Prompt: Stanford students possess an intellectual vitality. Reflect on an idea or experience that has been important to your intellectual development. (100 - 250 words)
All the juniors before me told me to take AP English Language simply because it improved their writing tremendously. But the individuals before me never told me about the intellectual growth that comes from the English language. My English teacher, Elizabeth Ward, encouraged us to think analytically in terms of what we read and the world around us, and the class became more exploration-based compared to past courses that were more memorization-based.
The first exploration involved what I learned in writing. Many people view writing to be a process. A five paragraph “intro-body-conclusion” essay, with the commas in the right places, and no contractions defines this prototypical procedure. In writing, I realized that including my own personal tone in what I wrote allowed writing essays to be less cumbersome. Instead of seeing writing as some technical procedure, I realized the necessity of including my own voice and modifying syntax and diction in my own way.
But the thinking aspect involved the most development. Instead of merely memorizing facts and being tested on them, I learned to analyze the world around me with more depth than objective details. In taking current events and applying them to my argument, along with an exploratory analysis of texts, I discovered how to think with greater insight and depth beyond facts. Subjective insight of the world around me with objective facts has granted me the abilities to apply what I know into different modes of study past tests, even within my diverse math studies.