english Flashcards
what is the opening line
“There’s a quiet magic in the way stories find us.
what is the thesis for the introduction
reading and writing aren’t just linked — they reflect the deepest parts of our inner selves and help us navigate the outer world
inner and outer world
inner world (emotions, identity and self perception) is always influenced by the outer world( Society, other people’s ideas, the stories we engage with.) those thoughts shape how and what we write
texts discussed
Opinion piece: Take a Holiday from Your Ego by Richard Glover
Poem: Mirror by Sylvia Plath
what did text reveal to u
which both reveal how reading and writing create a bridge between introspection and expression.”
main idea of p1
Glover uses humour and anecdote to show how reading fiction allows readers to escape ego and self-obsession, while subtly shaping our own expression.
quote 1 p1
Quote 1: “Reading gives you a break from yourself.”
→ Extended metaphor (reading as a “holiday”) reflects how texts let us disconnect from constant self-awareness — an outer world escape with inner benefits.
quote 2 p1
“It’s not so much a MacBook as a MacphersonBook.”
→ Irony and sarcasm highlight society’s narcissistic habits. Glover humorously critiques social media’s ego-centred focus through an anecdotal reference to Elle Macpherson, encouraging readers to shift attention outward.
Quote 3: p1
quote3-“Each scene pulls the reader deeper into the thickets of the story.”
→ Imagery and lexical chain of immersion (“thickets,” “deeper”) show how reading draws us in, making us present in someone else’s world. This process directly influences our writing — we absorb tone, language, and perspective from what we read.
Reflection: p1
I’ve experienced this — when I read novels, I feel pulled away from my own thoughts. And when I write creatively, I often mimic the rhythms or ideas from the books I’ve loved. Reading shapes not just how I feel, but how I speak, write, and create.
main idea- p2
Plath uses symbolism and personification to show how writing reflects deep, sometimes confronting truths from the inner world — even as it interacts with the outside one.
quote 1 p2
Quote 1: “I am not cruel, only truthful.”
→ Personification of the mirror as a speaker implies that writing — like a mirror — reveals unfiltered truths. It captures raw, internal emotion and presents it without judgement.
quote 2 p2
She has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman rises.”
→ Metaphor and symbolism of transformation show how writing tracks identity over time. The inner world isn’t fixed; writing lets us process change, grief, age — the outer events of life through inner exploration.
quote 3 p2
Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me.” Shift in metaphor (from mirror to lake) represents a deeper form of self-examination. Writing lets us go beneath the surface — we become both the author and the observer, seeing ourselves more clearly through expression
reflection p2
I relate to this discomfort. When I journal or write honestly, I sometimes uncover feelings I hadn’t even realised were there. Plath’s poem reminds me that writing isn’t just expression — it’s discovery.
conclusion statement
Reading and writing reflect and reshape each other. One lets us walk in someone else’s shoes; the other helps us walk through our own mind.
state p1 and p2
Through Glover’s satirical humour and Plath’s poetic rawness, I’ve realised how stories — whether read or written — help me explore, understand, and express both the world around me and the one within.
last point conclusion
And in that process, something powerful happens: I find myself.”
