Throughout the quarter I also had to complete timed in-class essays each focused on topics from the reading due in a given week. This was the most nerve-racking component of the course, but fortunately, was also one I was able to succeed at.

    Surprisingly enough, the in-class portion of the course taught me more about how to read than how to write. Each weekly prompt would be based on one or several of the central ideas in a section of the reading. Because I would have to write to a similar style of prompt each week, I learned to focus on the main idea of the reading and understand any of the author's subtleties that support their thesis. I also learned to summarize the author's development and progression of thought in a chapter in order to understand the significance of what they were writing about as it related to the book as a whole.

    Of course, I did also in prove in terms of in-class test taking. I learned how to quickly find the quotes I need to answer a given prompt and how to connect ideas between different sections of the book. I also learned how to focus on answering the prompt in my essay first and then trying to improve the eloquence of my writing. By having to deal with essay exams each week, I now feel quite comfortable in a timed environment because I know how I should approach the prompt. Here are a few examples of in-class essays that were successful and demonstrate my test-taking ability.

    The first essay relates to Andrew Pham and a turning point in which he beings to better understand his identity. In the essay I try to explain how that turning point takes place as well as why, and support my conjecture with evidence from the book. I know that I was successful on this essay because of the previous two that taught me how to read and think critically about what is taking place inside the book. Reading test #6, moves from Catfish and Mandala and is about Friedman's book, The World Is Flat. The prompt directed me to explain one of Friedman's points about passion in the workforce. Since I knew what to do after taking five in-class tests, this essay was rather simple and went quickly. Previous in-class writing has frequently stifled me in the past but by that point in English 1A I was very comfortable since I knew I had understood the reading and could include all key evidence necessary to answer the prompt.
(if you want to read the prompts specifically for each essay just click on the links below)

Reading Test #3 - Catfish and Mandala

Reading Test #6 - The World Is Flat