Writing Against My Personal Clock by Madison

Writing Against My Personal Clock by Madison - July 2026 Scholarship Essay

During my junior year of high school, I took AP English Language and Composition. It did not take long for me to realize that it was one of the hardest classes I would be taking that year. On top of that, writing was not my strongest skill, and I usually needed extra time to organize my thoughts. However, in AP Language we constantly wrote rhetorical, argumentative, and synthesis essays. It felt like I could never catch a break, and then we had to learn to write them in under 40 minutes, which became overwhelming. I struggled to quickly develop my ideas and present them with compelling evidence before time ran out.
I began to contemplate if I wanted to continue being in class. But after a while, I turned that challenge into motivation to better my writing skills. I used my teacher’s feedback and past essays from different student authors to practice understanding their purpose in writing their essays. I learned I had to stop focusing on time because it would only stress me out. Instead, I focused on combining convincing arguments and reasoning to defend my essays. While I still found it difficult to express my mind in some instances, it got easier and I felt more comfortable to be in that same timed situation again.
I was happy when the end of the course came close. Not simply because I hated writing, but also because I gained faster writing skills through repeated opportunities. I felt confident in knowing that I could think clearly and communicate under pressure. AP Language emphasized that drafting an essay does not mean summarizing a topic. It taught me to evaluate various parts of the given topic, and that ultimately strengthened my critical thinking.