A Human's Role in the Environment

"We are now the dominant feature of our own environment... for better or for worse" (Thomas 915). This quotation is certainly true because of how humans utilize the Earth as personal consumption and a source of energy. Doing this allows for human development and civilization to thrive for future generations. In fact, it is seen by many that the use of our environment for benefits is a moral duty and social necessity for progression. Solely based on the passage, it is evident that humans were given specific roles when regarding nature. However, Lewis still believes that humans are still searching for their true role within nature. This passage argues different sides of viewpoints of how beneficial nature is to human beings.

To begin with, certain humans are not fond to the view of individuals being overdependent on nature for their survival. These individual are disgusted with others who believe that nature is completely beneficial for humans to thrive off of. They prefer to see themselves as saviors because of how much they conserve the natural environment. Lewis argues that these people do not rationally think at the margin primarily because of how difficult it is to live a life without using some part of nature.
Also, certain people overuse the environment for social benefits. These type of people are more rational thinkers and therefore tend to thrive more in life. Even though they tend to harm the environment through their practices, it is more beneficial to social progression than without utilizing the environment at all. Hence individuals who overuse the environment are better suited off in life than people who conserve nature despite being as harsh as it sounds.

My Three Englishes

The Englishes that I speak in everyday life include formal speech, informal speech, and leader-like speech. I commonly switch between these three types of languages depending on the situation that I am involved in. This is called "code switching" which refers to the change in tone an language when speaking to different people or in different places. To start with, I use formal speech in my everyday life. I commonly use this when have conversations in school or with adults. I use this type of speech in those cases in order for me to achieve credibility for others. Therefore, speaking in a formal way makes me seem more prestigious and intelligent. Most of my writings, such as my blog posts, will use this type of language in order to sound more prestigious.The next type of speech I use is formal speech. This is commonly used when talking with friends or even with family.When I am using a formal type of speech I tend to speak faster without being grammatically correct. This is because my friends and peers are not concerned with what I say or how I say it. Therefore, my formal speech is often grammatically incorrect from my carelessness of speaking it. The last type of English that I use in everyday life is speaking like a leader. This type of speech, in my eyes, involves being an example for others and being a leader. This includes helping others when they are down. I use this type of language when playing sports such as soccer. Being a captain, I must set an example for the rest of the team in order to improve our team chemistry. That is why it is vital that I use leader-like language when playing with my team in order to make everyone better.

 These different Englishes create different personas such that people think differently of me depending on the type of language that I use. Therefore, using the right type of language in the right moment of time gives me power through the beliefs of others. Power is given to me directly from the way people think of how I speak.

Thoughts on the First Semester

Over the course of the semester, I have progressed incredibly as a writer. I have learned new writing techniques and expanded my vocabulary over the course. I have developed my writing from learning how to fix common mistakes and by looking at my peers' writing pieces to see what else I can incorporate in my writing. I have improved in mixing in specific quotes so it doesn't sound choppy. Doing this makes my writing more professional and easier for others to understand. I have learned that longer quotes don't necessarily help the discussion of a writing piece. Another way I have improved my writing is providing a more organized analysis for my quotations. I now know exactly what to discuss with specific quotes and how it connects to the bigger purpose of the piece. One thing that I need to work on is providing a introduction that highlights the purpose of the piece and why it has impact. I will need to learn from my peers on what specific things to include in my introductions and how to connect it to the thesis effectively. Another thing I must improve on is my reasoning section for my writing. To fix this, I will practice utilizing specific strategies to help me empower the purpose of my writing. I am proud of some of my blog posts because of the creative writing styles used. Despite some of the grades, I felt like those posts were some of my best works. The only thing Ms. Nagi could do to help my writing progress even further is to alert me if I could improve in one area or another.

Date	Topic	AP Score	Strength	Challenge
9/4	SR Fiction Essay	3	Organization of evidence gathered.	Don’t summarize story  No SAQ
9/4	SR Nonfiction Essay	4	Thesis was well answered	Analysis needs to connect together
9/17	SR Nonfiction Essay rewrite	5	Intro and conclusion were strong at addressing topic	Quotes need to flow together  No SAQ
10/1	Origin Quickwrite	3	Discussion of topic and thesis	Analysis and quoting needs work
10/22	Puritan Essay	4	Quotes were effective and reasoning was well thought out	Thesis was lacking important detail and not well organized
11/1	Independent Novel Short Response	3	Well written introduction and conclusion	Quotes need to be more organized and impactful
11/14	Crucible Short Answer	4	Thesis was well worded, and quotes were appropriate	Analysis did not help argument that much

12/5	Liberty Argumentative Quick write	3	Conclusion was strong at analyzing points brought up	Quotes were too long and not impactful
12/13	Satire Quick write	3	Quotes were used efficiently and appropriately	Analysis needs to empower purpose
1/13	Gatsby Test Short Answer	4	Thesis was well written and very organized	Analysis needs to empower purpose
1/22	Social Concerns Final Exam Essay	4	My thesis writing and quote embedding is strong	My analysis of my writing is weak