Blog Post #3: "If you were a fairy tale/mythological character"/group skills

A Story of Skill

Yesterday, I was assigned to a task group for projects throughout this unit. To ensure that every person in the group would perform to the best of their abilities, we were each assigned certain roles based on the skills we possessed. Upon reading the tale of Savitri, I found my role of Information Seeker similar to the character of Savitri’s father. In this tale, Savitri’s father (who is a king) claims to “know the future.” This is why he tells Savitri she cannot marry Satyavan because “Satyavan will die, one year from today.” My role as Information Seeker is not just to gather knowledge, but also included in the definition is that I should “suggest information that is needed before making decisions.” The king and I are alike that we both will try to give the necessary information before making important decisions.

Reference #1

Another role I have the honor of performing is the role of energizer. The role of the energizer is to “prod the group to action.” In another story I read, the tale of Wali Dad, there was a lot of confusing of whom to give gifts to. Wali Dad, who did not need extra luxuries in life, wanted to give away a bracelet away as a gift. However, he did not know who was the most worthy. The messenger who was to deliver the gifts, helped advise Wali Dad to give away the bracelet and other gifts and who to give the gifts to. While reading the tale, I felt that my role was similar to the messenger because both give advice on what to do/what action should be performed.

Reference #2

Blog Post #2:Diagnosis/Exam Reflection

AP Practice Exam Reflection

Yesterday I took my very first practice AP exam. I think I did very well for it being my first time. I was completely and utterly focused, nothing could shake me. Another strength I had was my ability to skim passages while still absorbing information. The questions I answered correctly, I believe, was due to these strengths. Also, when I didn't understand a question, I attempting to figure it out; however, if I wasn't able to then I moved on and would come back to it later.

Not taking any form of an AP exam before yesterday put me at a disadvantage. Besides not knowing what to expect, my anxiety was skyrocketing. Although I was focused, my anxiety made me doubt my answers and myself a lot. Going through the correct answers afterward, I noticed that a lot of the answers I got wrong I had circled originally, but changed in the end. The other questions I answered wrong I just had no idea how to answer. I tried to make an educated guess, but I struggled with different poem forms and analysis of literary devices.

What I am going to do to prepare for improving my scores is to go back through the test booklet and take it again, giving myself the same hour time limit. Then I will compare to see if I did better a second time. After that, I will go through and read the explanations for every answer I got wrong. I will do that for both the first time I took it and the second time I took it, in case I answered certain questions differently and incorrectly. 

Another technique I am going to do to better my exam-taking abilities is to take more tests, study different literature types, and analyze more literary devices. Taking more tests will help ease my anxiety, since I will know what's coming. I will also be able to complete the exam with time left to go back through so I can double-check my answers. Studying literature and analyzing literary devices will help me to understand the content part of the exam better. Once I learn every type of question that is asked on the exam and I am able to answer them correctly, my test scores will improve. 

Blog Post #1: Design

Establishing Mood and Tone with Typography and Color

Typefaces are very important when it comes to blogging. Obviously I want what I say to be taken seriously, however I don’t want people to think my font is as boring as watching 6 year old children attempt to play soccer. So I decided upon Comic Sans as the font for my blog post titles and Arial as the font for my blog post content.  Comic Sans is goofy, just like me. I want my readers to get a feel for my slight goofiness, but I don’t want my playfulness to distract from the main point. Informal fonts like Comic Sans are “lighthearted in nature,” which is a good fit for a title. A formal typeface, such as Arial, is great for the content area of my posts. Formal fonts “establish credibility and authority,” which is suitable for the content I am going to be posting.

Reference Link #1

 Just as important as the fonts I chose for my blog posts is the color of my background. I decided upon a lighter blue for three reasons: 1) I just really enjoy the color blue. My opinion is the most important opinion (to me) therefore I felt it necessary to include in my blog. 2) The color blue is associated with “feelings of calmness and serenity.” Often in analyzing literature there are conflicting opinions. To calm down sometimes negative excitement, I felt blue would be the perfect counter. 3) “People are more productive in blue rooms.” The color blues causes my blog, my readers, and I to be more productive, which is why I decided it should be my background color.

Reference Link #2