Mid Session Letter

Dear English Instructor:


The biggest challenge for me so far in this class is simply to get everything finished and submitted on time. I am taking two classes this semester and have found myself quite overwhelmed at times. Between the two classes, I have been doing more than 40 hours of homework per week, and the workload has just increased. I would have to say that my biggest success is that I have learned to focus on the details in a story, which really helps when doing literary analysis. I guess Sam Hamill had it right!

The readings in this class have had a variety of affects on me. They have ranged from anger at some of the attitudes of the writers to respect. When I first started reading Everything That Rises Must Converge, I didn’t care too much for the stories. Once I started focusing on the details and realized what was underneath the surface, I found that I enjoyed it.

Literary analysis is a bit different than much of the writing I have done previously, but involves many of the same concepts. It all requires critical thinking and analysis. I really enjoy reading and enjoy writing, so I thought that this would be quite enjoyable. However, it is somewhat more challenging than I anticipated. Just because I can read and write, does not mean that writing about reading will be easy.

At this point in time, with my current workload, my major goal is to continue to be able to keep up in both classes. I would like to say that I want to focus on some portion of my writing or analysis, but in all honesty, quality must be sacrificed due to the quantity of work. Maybe with some luck, I will find some way to be more efficient and find the time to focus on quality. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy both of my classes and am still trying for quality, which is why I am doing so much homework.


Sincerely,

Stephen A. Dartt