May 24, 2019

Dear Mr. Gardner,

Ninth grade has really flown by. It feels like I was typing my “Letter to Mr. G” and

“Questions for Mr. G” just yesterday. Now we’re at the end and I can’t help but feel very

thankful. Recently, I have looked back through old middle school writing pieces, mostly from

last year, and compared them to my ninth-grade work. My first paper this year, “The Heroism of

Percy and Perseus,” contained very similar techniques and writing styles to my eight grade

papers, which allowed me to revise the entirety of the paper, making it fit the standards of my

current writing. After that paper, I immediately saw my writing flourish. Revisions of my later

works didn’t need as much editing as they were already at the level of writing that I wanted. One

of the most interesting changes this year was finding my deep appreciation of writing based on

textual evidence. Each book we read required a paper using textual evidence, quote sandwiches,

character analysis, etc. It was the first time I really learned how to write this way and frankly, I

really enjoy it. It has strengthened my quote integration, reading comprehension, and ability to

prove a statement, all essential English skills. Outside of English, it has helped me with history

DBQs and reading analysis in general. Ninth grade English has also encouraged my poetry as I

continue to write poems outside of class during my own time. With the many units and books we

have gone over this year, I feel as though it was very diverse in literature and topics. I really

enjoyed that as I could expect something new every month or so.

With its various subjects, this class has allowed me to delve into worlds concerning

mentally-challenged individuals, Africa, old English, ancient myths, and poetic writings. By

learning these topics, I have furthered my understanding of the world around me. Using my

writing, I was able to show and increase my understanding of the class as I developed claims,

supported them, and provided analysis of each book. Reading and having class discussions also

allowed me to see other viewpoints and opinions. This opened my mind to consider different
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sides of the same topic. For example, in class, we had a discussion regarding the ethics of writing

books like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime with little to no education on the

topic. During this time, I found myself formulating points for each side as well as experiencing

new arguments that could help support or refute my own ideas. Re-shaping my understanding of

the world, Things Fall Apart opened my eyes to African literature. This allowed me to not only

experience a different culture, but also compare African writing to the European style I have read

all my life.

During my revision process, I realized how I could improve my writing or enhance sections

of it while maintaining the same topics and idea. I was able to make sentences concise, expand

upon concepts, and clarify. This process opened my eyes to how I have not only improved in

writing this year but also been able to improve my past work with the skills I have learned

throughout the year. While editing my papers, I realized how I can communicate the same idea

but with eloquence and clarity. This furthers the papers proficiency while exercising my writing

ability. This revision process really allowed me to revisit writing pieces, such as my first Percy

Jackson assignment, that I could improve upon with my current writing ability, not only showing

how far I’ve come in English but also strengthening papers that had the potential from the

beginning.

My first analytical piece, “The Heroism of Percy and Perseus,” is a piece that originated

from the very beginning of this year. While sufficient, it contained some underdeveloped writing

skills that I sought to change through revisions. In fact, I turned the paper into a comparative

essay as it was initially just a character analysis assignment. I feel the audience for this paper is

people who indulge themselves in Greek mythology. The purpose of the paper is to show how

modern author Riordan, has changed the circumstances and characteristics of Perseus, demi-god
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in an ancient Greek myth, into his own character of Percy. I compare the heroism of Riordan’s

fictional character, Percy, to the actual Greek myth’s Perseus. Thus, this paper’s audience would

most likely enjoy both a fictional read as well as a historical literary work. Throughout the paper,

I incorporate a large amount of textual evidence to support my claim and convince the audience.

For example, I use the quote, “Athena guid[es] his hand [and] with a single sweep of his sword

he cut[s] through her neck” to show how Perseus always receives help from the gods which

overall limits his ability to develop heroic skills. In the conclusion, I compare the gods’

involvement in Perseus’ journey to overprotective parents, a technique that allows the audience

to possibly relate to the paper with a real-life situation. Overall, I completely changed this paper

into an essay while also developing its sophistication into a more developed writing piece,

making me more confident with this final copy.

My second analytical piece, “Responsibility’s Repercussions,” started out as a one-page

paper based on Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart. As a writer, I enjoy longer pieces and found it

hard to consolidate all my ideas onto a page. Therefore, I chose this paper to revise because I felt

like it wasn’t my best work and could reach its full potential if expanded upon. The paper itself

discusses how stress and responsibility can change a person’s personality and actions as shown

by Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart. I also discuss how a person’s initial self before all the stress

can return when the individual is removed from a taxing environment. The audience for this

paper would presumably have read the book so they can go back and see Okonkwo’s character

fluctuate depending on the situation or environment he is in. However, this paper also discusses

the topic of stress and its consequences in school which is very relevant to our current society.

