Sabourin - 1
Jordan Sabourin
Mrs. Richards
AP Language
9/15/2013
The Evolution of Reading and Writing
My evolution of reading and writing was different to all others because we are all
unique in everything we do, especially our learning capabilities. Through our parents and
teachers we learned how to read and through reading we learned to write and through school
we learned to write structured essays and papers just like this. Through this writing, I will
explain my evolution of reading and writing, starting from my earliest memories of literature,
whether it was repeating words to my parents or writing essays for high school English.
The first memory I have of learning to read; besides the alphabet in kindergarten was
in the first grade. Our teachers made hundreds of laminated cards with everyday words on
them, “look, happy, fun” etc. we would read these flash cards over and over again until they
were stuck in our brains and eventually we had the basic vocabulary of the English language.
These were the fundamentals of reading and before long I was reading books with my parent
after school and before bed. As this was very early in my reading career, I cannot recall the
jump between nothing and the spelling cards, as well as the period between them and reading
full books and novels with my parents and peers.
The transition from one sentence picture books to best seller novels wasn’t very
exciting in the way that would intrigue you but like all kids in the UK, I read the first book in
the Harry Potter Sega, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. This was the first novel I
read through from start to finish. I didn’t understand the book very well the first time I read it,
Sabourin - 2
but I went back and reread it for the second time later on which was a good thing to do as it
became a lot more clear the second time through.
Since I picked up those first flash cards a long time ago, my attention and attitude
towards reading has improved enormously, understanding the structure and literature of
modern novels. I have learned to read at the level I am now through my parents and my
teachers. Starting with the basics and moving through the ranks, experiencing poetry and
complex literature some of which I would prefer to avoid and others that have helped me with
the reading status that I have today. Today I do enjoy reading, although it may take me a
while to get through a book, I do read them and the enjoyment is very high. I don’t think I
read as much as I should, it takes me a long time to get through a decent sized novel as i get
distracted very easily, especially watching a movie which I wish every book could be. The
reason why I do not enjoy reading is because in school, where most of our reading is done,
we are told what and when to read. Choosing the book is half the fun of reading the actual
book. I do not enjoy the “classics”, Charles Dickens, or To Kill a Mocking Bird. There are
three types of book I like to read, factual war novels or diaries, Si-Fi fanaticise or the most
unrealistic story of any kinds. The most recent book I read was Guadalcanal Diary by
Richard Tregaskis. This follows the marines during World War One as they begin the island
hopping campaign to beat the Japanese. It was an amazing book because he didn’t spare any
of the details and it was about the war which I find very interesting.
My early writing was just like any others and just like reading; I cannot remember
when i first started writing real text instead of the alphabet over and over. I’m going to jump
into fifth grade where we had note books that we would practice our writing skills in them,
not as much of putting pieces of text together to form a paragraph but to practice our hand
writing and form. It was as if we were in detention having to read and rewrite the same words
and sentences over and over until our hand writing was perfect, or close to it. When I think
Sabourin - 3
back now, i think that this was not the best way to get good hand writing because in the end
everyone writes differently, whether you have amazing hand writing, or whether it’s terrible.
I wasn’t very good at writing during my elementary career, struggling quite a bit with
the basic understanding of it; it was the same for math. I and a few others would have to go
with another teacher and redo all the things we had just learned in the previous English class,
just to make it stick in our brains. At first and for the rest of the time I was in that class, I
hated the fact that I was being singled out from the rest of my peers even when I knew I need
the help. Now I am thankful that I was singled out from the rest because I would still be at a
lower level now if my teachers wouldn’t have done that. I remember the first paper I had to
write when I was in elementary. I had to do a research project on the Jordan River and its
surrounding. At this point in my life, I could and would finish it in an hour but for my first
real project, it would have taken a lot longer. Like most of my class mates, I left the project to
the very last minute, struggling to finish, I finally told my parent which forced my Dad to
write 75% of the paper for me and then having me copy a lot of it onto paper; adding a few
pictures and placing my name on it. My mother told me later that she told my teacher that I
waited until the last moment and that my Dad had to do a lot of it for me. I still remember
getting a very decent grade on it.
As I progressed through high school, my writing improved substantially, especially
when moving to the United States. English class was extremely different from our English
class here. In England, our high school wasn’t all focussed and preparation for university, as
we would go on for two more years after that in pre-college. It was just all about passing the
class. My previous high school taught me how to write a basic essay but and the
fundamentals of literature, but the free writing and reading aspect was never encouraged
during school time, especially reading. It was very difficult to adjust to the American English
class as a lot of the things I had learned in England were irrelevant, main the demand for
Sabourin - 4
reading and writing outside of class. Before the United State, I had never heard of MLA
format or double spaced, both very easy to grasp. Double spaced is probably the best thing to
ever come out of literature in our generation as I was used to writing a three page for in single
spaced, Times New Roman. It came time for me to do my first book report. This wasn’t
difficult in a way of reading and writing, but putting the author’s purpose on paper, as well as
the fact that I didn’t get the most enjoyment out of reading.
My evolution of reading and writing has changed so much over the years, and there
have been many things in my life that have had a positive and negative impact on my reading
and writing career, whether it was an extra class that helped me get my words right or moving
across the ocean to learn another way to write and enjoy writing. All of these have helped me
gain the knowledge that is aiding me in my life now and in the many years to come in my
reading and writing career.