Honors English 1A Blog Reflections (11)

            This year blogging I think went really well. I think that blogging has helped me break down exactly what I’m reading to understand it more. I read 10 books this trimester meaning that I did not meet my goal of 15, but I was close. I think that I thought I would read more books than I did because I usually read at night, but once all the homework started piling on, I just wasn’t able to read as many books. I still think that I read a good amount of books for me though. Some ways that I got ideas on what books to read was asking friends what books to read and also looking at what movies were going to be coming out soon and reading those books before the movie came out. I think one strength that I had while blogging was making the blogs interesting for people to read and using text evidence to support what I said.

            One of the quotes that I used in the “Allegiant” blog was:

“The train slows down when we get closer to the fence, a signal from the driver that we should get off soon. Tobias and I sit in the doorway of the car as it moves lazily over the tracks. He puts his arm around me and touches his nose to my hair, taking a breath. I look at him, at the collarbone peeking out from the neck of his T-shirt, at the faint curl of his lip, and I feel something heating up inside me” (88).

            The quality of my writing has improved because I have become better at adding evidence from the text, like the above example. One other example of a quote from the text is:

"He saw the figure long before he reached it, for at this point in the journey the road climbed straight up a hill, as if it had been drawn with a ruler. Someone was huddled by the roadside, brown and gray like the dirt, and for a fraction of a second he was afraid there might have been an accident, that an injured person was lying there. But then the figure sprang up, and he saw the typical gesture. Someone wanted a ride" (Boie 74).

In the beginning of blogging, I didn’t even use quotes until I got that tip from Mrs. Bowman to start using them so the reader can have an example of how the author writes.

One other thing that has improved the quality of my writing is adding pictures of videos in my blog so the readers can get a clear picture of exactly what I’m talking about or describing.  One thing that I think I have improved is ending the blog with a sentence that is not too plain or simple.

Before: This video is a song written by Troye Sivan after being inspired by 'The Fault in Our Stars'. I hope you enjoy!

Now: If you want to find out how Tobias and Tris solve these problems, go read ‘Allegiant’.

            Even though the ‘now’ one is shorter, I think that it leaves the readers with something to think about, being of they should read the books or not. The original ending sentence just told you to enjoy but never really gave you something to think about.

I think that overall my blog has been doing very well and I have been able to turn them in on time and not have them take that long. I think that I will continue to improve my blogging and just keep getting better.

Blizzard Bag (10)

        In class, we are reading Romeo and Juliet. Some things that i am enjoying while reading this is learning more about the story that i didn't know happened or guess had happened differently. I also like watching the book come to life in the movie because it helps you understand the text more. I interested to keep reading on in Romeo and Juliet and learn more things about the book that i didn't know. I think one of the things that i found interesting was that Romeo had a love before Juliet, which I had never known before.
        I am also interested to see what the love between Romeo and Juliet is like since we known that they both die in the end. It's weird to be how quickly they fall in love and how quickly Romeo is able to get over his previous love. I'm looking forward to finishing this book and finding out exactly what happens.

Problems in Allegiant (9)

In ‘Allegiant’, the main conflict in the book is trying to figure out exactly how the world you were living in was being control. All of the characters that have ventured outside the fence are finding out exactly how their world was being controlled and why the things that happened, happened. When Tobias finds out exactly what his genes are like, he thinks that something is wrong with him because they are not pure. This is a problem for Tobias because he starts thinking he’s not the same person anymore. He doesn’t listen to Tris which causes him to get into a group with the wrong people causing death and separation between him and Tris. I think this causes him to re-think exactly what he is doing and what he’s going to get out of doing it. He also needs to re-think who he’s going to trust and listen to because if he just listens to everyone, he’s going to help cause a lot of trouble. One problem that Tris has is always thinking about benefiting for her and not how she is risking everyone else’s life. If you want to find out how Tobias and Tris solve these problems, go read ‘Allegiant’.

(Tobias and Tris from the movie shown above)

 

Letter to the author (8)

Dear Veronica Roth,

I am currently reading the third book in the ‘Divergent’ series “Allegiant” and it is one of my favorite series. I love how much detail and suspense you put into the book. Whenever I read the book, I always want to keep turning the page and not put down the book. The engagement that you were able to keep for readers is amazing. There is always a surprise when you turn the page or something that you didn’t suspect would happen. I can’t wait for the movie to come out and I’m sure you can’t either because it means that your book is coming to life. I think that this book has received so much popularity because of how good the story line is and how engaged it keeps you. Thank you for writing such a great book, and I can’t wait to read another book written by you.

From,

Ruth Davies

Relate (7)

The book I am reading is ‘Allegiant’. It’s written by Veronica Roth. This book has many problems in it that you can relate to. One of the problems that ‘Tris’ is having is finding out exactly who she is as a person. She doesn’t know whether she’s willing to sacrifice her life and listen to those around her and just stay safe. When she decides to go against her friends and family and try to save everyone on her own, she finds out some information that tests who she is even more. Every action that she does just adds to her character. I think that it’s the same way for us in life. Throughout high school and our whole lives, we are also trying to figure out exactly who we are as a person. Every choice or decision we make, Makes an impact on our character and how people see us. I think that this quote is a perfect example of her wanting to know who she is exactly.

“Ever since Tori told me the word for what I am-Divergent- I have wanted to know what it means. And here is the simplest answer I have received: “Divergent” means that my genes are healed. Pure. Whole. I should feel relieved to know the real answer at last. But I just feel like something is off, itching in the back of my mind” (124-125).

                  

I like how the author puts in problems that we can relate to in real life. No matter what the situation is in the book, they are always fighting for a solution. And I think that’s what we should be doing in real life. There are many other things that I think teens can relate to in the book so I hope that you read it.