The purpose of this paper is to show Okonkwo’s character development and how his personality

changes from when he was young and without a high rank, to when he’s surrounded by stress
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and responsibility, and then when he temporarily leaves all of that causing his initial self to

appear. Similar to my first analytical, I use quoting techniques to provide enough support for my

claim. I also focus on describing specific scenes from the book, such as when Okonkwo and

Ekwefi were both at the cave together, to allow the reader to understand the context and how it

supports my thesis. Once again, I reference a relevant subject, this time concerning how the

stress of school can also permit character change as kids suffer from anxiety, depression, and

anger issues due to the pressures of education. This gives the audience something to understand

and connect back to, providing perspective on Okonkwo’s situation. Expanding this paper

deemed very necessary and I’m glad I carried out my instincts to choose this paper for my

portfolio as I feel much more comfortable with this outcome.

For my first creative piece or third paper overall, I wrote an additional chapter for The

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. I created this chapter so it would fit between

chapters 157 and 163 in the book. At the end of 157, Christopher finds out that his father lied to

him because his mother is alive and writing him letters. He is extremely distraught and threw up,

so his father helps him take a bath. I continued this bath scene as I felt like it was an important

moment where Christopher navigates and processes the information he has just received. I

labeled the chapter 160. This number is not prime, differing from all the other chapters in the

book. I chose this number for two reasons; the first being because it is halfway in between 157

and 160. The second reason pertains to the idea that Christopher is extremely distressed in this

chapter, so he isn’t thinking straight enough to label the chapter prime. It reflects his brain at the

moment; as he would say “it isn’t working properly.” While writing this chapter, I tried to

embody Christopher’s writing so my chapter could fit seamlessly in with the rest of the book. I

analyzed his other chapters, noticing how he redundantly uses “and,” “then,” and longer
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sentences in his novel. I incorporated this in my writing as well as a fact or two as he usually

adds small pieces of random information within his storyline. Christopher uses a lot of dialogue,

so I included a brief spoken interaction with him and his father, although Christopher doesn’t

reciprocate due to his mental state. I also added a diagram of what the bathroom tiles look like as

he notices details and likes to present them in his book. I thought that by ignoring the obvious

major plot-twist of his mother’s livelihood and showing images of tiles and talking about water

molecules, I could portray how Christopher is trying not to think about the recent events

happening to him. After all, he doesn’t want to spiral. Again, to show the purpose of my piece, I

included small details throughout the chapter and run on sentences as if he is overthinking.

The audience for this paper must have read or at least be familiar with The Curious

Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. The chapter fits within the book so someone who hasn’t

read the book will most likely not understand. The purpose of this chapter is to embody

Christopher’s writing so it can fit within the book. By using techniques such as diagrams, run-on

sentences, tidbits of information, and using “and” and “then,” I was able to accurately write

similar to Christopher.

For my last overall piece and second creative, I decided to do an intertextual poem as

poetry is one of my strong suits. I chose to do an intertextual creative piece because I wanted to

take on the challenge of merging two separate literary works. The poem concerns a hypothetical

meeting between Athena from The Odyssey and Siobhan from The Curious Incident of the Dog

in the Nighttime, where they discuss the differences between their roles as mentors. It’s an

enlightening experience for both as they come from completely different backgrounds and

worlds, mentoring very different people. The italicized stanzas set the scene and provides context

to the situation. Athena presents her story first. I wrote Athena’s part with a lot of alteration and
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poetic technique, incorporating imagery and diction. My reasoning is because I’m presenting a

version of Athena that is in the Odyssey. The Odyssey is a poem as well, so I thought I should

have Athena speak as if she is still a part of that epic poem. As she details her journey helping

Odysseus, I include some quotes directly from the Odyssey to enhance the authenticity of

Athena’s origin and character. When she finishes, I again use italics to transition the poem into

Siobhan’s section. I write Siobhan’s part with a significant change in tone and technique.

Siobhan is a therapist who is straight forward; therefore, I do not use as much poetic technique

but rather straight forward storytelling and emotion. She also feels very strongly and has a

motherly connection to Christopher. This shows towards the end of her segment in the poem. In

contrast, Athena watches over Odysseus and will help him out more as a friend or guardian

instead of a mother. The last stanza, again in italics, acts as a conclusion to the poem, showing

how each woman has shared her story and understood the other. It also makes a reader wonder

what will happen now that each has heard each other’s story and mentoring methods. Will it

change how they act or what happens in their own worlds? The reader must come to that ending

themselves.

