Mary Kate Kuchinski

Ap Language Composition

Tatum 4th

5 May 2020

Mary Kate’s Improvements as a Writer

For most of us, writing began at a young age, but it was always considered a task. Along

the way, in middle school, writing became something more to me; it became a way to express

what I was feeling. I know, cheesy right? A little tap on the shoulder for me, but my grandmother

has always told me I have a way with words; I only hope that is true. Even to this day I find joy

in sitting down and taking time to journal, it helps to clear my mind and really allows me to learn

more about myself. Writing in school, however, is another story. I often find my enjoyment of

writing dictated by the topic I am assigned to write about. This year, that dictation held true.

I am going to be honest, the word writing would drag me down; and do not even get me

started about putting the word Wednesday in front of it. Talk about dred (I want to say haha or

LOL, but please know I am refraining). All pain aside, I do believe I have seen myself improve

as a writer and as a student this semester.

One way in particular that I have seen myself mature in my writing is in my word choice

and by decreasing my “wordiness” (Tatum 3). I now have the ability, most times, to realize when

I am rambling in a sentence and failing to get to the point. I do, however, catch myself re-reading

when I come across random words back to back in an attempt to make my writing sound more

advanced; I am not proud of that, but I consider it a learning process.

 Another eye opener to me is that I love using new words. Vocabulary this year has

honestly been so amusing to me because I absolutely love having the opportunity to learn and

use new words. I also enjoy learning the proper definition and context of words when I may have

used them incorrectly in the past. It is almost like a breath of fresh air when I am writing and

then suddenly a new word comes to mind that I now have the ability to use in a triumphant

manner. Vocab is fun AND beneficial, just please do not tell anyone I admitted it (laughing

again, in case you wanted to know).

I wish I could tell you that after this semester I no longer stress about timed writing, or

that I have learned how to get to work and do it successfully, but I can not yet tell you that is

true. Say there is a huge spider, like the one that appears in the Forbidden Forest of ​Harry Potter,​

or the one Gollum attempts to feed Frodo to in the ​Lord of the Rings; ​Once you have that image

in your head, now say it’s name is “Timed Writing”, that is my approach to it. I just feel as

though I get flustered; some days I have no clue where to start, and others I just have so many

thoughts that I have no idea where to begin. What a struggle.

All in all, I feel more confident when I sit down to write. I feel as though with enough

time and acquired knowledge of the topic I can tackle a subject head on while also achieving the

given goal. I also feel more independent when I write; I feel as though I am not at a level where I

have to ask for help as often as I once did. I believe I have grown substantially as a writer and a

student this semester, but I could not have done it without you and your class, Mrs. Tatum; thank

you :).

Disclaimer​: I will not be doing the AP Exam review guide, as I am not taking the exam.