Ap English Class Analysis

Walking into my AP English class, one gloomy October afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised with a 100% written across the top of my essay. It was the first time I had ever received a perfect score on an essay. I was, undoubtedly, pleasantly surprised; however, inwardly, I knew how much effort I had to put in to excel in a language that used to be alien to me. As a Polish American, I grew up solely speaking Polish, not knowing a single word in English upon entering Kindergarten. This, consequently, qualified me for a spot in my elementary school’s ESL program, which was implemented into my class schedule. Only a seven year old at the time, I recall sitting amongst a small group of ten students, whose diverse ethnic backgrounds spanned three

My papers were continually filled with red pen marks that circled blatant spelling errors or underlined incorrect verb tense usage, making for one mess of a paper. On the contrary, whenever I looked over to see my best friend’s paper it was unblemished, without a single red mark to be seen. Yet, instead of being dissatisfied with my poor performance, I became motivated to improve my writing through reading. As a youngster, I quickly discovered the Junie B. Jones series, and, before I knew it, I owned the entire twenty-eight book series. Barnes & Noble became my second home away from home, and, for Christmas, I remember receiving peculiar stares from my peers when I told them that a gift card to the bookstore was at the top of my list. Of course, at the time, I did not realize how beneficial this would be to improving my writing skills; I purely chose to read the series out of pleasure, delighted by Junie B.’s witty sense of humor. However, coupled with my continual ESL program, I gained the skills necessary to improve my English; by the end of third grade I was already on my way to a level Q reading level. Moreover, I successfully passed my ESL test, which meant that I no longer needed extra English support. Nevertheless, I still recognized the fact that not everyone passed the test; therefore, using my newly acquired skills, I helped another Hispanic student in my ESL group, who, like me, spoke no