Recent Changes

Sandra Cisneros uses this quote from the book to show that even though some people may know about a person being abused, they do not do anything about it. Sally is a friend of Esperanza. She is a beautiful girl who is flamboyant with boys, which bothers her father. He is said to worry that she will run away with a boy like his sisters did. This seems to anger him very much. He abuses her, hitting her like a dog, and the bruises this leaves Sally tells others is from falling. She confides in Esperanza in this quote: “He never hits me hard. She said her mama rubs lard on the places where it hurts” (92). Sally tells Esperanza she is being abused, and has the bruises to prove it, and yet Esperanza does nothing. Esperanza could tell someone who could help Sally, the police or a social worker. Sally seems too scared to help herself. Telling someone she trusts is her way for asking for help, when she is to afraid too. The abuse must be bad, if all her mom can do is rub lard on her injuries. He mother must be afraid too. In this section, Sandra Cisneros wants to show the victims of abuse can not be ignored. They need help.
Sandra Cisneros brings up the idea that there are signs that point towards a future abusive relationship in her book. Sally gets married young, before eighth grade, to a marshmallow salesman she meet at a school fair. Esperanza believes she did it to escape from her abusive home life. This quote talks of how she is shut inside all day by her husband: “he won’t let her talk on the telephone. And he doesn’t let her look out the window. And he doesn’t like her friends, so nobody gets to visit her unless he is working” (101-102). Sally is in an abusive relationship. It may have not become a physically violent relationship yet, but it probably will. All these signs; that Sally’s husband is keeping her away from every thing; stands for something. Most psychologists say that “removing” a spouse from their life and keeping them away from the outside world is the beginning signs in an abusive relationship; the need for control. Not to mention, like I said earlier, abusive victims often seek to repeat the abuse later on without knowing it. She is likely to have subconsciously seen him as an abuser and went ahead with a relationship. Besides, if I can see a potential abusive relationship, other characters can. They can see she is not happy, and yet they do nothing. Sally’s so called “friends” should help her get out of a bad situation before it gets worse, or at least help her to work things out with her husband. Some victims of a abusive relationship may be experiencing abuse and not even know it, until it is too late.
This book expresses the atrociousness of domestic violence through the experiences of characters and aftermath of these experiences on them because Sandra Cisneros wants to raise awareness of this issue in society. Domestic violence can be, and is often difficult to see from outside a house’s walls. Alicia is a girl being abused by her father, is an example of this. She is being abused, but no one seems to notice. Sally is abused by her father. Abusive victims often seek to repeat the abuse later on without knowing it, just like Sally does when she falls into in an abusive relationship. It may have not become a physically violent relationship yet, but it probably will. These are signs that point to abuse. These are pretty blatant cases, especially Sally’s, but no one helps them. Sandra Cisneros wants people to realize domestic violence is a problem. She should be pleased now, for many hotlines and help centers have been established to help victims. Media is taking violence seriously and people are learning. They now no what they are seeing when they see abuse, and are more likely to help. Still, so many perish due to domestic abuse, and even when other people know. Neighbors hear cries, but still so many just look away.

Peer Reflection
Melissa is a very good writer. I can tell that her writing has improved over the course of the year. She learned proper sentence stricture, grammar usage, and correct punctuation. Her vocabulary has also improved dramatically. Simple words turned into interesting words that engage the reader and captivate them. She is a very good student, and is continuing to improve in her writing techniques and reading habits.

Overall, I believe I put my best effort into my academics this year. I worked very hard on all my work and I think it paid off. Although I think I improved in a lot of my work, the best thing I did this year, by far, is my I-Search. It just turned out so much better than I expected, with few grammar mistakes and well-developed subsections. I really put my heart and soul into this paper, and it paid off, showcasing the best of my ability. What helped me out so much was taking good notes as I researched, so essentially all I had to do was put the notes together as my final paper. Some other strategies that worked for me was to get all my work done at school, so I had no homework. This worked because I can never focus on work at home. Also, writing different parts of my writing separately and then putting the whole paper together also helped; that way I could focus solely on that one piece of writing. What did not seem to work, happened to be saving work till that last minute and stressing out about the little imperfections in my work.
In conclusion, I would say I am a overall a good reader and a decent writer. I put my best effort forward and over the course of this year, I have begun reading a little more and I have improved in my grammar and vocabulary. I have also learned how to correctly site the reliable websites I have found in a standard works cited paper. However, I would like to progress on my spelling ability, further improve my grammar, read more, and focus better on my writing. Hopefully next year I will learn as much as I did last year.
Here are 5 Examplesfive examples of Improvements,improvements, and Lacklack of, in my Writing Overwriting over the Year.last school year. (You can findread the 5 pieces of writing usingby clicking on the links
I-Search Part 2 & 3:
I chose this piece, mainly because I put so much effort into it, but also because I think it shows my improvement in a few areas of writing and research. Before this paper I had no idea how to cite my sources in my research presentation portion of the paper, and I learned and perfected this in my I-Search. I also learned how to properly cite my entire paper to MLA standards. Although, by far, the improvement I am most proud of in this writing is my grammar. For once, there were practically no grammar mistakes in my writing. This is a great improvement on my part, as using proper grammar has been the most difficult thing for me as long as I have been writing. I am very proud of my I-Search.

