By the age of two I was learning to read. Not very long passages, and not with perfect enunciation of course, but words on a page, a cereal box or most often a flashcard became interpretable, no longer a mystery to me. As the years progressed, I became a voracious reader, throughout my early childhood I read until my eyes crossed. As middle childhood approached, social pressures increased and the addictive glow of the television screen became harder and harder to resist. Into high school however, I rediscovered my love of reading, and with time, became a solid writer to boot. I now consider myself lucky to be at a place in my life where years of education haven’t taken away my ability to read for the simple joy of it. Studying my environment critically, from my own temperament to my family history, to my school to a little book series called Harry Potter it is impossible for me to see myself ending up anywhere else today with respect to my love of books.[H1]
My family has always held reading in high regard. [H2] My parents are both English majors, theatre actors and avid readers in their own right. Our house was littered with books on every floor of the house, with the basement absolutely filled from wall to wall with them. My grandma on my mom’s side was an English as a second language teacher at Normandale for over 20 years and would give me books for Christmases and birthdays just as often as she would clothes and shower kits and other grandma gifts of that nature. From every member of my family there was nothing but support when it came to my reading, and they allowed me to bring books everywhere I went, from vacations to the dinner table.[H3]
My parents would always joke that I was the most easily entertained kid in existence because you could basically drop anything in my lap and I would read it for hours. [H4] At home, at school, in the car to the point I would make myself sick, it didn’t seem to matter. For a good [H5] ten years straight reading was essentially all I did. I can still fondly remember my favorite books, all these years later. From “Goodnight Moon” and “The Night Kitchen”, to the poems of Shel Silverstein and the aptly named “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” I loved disappearing into a book, and letting my mind interpret the words on the page. [H6] As time went on [H7] I fell in love with not only books but book series such as “Goosebumps”, “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and “Sideways Stories from Wayside School”. These, and more, would have me begging my parents for money when the Scholastic book fair came to school. There was one series that really took over my life in a way that none had before or have since, much like it has for many in my generation, and that is Harry Potter.[H8]
The first novel in J.K Rowling’s landmark series was written in 1997, but I began and caught up to the series somewhere between the third and fourth novels in 2000 at the tender age of 6. My family would take turns reading the chapters out loud to each other, and then once the entire book had been read in this fashion I would snatch it up and devour its contents all over again to myself. The final novel in the series came out at a seminal moment in my life, in the seventh grade, when the consensus about reading amongst my classmates was that it was something that “nerds” did. I had many identity struggles at that time, and would keep the fact that I read - not strictly out of any teacher-assigned duty- to myself for fear of that label. When the last Harry Potter novel was released, the interplay between bully and nerd culture was like a cease-fire on the battlefield. All of us grew up reading these amazing books and putting ourselves in the shoes of the boy who lived, and so to see such a series come to an end was bittersweet, and the events of the novel became openly discussed for the first time in a long time. I waited in line in costume the night it was released, right at the stroke of midnight, and forced my poor, tired parents and sister to stay awake another hour and crack the cover. Then my love of reading laid dormant for a while, until teachers in high school revitalized it.[H9]
When I attended Southwest High School, my English class was remedial English, based on an entrance exam that I deliberately handicapped myself for. [H10] That English teacher saw the potential in me that I denied existed and petitioned me to move into an advanced class, and from there I had an incredible string of high school English teachers, all of whom taught me different things about who I am as a writer as well. I learned different aspects about the construction of an academic essay from several of them, but I learned an even more valuable lesson from my 12th grade English teacher Mrs. Marsnik. She taught me to love writing creatively, by having us emulate works that we love. She encouraged me to write the fantasy novel that my friend Michael and I had talked about and plotted for years and never started.
As I look back and reflect on my relationship with reading, I can’t help but think that there should be more I am reading now. [H11] I finish three or four novels a year for pure enjoyment now, because I hardly seem to find the time to read, it’s another line item that I need to budget time for. It’s harder to concentrate on what I read, and not focus on what work I should be getting done. For this reason I read most of my books at my favorite places. With that being said, my life is changing in a major way soon, with a daughter on the way I am getting ready to pass along my love of reading to her like my parents and theirs before them had. Reading is something that is and forever will be important to me[H12] .[H13]
[H1]
Long but well explained thesis statement. The statement must be complete, clear and provide a general sense of direction to the readers.
[H2]Well-introduced topic sentence
[H3] The paragraph is generally good and bears a complete meaning. The writer has been successful in explaining the different events in a chronological order. Proper use of words, punctuations and mechanics. All the proper nouns such as Normandale have been capitalized thus showing extensive understanding of English grammar.
[H4] The topic sentence introduces another essential idea that supports the thesis of the paper.
[H5]Filler words
[H6]Wordiness. The sentence is too long. This should be avoided
[H7]Filler words
[H8] The paragraph is fairly written with proper punctuation of the book titles and excellent word choices. Subject verb agreement has also been adhered to throughout the text.
[H9] The paragraphs is too long and contains different ideas. It starts the family reading habits and how the author slowly increased his interest in reading. However, towards the end the writer introduces how his reading habit slowly affected his social growth. Additionally, no clear topic sentence introduces the paragraph.
Generally, proper grammar, punctuations and mechanics are adhered to in the paragraph. Good transition to the next paragraph.
[H10]New paragraph, different idea.
The writer introduces new ideas of his life in high school after an excellent transition from the previous paragraph.
Proper use of grammar, punctuation and word choice
[H11]Topic sentence introducing the concluding paragraph. It is well punctuated and complete therefore giving a clear meaning.
[H12]The writer has been successful in presenting most of the main ideas of the paper, particularly in the first paragraph. Notably, the author starts strongly by giving the audience the background of his reading culture and how it has over the years affected their lifestyle both in school and in the family. In essence, his social life as depicted in the paragraph was defined by his interests and passions in life. As such, the writer is successful in presenting a strong thesis statement that provides a general overview of the events. By putting the statement at the end of the first paragraph, the author enables its reader to a series of happenings that are essential to understanding his love for books. Considerably, a thesis statement ought to be a complete and meaningful sentence. Additionally, it should convey something important and specific enough to the paper to allow easy organization and analysis of the paragraphs. Assessing the thesis provided in the paper, the writer states that after studying his environment, he only sees a future full of reading and increased love for books. Although it has an extensive meaning, it enables the readers to relate his past, present and predict the future of the author and his interests.
[H13]Well written conclusion that provides a general summary of the entire paper.
