Melissa Duffy’s essay titled, “Inspiration” is an excellent example of how a someone’s attitude toward a certain subject influences their performance. As I read, it dawned on me that the approach our teachers take in teaching us have an immense influence on our attitude towards it. If a teacher does not give their students guidance and support, their chances of success become limited. Teachers have to implement guidance into their students in order for them to truly learn and become motivated. In my belief, Duffy tells her story of “Inspiration” in a periodical format to lie out the moments in time that shaped her as a writer. Melissa Duffy’s positive attitude towards writing stemmed from feelings of support and guidance that she had initially received from two of her high school teachers and a friend who inspired her as a writer. During Duffy’s freshman year of high school, she was assigned to write a fictional story and was sincere in letting the reader know she wanted to impress her teacher, although she struggled with writing a story she was confident in.“ When I received it, I was surprised to see on top, “Wonderful paper, have you ever thought of being a children’s author?”’ (29). Duffy's freshman English teacher, Mr. Wright, left a comment on her story that gave her a sense validation in her writing ability. This …show more content…
Her friend gave her support and allowed her to realize different perspectives to incorporate into her writing. Duffy’s sophomore year English teacher, gave her the guidance to improve her skill. Therefore, the methods teachers approach teaching their subject matter is imperative to their students’
Neil Heims, Critical Essay on “The Writer in the Family,” in Short Stories for Students. Ed. Sara
The purpose of Baker’s essay and its placement in The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers is to encourage young writers to realize that writing truly is a privilege. It is also placed in the book to show college English students that writing does not have to be a grim task and that thinking of it in that manner will only make the student average.
In conclusion, Sharon Creech’s childhood memories, college experiences, and creative brain greatly affected her later writings. Even though, she did not know what she wanted to do with her life, God helped her figure it out and have a successful career. Her early childhood journeys helped her write her books and create characters. Her teaching experience also helped her have a more effective writing style. Sharon Creech had a remarkable writing career and it is one to never be forgotten.
In my 1109 class our task for eight weeks was to observe a tutor and writer working together during fifty minute sessions. This took place at the Writer’s Studio here on Newark’s OSU campus. The tutor I observed was Wyatt Bowman and the student was Adam Bielby. Ad...
Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 2002.
“What is Good Enough Writing, Anyway?” by Lynn Bloom and published in 2006, questions the standards professors hold their students writing to. Bloom asks the questions, “is good enough writing great?” and “is it reasonable to want better than good enough?” At first glance, Bloom’s writing seems to reach out to students, motivating them to reach above average and to become great writers. However, she is reaching out to teachers, imploring them to enhance their teaching styles, and to inspire their students to want more from their writing.
It has always been amazing to realize how well the literature I read as a child has stayed with me through the years. It takes an exceptional writer to compose a narrative that maintains a storyline on the same level of a child's understanding; it takes everything short of a miracle to keep a child's interest. However, that undertaking has been accomplished by many skilled authors, and continues to be an area of growth in the literary world. Only this year the New York Times has given the genre of children's literature the credit it deserves by creating a separate best-sellers list just for outstanding children's books. Yet, on another level, children's literature is not only for the young. I believe that the mark of a brilliant children's author is the age range of those who get pleasure from the stories; the wider the range, the better.
In “One Writer’s Beginnings” by Eudora Welty, she thinks back to how her experiences as a child paved the path to her career as a writer. Welty’s language conveys the intensity and value of the experience by word choice, imagery and use of detail.
In Donald M. Murrays’s essay “What is Practical Education” he explains his reasoning behind why he allowed his students to write badly. He shares his own experience with police-like teachers who drove him to hate writing. In hopes of helping his students find their voice he allows his students to write the words down as they come, no matter how awkward they sound. Often times they find out that they have more to say then they thought. Rhetorical devices are used to help the readers relate to his point of view on writing.
As every well-read person knows, the background in which you grow up plays a huge role in how you write and your opinions. Fuller grew up with a very strict education, learning multiple classic languages before she was eight years old. Fern grew up with writers all throughout her family and had a traditional education and saw first hand the iniquities of what hard-working had to contend with. Through close analysis of their work, a reader can quickly find the connections between their tone, style, content, and purpose and their history of their lives and their educational upbringing.
Teaching English Composition, Beth and Julie find a way to convince their students that all of them possess abilities to succeed. Providing explicit guidelines for writing assignments, giving detailed feedback, and understanding students’ perceptions of course material are the main strategies that both professors use in their classes. Beth and Julie encourage students do not give up when faced with challenges. For instance, one of Julie’s students, Collin, says, “When we did the research paper, that scared the hell out of me, she [Julie] encouraged me like nobody has ever encouraged me” (121). Collin considers that Julie gave him the assurance to overcome his fears and succeed even in his further courses. Both professors point out that students have to participate in class activities, be responsible for completing their assignments, and expect to do more than minimal work. Beth considers that students need to be heard and valued. Furthermore, providing constant encouragements makes students feel more comfortable. Julie and Beth show authority in their classroom, but both of them are able to encourage students and reduce the level of anxiety. As a result, students benefit from interactions with their professors and
Lisa Delpit, research associate at Morgan State University and author of “Acquisition of Literate Discourse: Bowing Before the Master?” believe professors who are committed to teaching can make a change in education. Delpit also believe teaching students different writing styles will help them grow as writers. She mention students should not be hopeless when they are not understanding the rules of the dominant discourse. She also claims professors should not feel powerless when they do know how to help their students understand something. She claim students advance or become paralyzed based on their teachers. Students advance when they have a committed and patient professor who makes them work or they become paralyzed when they have a professor who do not challenge their students. For instance, she believe students who are challenged grow as writers, and students who are not proactive will be underdeveloped writers. She goes on to say t...
Many English teachers have attempted to improve my writing, but at the end of the day my writing was always just mediocre. I had absolutely no motivation to give more effort than I needed to. Moreover, I viewed writing as a waste of time and wanted to finish as fast as possible so that I could destroy my neighbors in video games or practice my jump shot. My negative attitude associated with writing halted any possibility of development. Furthermore, teachers and the education system made me cringe whenever a writing assignment was introduced to the class. The first teacher that successfully created any personal interest for me to develop my writing was my high school English teacher Ryan Miller. I would have never guessed that a difficult seven in the morning English class could affect me so drastically. Not only did I finish the class with an obvious improvement in my writing, but I also formed a whole new perspective of the world around me. I now realize that committing time and effort can result in a noticeable increase in my writing skills.
It’s really fascinating to me how I tend to evaluate where I started and where I am now. As a writer, I would say that I know my strengths and weaknesses clearly. Every writer wants to be impeccable, distinguished, extraordinary, but I had to come to realization that a writer can never reach perfection. Professor O’Neill pointed out that as a writer you will never stop improving, because you never stop learning. As a writer we all tend to have our flaws, but the day our writings don’t have faults, is the day where writing gets boring.
Perrault, Charles. “Cinderella.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens, Leonard J. Rosen. Toronto: Longman, 2013. 236-240. Print.