Some Interesting Comments from my Professor

On Monday, the papers I wrote for my 2 classes were returned to me. I am proud to say that I received A minus on both of them. However, my literature professor gave a brief speech before handing them out. It made me very tense and I want to share with you the gist of his talk. I believe that the students must take a college writing course in their freshment year at Purchase. My professor said that when he read the papers, he felt that the students are not understanding how to write a paper. This paper was an example of expository writing. This means that the writer is providing information for the reader and must convey it in such a way that the reader understands it. You do this when you e-mail your friends. You are giving them info and they are responding to it. The professor stressed how important it is to write correctly and that this has real world applications. In all occupations, knowing how to write is very important. If any of you are considering going to college, you must get your writing skills sharper!

My professor then offered his services to help these students. On my comment he wrote that my writing was a little bumpy and he wanted to show me how to fix it. I was going to blow him off but then decided to see him. What he meant by his comment was that I should have read my paper out loud and fix up some awkward sentences. I totally agree with him and will do that on my next assignment.

What does all of this mean for you? Well, get more serious about your writing. It is never going to go away. You must be able to convey ideas to others. Ask your teachers for specific directions as to what they want. Ask your resource room teachers for help. You can read the writing out loud to them and they can help you edit the sentences. One good idea the professor gave was that each sentence should be able to allow you to write the next sentence and you should consider writing the introduction LAST. Once you've written your paper and you know what it's all about, then you can introduce the topic because by now you have become an expert on the subject. Think about the information the reader needs to pay attention to. The more you do it, the better you get at it. Finally, I can't emphasize enough that you must read. Reading will introduce you to more complex, more mature sentence structure. You get to see the language as it should be, not what you speak to your friends.

I hope this helps you. It certainly has helped me. I was really glad I spoke to my teacher.

Be well. Be brilliant.