Rachel Gruenenfelder
English II
Allam
May 20, 2011
Final Writing Assignment
To go above and beyond you have to go the extra mile and do more than what is asked of you, I believe I’ve accomplished that this year. Throughout this entire year, as a class, we’ve been challenged to expand our knowledge and think in different ways than we were used to. My academic gain can clearly been seen with the use of the 3 P’s (participation, progress, and performance). And there is no question that I am an “Above and beyond” kind of student.
Although some would think I deserve a B or less because they feel like I don’t give the extra effort, they would be wrong. I am constantly trying to improve myself in every way, whether that be in my writing, comprehension, participation, vocabulary, etc. I am always trying to push myself to new limits, to try hard, and overall go the extra mile.
I deserve an A because of my participation in this class. Any time we have a gallery walk I try to find the symbolism in the painting, I carefully analyze what I see, and whenever we deliberate to discuss our ideas, I am usually always the first to start our discussion. This clearly shows my participation by starting the conversation. It also proves that I’m involved because I’m analyzing the painting and thinking of different ideas, while some students just stand ideally by waiting to go sit down again, I’m actively involved. Another way I show my participation is by posting all of my blogs. I’ve posted every blog on time, and I’ve put a lot of thought into all my posts, showing my dedication to participation. It also shows my involvement because I visit other people’s blogs and comment/read what they’ve written, showing that I’m both an actively involved student both in and outside of the classroom.
`My hard work in this class can also be seen through my progress. Throughout the entire year I have made numerous academic advances in this class, one of my major accomplishments has been in my persuasive writing skills. At the start of the year my writing skills were rather weak, but I was extremely lacking in my persuasive writing. I now am able to write a strong paper with many details and examples supporting my ideas, whereas before I wasn’t able to. I’ve also progressed in writing because I’m able to see all the elements of a persuasive essay that make it strong. Another way I’ve progressed this year is in my participation. At the beginning of the year I kept to myself and didn’t really ever speak up, now on a daily basis I’m engaging in class discussion and speaking out in conversations. This is a clear example of my progress; I went from being a very introverted person in this class, to extroverted. Not only is this progress in the classroom, it’s also helped me become more open in other classes and activities outside of school, which obviously shows a great improvement.
I also deserve an A in this class because of my performance. Like I said before, I give my 100% best effort in everything that I do. My performance is A quality because of the time and thought I put into my work. For example, this paper only requires 2 sub points, but I’ve written and extra sub point just to get my point across. Proving, my dedication to the work I do. It also shows me going “above and beyond” in performance. Another example of my performance being A quality, is because of my blog posts. I’ve been awarded blogger of the week before; being awarded that is a clear way to see I do good work in this class. It also shows that I excel and am one of the best students (not to sound full of myself). It’s very easy to see that I’ve given my best effort and work in this class and deserve an A for participation
As Buzz Lightyear would say “To infinity and beyond”, which can be said about the grade I deserve. There’s no doubt I’ve done nothing but the best I can do, and have gone above what the average student would do. I’ve proven myself in numerous ways with the help of the 3 P’s, showing that I’m an A quality student.
