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Aubrey Follante
Mazujian
Dual Enrollment 3A
17 May 2016
That Special Place
I originally took Dual Enrollment because I didnt want to take AP
English 12. Last years timed writings and literary devices were ingrained in
my head, and I wanted something fresh. Before English Composition started,
I expected it to be easy, but when I became an active part of discussion and
really immersed the atmosphere, I found that I wanted to challenge myself in
a new way than I had in any AP class. Ive had enough academic challenge
in the past to be confident that I came into this class knowing how to write a
decent paper. Years of the toughest English classes built my foundation on
how to write exactly what most graders look for: flow, organization,
impressive diction, rich ideas. However, it was mostly fake. I learned to
follow an outline and single way that always seemed to work to
communicate my ideas, not a way to express how I truly felt about them.
Some papers need passion and inspiration, others need clarity and
sophistication. This year I learned writing that is meant to be holistic, rather
than speed and concept driven. Dual Enrollment is unique from any other
class Ive taken because it has not only challenged me to build on all the
fundamental factors of writing, but also to create my own style and purpose.

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The year started with a personal narrative essay. Invincible was a
very difficult piece to write because it was the first essay Id writing in a long
while that was all about me. It was exciting and refreshing to not have to
write about the Civil War or how American culture is depicted through plastic
flamingos. In retrospect, Im disappointed in the work because I find that it
was very redundant and forced at times; there were a lot of unnecessary
details that I could have condensed. I was unsure of how to write informally
yet effectively, causing my tone to be too serious at times and not serious
enough at others, which in turn created for an awkward mix of pedantic and
conversational vocabulary. I got so caught up in the fact that I was allowed to
be informal that I was overly colloquial because was trying so hard to speak
in a voice that I hadnt mastered.
The next essay we wrote was a choice between a description and
definition essay, in which I chose definition. I enjoyed this essay because I
still got to channel some of that artistic voice, while taking a more serious
tone.

An important factor of my essay, An Advanced Breed of Monkeys,

was being able to make inferences and specify a purpose. At this point, I
could already see myself improving. My primary form of learning is by
observation and practice, so from our class note discussions, I had become
more confident in how to approach the topic in a way that was relatable yet
still true to who I am. Our preparation helped me to decide why I invented
my own definition of the word humanity and why that was important to
people reading my paper. No longer had I learned just to write about myself,

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but to write about my ideas in a way that connects me with others. My
grade may have only gone up by a single point, but the boost in confidence I
felt writing this paper could not possibly be explained simply by a change in
topic.
Later on in the year, once we had more writing practices, papers, and
fish bowl discussions, we began to write persuasive papers. I wrote a paper
called Under the Rug based on hoarding, a subject I knew very little about.
An argumentative style of writing was much more like I had practiced in the
years past, so I was familiar and successful in the persuasive aspect of
supporting my claim, however the flare of the argument took a lot of effort. I
took inspiration from the note practice we did in class to understand how to
use the pathos, ethos, logos, etc. to appeal to the empathetic, sensitive side
of people while still staying rich in content. By this time, I was much more
confident in the voice of my writing, and made effort to focus on the purpose
aspect. Okay, its a shame that people are hoarders, but why is that
important? How can others possibly help? These are the kinds of problems I
had to approach and I know that the peer review and practice conclusion
workshops helped me to grow and see my writing in a new perspective,
unlike I otherwise would have on my own.
The last big paper of the year was the Rogerian argument. It was
appropriately placed at the end of the course, as it was one of the hardest to
tackle. In this essay I felt like my growth in the course shined the brightest.
I had to the main factors of writing I learned this year, as well as a new one-

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audience- to have this paper be successful. At the beginning of the year, I
couldnt have possibly written this type of essay, mixing argument with
concession and perspective and sophistication, while simultaneously finding
purpose to depict and explain to the unenlightened readers. It challenged
me to combine and utilize all the tools we learned this year (grammar,
organization, they say I say, effective diction, tone, etc.) into a type of
writing that I had never even heard of before. The feedback from my
teacher, the support of my peer reviewers, and my newfound confidence of
persuasive writing, helped me to excel in this portion of my writing career
with flying colors.
Success in writing and in life is dependent on the the way people
choose to take on new challenges. The few essays Ive written over the
course of the year have challenged me to think about the way I write: to
accept criticism, to make decisions based on my own style, to write with
conviction, to find balance. They have augmented my knowledge of the
power of words, and the power of emotion. They have shown me to channel
feelings into a way that benefits society. Ive found a niche in my community
through purpose. I found my voice and my style. Any English class could
teach me how to write, but this class taught me why to write. Another period
could have improved sentence structure, grammar, and mechanics in
practically any course, but the ability to form writing unique to me-my style,
my voice, my purpose- could not have come anywhere but from a special
place. Thanks to Mrs. Mazujian, Dual Enrollment was that place.

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