The audience for this poem, like my first creative, should know or have read both the

Odyssey and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. The poem includes many

moments from both books so without context from not reading them, a reader would definitely

be confused. However, for those who have read both, the audience would be for people who like

Greek myths as well as fiction novels. The purpose of the poem was to collide two worlds that

are very dissimilar, starting a conversation about their similarities and differences. It also makes

a reader think about what will happen next as a result of the meeting.
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This poem, from its incorporation of two books I love to the small details placed within

its lines, is the piece I am most proud of. While I enjoyed revising the analytical papers, there

wasn’t a whole lot to change about them and I had already written about those topics. Writing an

intertextual piece was something we hadn’t touched on this year which drew me in. I also might

be a bit bias because I do really love writing poetry. My additional chapter to The Curious

Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime came in close second. I guess I just like creative writing. In

the poem, the quoting and details add another layer that further unites both the characters to their

own stories and to each other’s; I find that very interesting. My favorite concept of the poem is

the collision of two worlds by two women sharing their stories. How they met up or what will

happen after the meeting is unspecified, adding to the poem’s depth and mystery.

While revisions, reconstructing papers, and forming creative pieces had its challenges at

times, I think my greatest challenge was this reflection letter. For some reason, it took me so long

to sit down and reflect on my writing. Explaining why I wrote something or how this year has

changed my outlook on the world seemed harder than just writing a paper based on a book.

Exams are also coming up so finding the headspace to reflect is a little rough right now, but

some white noise and a cup of coffee somehow got me through. Once I actually sat down and

thought about this year and how I grew with each piece of writing we did, I was able to make my

way through this letter. It’s amazing how much has happened in a year that seemed to have gone

so fast.

As far as my writing goes, I’m not completely sure. I know I need to work on being more

concise (I mean this letter is already 7 pages and growing), especially for history papers. I should

also work on clarity and deeper explanations. Though overall, I sometimes amazing myself with

some of my writing, but don’t get me wrong, there’s always room for improvement. My plans
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for the summer consist of a possible portfolio of poems and short stories, though we’ll see how

busy I am. Next year, I hope to start up and possibly run OPUS as it was one of my favorite

things to read growing up (my mom brought an issue home every year). Oh, and I couldn’t forget

about my bigger plans for a possible book in the future. I made a complete outline for it last year

and I have only just recently revisited it. We’ll see how it goes; it could be very interesting. It

would definitely test my writing endurance but I might be able to pull through based on how

long I write for. The future looks good in term of my writing as I have already improved so much

over one year. I can’t wait to see where it goes.

This paragraph is probably the most important. Yah the others will be graded but this one

sums up my year better than the rest. I would like to start it with a thank you. Thank you, Mr.

Gardner, for everything this year. Your encouragement and the potential you see in me has not

only allowed my writing ability to grow, but it has also inspired me to want to grow as a writer,

thinker, and reader. Every paper I wrote, I received wonderful feedback that helped me improve

and find confidence in my writing. You allowed me the freedom to explore my abilities while

always complimenting my writing and pushing me to go beyond expectations. The reason why I

say this paragraph sums up my year better than the rest of this letter is that I feel like it would

have been a very different year without you as my teacher. The amount of passion I have found

for English this year astounds me. I always wanted to push my limits to create amazing papers,

each one better than the last. The amount of progression of my writing also soared this year,

more than in any year previous so I truly believe it’s thanks to your help and support. Class

discussions were always fun, we certainly have some very interesting personalities in the class,

and the tests were never as bad as everyone said they were. I’m excited for next year and I know

I’m prepared. I also know that you have not seen the last of me or my writing; I’ll make sure to
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bring you some pieces every now and then just so you know that I’m still writing. I’ll also try to

revive OPUS so the school has another creative outlet for kids to participate in. Another thank

you is due for the English award. It really meant a lot and I will undoubtedly read the book this

summer. My writing has a long way to go but I know where to take it. I’ll even try to get

something published or put in a contest, though I might need some guidance for that. We’ll see.

Thank you for this year, a great class, and the encouragement that has allowed my writing

to evolve. Who knows, maybe I will become an English major.

Have a wonderful summer and I hope to see you next year ‒

Best regards,