In my personal experience with writing i have found that when handling major writing assignments or projects I tend to slack off when I'm not really motivated by the subject that I am writing about.Like last year in chemistry we had a research paper about an element and it really took a lot to find the determination to actually sit down and write about something that I honestly couldn't care less about. When I'm trying to do a major assignment I always try and find a way to tie it back to something that I care about and want to spend my time on. I feel like the confidence I have in my work also has to do with how much I care about the idea I'm writing about. In a paper that I have no feelings for and I know that I didn't do my absolute best on for the simple reason of I didn't care for writing it but when it's a paper that I'm very interested in and I want to succeed on I tend to be very confident because I can feel like I couldn't do any better than I did and if I don't receive a good score on it I really had no room writing it. I would like to improve just my overall writing ability from word selection to how i format my works.
The unit that I am most excited for is the unit over modern works during the 20th and 21st century. I believe that this will be the unit that I do the best on because of its ties to more modern works that I am more used too and i feel like when dealing with things you're more comfortable with you tend to be more confident and do a lot better on that section. The unit that I'm least excited for would have to be the poetry/poetry out loud. I definitely think that this will be the unit that I do the worst on and will really have to try if I want to get a good grade on it. I'm not very confident when it comes to poetry and then when you add in having to read poetry to a group of my peers it just doesn't make for a good situation.
To be fair, I would have procrastinated on a paper about an element, too. What can you really write about an element? While I applaud Slaton's use of writing, I probably would have dreaded the assignment.
ReplyDeleteThis year we'll be doing a lot of writing, but most of it will be based around your personal opinions and literature/research. The good thing about responding to literature is that stories/poems/plays have something important to say about people or society. That usually means that it can be interpreted in different ways and become subject to personal beliefs and opinions. So the fact that you tie it back to something you feel strongly about can be a real strength of writing (so long as it contributes to the point you're trying to make). The challenge there is to keep a professional tone and not veer off too far from topic.
You're not alone in your feelings about the poetry unit. My hope is that it isn't going to be as bad as most of you make it out to be.
Good luck this year! I can't wait to really delve into some writing and reading!