The Outsiders Imagines, Preferences and One Shots

Tell me what you think. . .

I wrote this for my Portfolio Project in English. I was angry because she isn't a good teacher and I didn't understand the project. She told us it was due and gave us a rubric, but never introduced or explained the project. I also didn't go to America for the first 3 months of school this year, and she has been less than helpful when I stay after for help. So I turned this in.... what do you think of it?

I honestly thought I did perfectly fine in my essay about Animal Farm by George Orwell. I worked very hard to get it done while I wrote my Poetry essay too, but both were extremely criticized. I was told I did the quote wrong for both, keeping my period at the end of a quoted sentence, but according to MLA Format, as seen on , that was perfectly fine and correct. I asked my mother, who also happens to be an English teacher, to check this out and was told it is perfectly fine. I'm not sure what conventions are because you never went over it in class and your students are not mind readers.

    I need to write something about GSP here but I actually have no idea what that means because we never went over any of this in class. My organization was perfectly fine, I tried to put my quotes in order from where they came in the book so they'd seem less confusing in the essay. My structure was fine, although I was never totally clear on what structure you expected since I wasn't here at the beginning of the year and you literally never go over this stuff.

    My writing process has changed a lot since the beginning of the year. Between the two essays and one research paper we've done, I feel completely torn down. In English class in middle school, I haven't gotten anything below a 95% on an essay. In China, I was doing ACT Practice Essays for fun and getting perfect scores from a Writing and separate English teacher. All this year has done is tear me down and make me self conscious of my writing skills, which I know I have. I want to be a writer one day. I put my everything into these essays, even if you don't see it. I spent hours trying to find the perfect quote to work the best with every one of my propaganda examples, and you critiqued me on how I cited things. Which, like I said above, were CORRECT.

    I revised my essay to the best of my abilities, but I know you're still not going to like it. That's fine, the year's almost over anyway. Just know that I understand that I deserved better than an 84%. And MUCH better than a 75% on the Poetry Essay. Because I Could Not Stop for Death is one of my favorite poems, one that I had read and figured out by myself in China. One that my mother taught every year when she was a high school English teacher. I had her read it over when I finished it, and she said it was great. What was wrong with that one if not citations? I'm not really sure what else you expect me to say in this statement, because I wasn't here for the whole year and haven't done as many essays as everyone else. My writing skills didn't have much of a chance to change, but I know that my love for writing has, and so has my courage to put it out there.

I wrote this essay to explain to her that I was having trouble in a new way that she'd hopefully understand... she called me after class today. I got a 62%, bringing my grade down a lot. I will admit that I was wrong about the MLA Format, and I apologized, but still. She told me it was immature of me. She said I acted bratty and babyish, and continued to tell me everything that was wrong with my essays thus far until I was practically in tears. "You're a very good writer," she said, "but this isn't middle school anymore." And when I told her I was doing perfectly on ACT Practices in China, getting 100%, she said "That was another country. They have much lower standards." What do YOU think about that? For the record, I'm still pretty mad, because not only was what she said very hurtful, but my homeroom teacher marked me absent and no one fixed it. Should I go to guidance? Was I being bratty, babyish, immature, or was that okay? My friends all back me up, they say it was great that I stood up for myself. My teacher doesn't think so... What about you, honestly?