I come up with them.

Anonymous said...

Cam H.
On my theme paper that I just got handed back to me, I had an 83 for a grade. To me, that's an average or mediocre grade. I could have done better on the quote integration, quality and formatting. Along with that I probably should have worked a little harder on my Grammer/usage/Mechanics section. Next time I write a theme, I will focus more on putting in more quotes and being more careful about my spelling and grammer in sentences. Other than those main two things to focus on, I am content about my thesis statement, organization in the structure, and sentence/paragraph structure.

Anonymous said...

For the next theme I will proofread a few extra times. I will try to integrate quotes and statements better. I will also use better opening and closing statements on my paragraphs. I have learned that when approaching formal writing assignments that you should take it paragraph by paragraph instead of diving into all of it at once.

Samantha Gaglio

Anonymous said...

In my next theme I would pay more attention to the tenses of the verbs I used. I put some verbs in present tense and some verbs in past tense. Also I should try to use better vocabulary. When approaching my next formal writing assignment I would make sure to proof read and use better vocabulary.Also it would be easier if you don’t wait until the last minute to finish it.
-Matt Pelletier

Kady F. said...

There are numerous things that I would do differently to enhance the quality of my next piece. The main thing that I will focus on is proofreading my work for every mistake, especially tenses. I have learned many things from how to use quotes to writing thesis statements. Time management is the key in writting formal essays. Also, it is best to organize your ideas before just starting to write. Finding all of my quotes beforehand really helped me when I was wrtiting, and I have learned to continue to do so. Asking for help and having many editors of my work showed to be the most important lesson in writing formal assignments.

Anonymous said...

The process of theme writing was a little challenging the first time around. It took a lot of time and effort.
The next time we write a formal piece, I will change some things to enhance the quality of it. First, I plan to try to add more quotes to give more detail to prove my thesis. Second, I plan to spend more time editing my essay. Third, I will focus more on my thesis to make it more original and stronger. Fourth, I will try to have the details in each paragraph intertwine with each other better.
In general, I have learned a lot about how to approach formal writing assignments. First, I have learned it takes a lot more time and effort to get a B or higher. I have learned you need to make your thesis very strong and direct to construct you supportive paragraphs in a strong manner. I have also learned it helps if you have other people read your essay several times to help you edit. Next time, I will focus on bettering my writing.
-Meagan Elliott
Period F
12/1/08

Anonymous said...

On the next theme or formal writing essay I write, I will make sure to include citations with my quotes, check over the final draft for errors more carefully, and think about the writing more before I move on to the next sentence or paragraph. I have learned that when writing a formal essay, take everything one piece at a time, and check everything over carefully.

Anonymous said...

For my next theme I would like to manage my time better, and take more notes. I would also find a topic that is used often throughout the play, making it easier to find a lot of examples. Formal writing assignments so far are very challenging and require a lot of attention. You need to be able to think outside of the box on certain topics. I also think that taking notes while reading the book helps in the long run to write essays and themes.


~Brianne E.

Anonymous said...

Next time I write a theme I will try to proofread my theme better and hopefully that will help my grade. I learned that it would probably be easier to find all the quotes first then put them in order before writing about them. That way everything is in order before you start writing about the quotes.

Allison Capprini

Anonymous said...

What I would do to make my writting better would be to explain the quotes more through my own words and to not use nouns relating to myself or to one specfic person, but to the whole audience. What I have learned is that you need to spend alot more time looking over your work and getting your information to get a good grade on your writting assigment. You also need to have alot of supporting details to prove that your statment is correct.

Caisey Calabro Period F

Anonymous said...

Next time, to enhance the quality of the formal writing process, I will stay after school to have my rough draft edited by a teacher.Peer editing can help as well, but a teacher always knows best.I learned that it is good to start writing early because the process can take longer than expected. There is always a chance that you may do something wrong or that a problem will come up unexpectedly.

Tyler Anderson

Peter Le said...

i think that at first, it went pretty smoothly. the thesis statement was satisfactory. the rest of the time writing the theme alternated between running smoothly and being very erratic. the erratic part applies itself especially to the time when i was finishing the theme. i had to rush the last parts, namely the conclusion and the last supportive paragraph. for the next theme, i wont wait things out and i'll try to get things done in the begining to save time for editing and refining it. i might also want to keep the current theme and build off of it structurally. finally, i will see others for more peer editing as well as Mr.Kefor himself.

ive learned that you can take your time but not so that everything is pushed to the last minute. editing is key and that cannot be done without time.

Peter L.

Anonymous said...

Throughout the process of writing my first theme I have noticed various things that I need to improve on for my next formal essay. The first thing is that I need to enhance my vocabulary to a higher level. I mean that I need to find more words that mean many things. For example, oblivious means, completely unaware of everything going on; those are the kind of words I need to find. Also, I believe that my sentence structure needs to be improved. In general I have discovered that themes are supposed to be very specific and show a complete understanding of the subject.