Another thing I am proud to have improved on is my research skills. I now know what to look for in a reliable resource. Although I pretty much understood what a reliable source was before this year, in doing the I-Search project, I learned much more. Previous to this project, I realize that information like references and the types of website (e.g. .edu, .com, .org) was important in judging the legitimacy of a website. By far the most important aspect of researching I learned was how to form a works cited piece to MLA standards. I previously had no idea how to do this, and I am glad to have learned this skill that will help me as long as I am writing. Although improving on my research skills was not one of my goals for this year, I am happy to have learned what I have.
Even though I have learned a lot this year, there are still many things I would like to improve on. I would particularly enjoy reading more, which is something I need to remember to do. For next year, my goal will be to read far more often; hopefully, about three or four books a month. I still could afford to make great strides in my grammar; even with all that I have learned my grammar is still spotty. I still need to improve my spelling, although I do not see my poor ability getting better any time soon. For some reason, correct spelling has always been a large challenge for me, no matter how hard I try to fix it. Most of all, I would love to improve my writing habits. I need to find how to focus best on my writing and get my ideas on the paper. This will be my biggest challenge next year.
my work,
the the best thing
In conclusion, I would say I am a overall a good reader and a decent writer. I put my best effort forward and over the course of this year, I have begun reading a little more and I have improved in my grammar and vocabulary. I have also learned how to correctly site the reliable websites I have found in a standard works cited paper. However, I would like to progress on my spelling ability, further improve my grammar, read more, and focus better on my writing. Hopefully next year I will learn as much as I did last year.
Here are 5 Examples of Improvements, and Lack of, in my Writing Over the Year. (You can find the 5 pieces of writing using the links at the left of the page)
I chose this piece, mainly because I put so much effort into it, but also because I think it shows my improvement in a few areas of writing and research. Before this paper I had no idea how to cite my sources in my research presentation portion of the paper, and I learned and perfected this in my I-Search. I also learned how to properly cite my entire paper to MLA standards. Although, by far, the improvement I am most proud of in this writing is my grammar. For once, there were practically no grammar mistakes in my writing. This is a great improvement on my part, as using proper grammar has been the most difficult thing for me as long as I have been writing. I am very proud of my I-Search.
Vignettes:
my head. PerfectThese were perfect stories in failed to writeget on paper. not materialize on paper.my ideas. I can just had a horrible writers poorly written story.collection of short stories
Romeo & Juliet Analytical Essay:
this piece, even thoughnot I am analytical arguments, but because I
I-Search Part 1 & 2:
difficult to work.write. I have than most. thatI believe it is because
The House on Mango Street Analytical Essay:
My last piece of writing I chose to show how goals change overtime. When I first wrote my House on Mango Street essay, I thought it was fairly good. At the time, I thought my grammar was great, my vocabulary was good, and the actual substance of the work was excellent. However, looking back, this essay can not compare to what I feel I can do now. Today, I think my grammar, vocabulary, and the actual substance of my writing is far better. I think the essay shows my growth by comparing it to what I can do now.

Here are 5 Examples of Improvements, and Lack of, in my Writing Over the Year. (You can find the 5 pieces of writing using the links at the left of the page)
I-Search Part 2 & 3:
it shows my improvement in in my research presentation portion of the paper, and cite my entire paper byto MLA standards in my Works Cited.standards. Although, by part, as using proper grammar has
Vignettes:
On the contrary, my vignette collection is a perfect example of writing that was difficult for me. From my word choice, to my grammar, to the plot line, the writing is of poor quality. While writing these stories, I had great ideas in my head. Perfect stories in flawless writing that I failed to write on paper. For some reason I could not materialize on paper. I can not explain it, I just had horrible writers block that ended in a poorly written story.

Parental Comment
Good Job Melissa. Well written. I like how you explained the examples of writing you chose.

-Foster Blake III