Tse1

TiffanyTse
Ms.MillerandMrs.Crichton
APEnglishLanguageandComposition
2July2013

WhyIWriteByTiffanyTse
Fromaroundsecondgrade,mypreviouselementaryschoolinHongKongdedicatedtwo
backtobackclassperiodsaweektowardwriting.Weturnedpicturesintolongparagraphs.I
rememberedthatIneverlikedit,eventhoughitwassupposedtobefun,becauseIwasneverableto
makemydescriptiveparagraphsascreativeorasdetailedasmyclassmates.
UnlikeOrwell,Ineverfeltlonelyathomeasachild.Thesixyearagegapbetweenmybrother
andmecausedmyparentstoshiftalloftheirattentiontowardme,theiryoungestchild.Iwasalways
occupiedwithschoolonweekdaysorfamilygatheringsonweekendsbecausemymomssideofthe
familyconsistedofsevencousins.WhenIhadtimeorremembered,Iwouldtakeoutmymatchingset
ofpenanddiarytojotdowneventsthatoccurredonthatspecificday.Itwasaboutactivitiesand
moodsoftheday.IrememberwritingonenightabouthowIhatedmybrotherbecauseIdidsomething
thatmadehimmadandhestoppedplayingUnowithme.
OfOrwellsfourmotivesforwriting,Iagreemostwithwritingforpoliticalpurposeeventhough
OrwellandIshareadifferentkindofwritingforpoliticalpurposes.Hispoliticalmotiveiscausedbythe
timeperiodhelivedinwhilemineisaboutimprovingthelivesofshelteranimals.Inthefuture,Ihopeto
advocatefortheshelteranimalswhocannotspeakforthemselvesandpersuadecitizenstoadopttheir
nextpetthroughthepowerofwordssuchaspersonalstories.However,IdonotagreewithOrwells
Tse2
motiveofsheeregoismbecausetobehonest,Idonotthinkanyofmywritinggoodenoughtobe
rememberedbyothers.Ibelievehismotiveofsheeregoismwascausedbyhischildhoodlonelinessand
thathewantedtoshowhisadultsthathedidnotneedthemtobesuccessful.Additionally,Idonot
agreewithaestheticenthusiasmbecauseitremindsmeofwritingpoetryandmakingwordsrhyme.
Makingwordsrhymeandhavingspecificsyllableshasalwaysbeenmychallengeandithasneverbeen
pleasurableforme.TheonlyreasonsIwriteare:
(i)TobetterprocesstheinformationIlearninschool.Writingallowsmetounderstandthe
informationIlearnedatschoolinamoreindepthwaybecauseitallowsmetosynthesizethematerial
andmakeconnections.Forexample,inAPWorldHistorylastyear,wehadweeklyessaysasour
chaptertest.Thedifferenttypesofessayswewrotewerecomparison,continuityandchangeovertime,
anddocumentbasedquestion.Analysiswasrequiredforallthoseessayswhichallowedmeto
understandwhysomethinghappenedandforcedmetothinkamoreoutsidethebox.Iwouldnothave
madeconnectionsorthoughtaboutwhysomethinghappenedwithouttheessaysbecausereadingthe
textbookwasaverymundaneactivityandallIwantedtodowasgettogetitdone.Writingthedifferent
typesofessaysalsoallowedmetoseethecauseandeffectpatternsthroughouthistorywhichallowed
metobetterrememberthematerialsfortheAPExam.Lastly,writinghashelpedmedivedeeperinto
thebooksIreadinEnglishclass.Forinstance,wereadOfMiceandMentwoyearsagoinclassand
wewroteanessayaboutthelonelinessthatmultiplecharactersinthenovelfaced.Thisgavemeamuch
deeperunderstandingofthedifferentcharactersbecauseithadmethinkandmakeconnections.
Throughwriting,ithelpedmeunderstandthecharactersmorethanjustreadingthebookalonebecause
Iwasexplainingeverythinginwritingandanalyzing.
(ii)Tokeepmemories.WhenIhadmoretimeasachild,Iwroteinmydiarytokeeptrackof
Tse3
activitiesthatIdidoremotionsthatIhad.Writinginthediarywasliketakingapicturetofreezethat
specificmomentsinlife.IcannotrememberwhatIateforbreakfastletaloneyearsoldevents.Because
ofmydiaryentries,theyallowedmetoseehowmuchIhavegrewandhowmuchIhavechanged.For
example,itisfunnynowreadingaboutthewholeUnoincidentwithmybrotherbecauseitmademe
realizehowmuchIhavegrew.Iusedtogetmadatthesilliestthings.Furthermore,writinginmydiary
wasapositivewayformetoexpressthenegativefeelingsthroughapenandpaperinsteadof
destroyingobjects.
Poetryhasalwaysbeenachallengeformebecauseofmydifficultieswithmakingwordsrhyme.
Evenwhenrhymingisnotneededinpoetry,IstillhavedifficultieswithrhymingbecauseImakemy
poemstoowordy.MypoemsusuallylooklikelngparagraphsbecauseIhavealwaysthoughtthat
peoplewouldnotunderstandthemeaningbehindmyworkifIdidnotclearlyputitinmypoetry.Back
ineighthgrade,wehadapoetryslaminmyLanguageArtsclass.Ithoughtitwastheworstassignment
everbecausepoetryisjustnotmyexpertise.Wehadtowritedifferenttypesofpoetry,fromanode,a
sonnet,toahaiku.IthinkImanagedtogetafavorablegradeonthatassignmentonlybecauseIdidall
oftheextracreditassignments.Imanagedtomakethepoetryslammorefunbychoosingthetopicthat
Iampassionateabout,shelteranimals.Itwasmyfirststepinwritingforpoliticalpurposes.
EventhoughOrwellandIdonotshareindistinguishablemotivesandpassionsforwriting,Istill
greatlyappreciatewhatwritinghasgivenme.Weeachhaveourownmotivesbecausewearetwo
differentwriters.Evenidenticaltwinsdonotthinkalike.Withoutwriting,Iwouldnothaveprocessed
theinformationIlearnedinschoolaseffectivelynorwouldIhavetreasuredasmuchchildhood
memories.Iwouldhavebeenlikeapiratewithouthistreasurechest.

Tse4
997words

Reflection
Throughmyuniqueuseoffirstpersonnarrative,Iwasabletoallowmyvoicetoshinethrough
inmyessay.Myreadersareabletoactasiftheyareme,whichpullsthemforwardinmyessay.I
demonstratemycredibilitybytalkingaboutmyownexperiencesandpersonalanecdotes.Bywritingan
Tse5
essayaboutmyself,readersareabletolearnmoreaboutmeastheyareprovidedwithaninsightinto
mylife.Becausethisessaywaswrittenduringthesummer,whenIhavenotyetmasteredmystyleof
writing,mydictionsarenotasengagingastheycouldhavebeen.Iselectedthedetailsthatareimportant
toavoidanoverlylongessayandItriedtouseonlyconcreteandselectivedetailstoensurethatnothing
distractsthereadersfromthemainfocus.ComparedtotheessaysthatIhavedonelaterintheschool
year,thisessaysoundslikeonecompleteunitonlysemieffectively.Idemonstratemycontrolof
grammarthroughproofreadingandtheusageofparallelism.Thisessaycommunicatessomelevelof
professionalismbecausesomesubjectverbagreementerrorswerepresent.However,Iamproudof
myabilitytoeffectivelymimicGeorgeOrwellsstyleofwriting.Thisessayservedasthebaselinefor
whatIhadtoimproveonthroughouttheschoolyear.