-Tyler Durocher

Anonymous said...

To enhance the quality of the next theme, I will not start the final draft the day before it is due. I will get more than one peer editor and see the teacher for more help. I will revise it myself a couple times and add more descriptive vocabulary. I will fix all grammatical errors, I will read it aloud to myself or someone and correct the errors found. Now I know how to approach the next theme. I have to get all the work done when it is due. This will save me from finishing it all at once. The steps that we took helped organize and revise the work that we had. Since I did not finish all of the rough draft, the revisions done in class could not help me with the ending. The next theme should be simpler than the first one, now that I know how to set it up.


-Kolin

Anonymous said...

I believe I did good and I could always be more alert for stupid mistakes because I am very good at making those.

Brandon Moreau

Anonymous said...

This theme was easier than prevous themes. I find it was easier because of all the work we did on it. We constantly worked on the book Romeo and Juliet together. Reviewing the book helped me understand the themes in the play. Another reason that this theme was easier than others is the fact that you made an example theme for us. You had an example for every paragraph.

Anthony Berardi

Anonymous said...

For my next theme, I think I would start writing my body earlier. I would also spend more time brain storming and not pick the first theme that popped into my head. After doing this first theme, I learned to think ahead of time for these essays.

Amanda Murphy

Anonymous said...

For my next theme I am going to order my time better. I think that I held off the writing until last minute, which didn't make my writing the best that it could have been. I also should have worked harder on my grammer. I learned how to make my writing flow better. By adding the quotes, it helped me put my work together and make sense.

Brianna Rogers!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said,

I thought this process was helpful for our first theme. We as a class should be able to learn from and use our first formal essay to help better our nest fomal essay in the way that we can see our mistakes, understand why we made thoes mistakes, and fix them, so the next essay will look better and have less mistakes. Generaly, I learned that developing your thesis is both hard at first, and vital to your entire essay; it is the heart of your essay. Writing your three supportive essays are also hard, and must contain a good amount of sentences, and enough supportive data.

-John Norton

Anonymous said...

My next theme would have clearer grramer and I would proof read my esay many times. I as a student have learned that one must have as many people that are familiar as possible with the english language read it over. Over all I am resonably satisfied with my level of writing but not with my other writing skills.


Your Good Student
Bradley
Jones

Anonymous said...

The next formal writing piece I would have to enhance my writing.I would have to start my writing earlier. Also i would have to read it over and over again so there would be no mistakes.I learned about the structures of each paragragh.Also I learned that i should take my time on something this important.

Kim Lynch
12/1/08
English-D

Anonymous said...

To enhance the quality of my theme next time I write one I will make sure to check my grammer and mechanics really well and I will try to make my writing flow better. Besides that I thought I did an ok job on my first theme.
--Lindsay Garrone

Anonymous said...

In the next theme i will do many things to enhance it. One thing i will do is check my punctuation, because i didn't do well on punctuation on the first theme. Also goin to Mr. Kefor after school to check my work is a good idea. Keeping the story in cronological order helps the story flow, so i should do that next time. I have learned that i must read directions carfully and use help when i can. All in all that is what i will do next time to improve my next theme.

Anonymous said...

To enhance the writing of my next theme, I will need to do a few things. I will need to reread my theme not only twice, but four or five times. I will check for both spelling and grammatical errors very carefully. I will also have more peers and family members check my theme, as I cannot find all the errors by myself.
To enhance the writing of my next theme, I will need to do a few things. I will need to reread my theme not only twice, but four or five times. If I follow these requirments, I will get a good grade on my next theme.

Panos N.

Anonymous said...

When i got my theme back i thought i did good for the first time. What i have to do next time is reread my essay more and ask a teacher and my mom to read it for any mistakes. In all i did pretty good.
-Nick Stanley

Anonymous said...

Now that i completed my first theme for high school i definately know what to look for in my writing. i will re-read more times than i did. I will be sure to double check all my spelling, typing errors and grammer. i liked it how my organization was, it was much easyer to start my writing that way.



Allyson Salvo
12-3-08

Anonymous said...

Next theme I'll try and actually make sense of the quotes using descriptions of what they are and why. I will try to space lines a little better. I'll also remember to use the thesis for my main supportive paragraphs. Next time will be better.


Tyler C.
B1

kb1poe said...

writing the theme was not all that hard when you had the full play at the ctrl+f , eliminating much of the hastle of quote hunting. also while i was writhing the theme i already had it planned out, so all i really had to do was but my outline into sentences. another factor that made my topic much easier was shakespeare's use of a character's strong language and descriptions to find quotes. on my next theme i am going to edit more thoroughly. i also am going to finish parts of my theme at least a day before it is due.