Case (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
case) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomsecrets2007-12-09 05:44 pm
case) wrote in fandomsecrets2007-12-09 05:44 pm
[ SECRET POST #338 ]
⌈ Secret Post #338 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
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Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 10 pages, 250 secrets from Secret Submission Post #049.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 ] broken links, [ 1 ] not!secrets, 0 not!fandom, [ 1 2 3 ] repeats.
Next Secret Post: Tomorrow, Monday, December 10th, 2007.
Current Secret Submission Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
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(Anonymous) 2007-12-10 01:34 am (UTC)(link)The focus of the secret was supposed to be that the kids in my class don't write for creativity or fun. They are trained by the AP course to write in a way that will win them a good grade on the AP exam. Trust me, I've seen it. I'm saying that this training leaves them high and dry when real creativity comes into play. I'm upset because I receive failing grades, which is expected because I'm not very good at essays and because it's my first AP class ever. My daily life involves a heavy amount of reading and writing and general wordy delight, whereas the kids in my class could care less about the actual language.
Sorry I twisted your knickers with my insane ego. You can rest easy tonight knowing I'm still failing.
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(Anonymous) 2007-12-10 01:39 am (UTC)(link)no subject
Apparently, though, I am pretty stupid. I didn't mean to sound so full of myself; I didn't mean it while I was making it. In reality I'm the world's biggest pushover.
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moar funny pictures (http://icanhascheezburger.com)
The verbal abuse I can handle, but the cat macros? You are sick, sick people.
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This one's actually rather mean when directed at a real person. Still, it expresses my righteous rage at being lolcatted at.
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The cruelty must end! Civility above all!
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I personally don't think that your secret sounded very egotistical. You have faith in your abilities - what the hell is wrong with that?
You maybe should tone it down next time, but seriously the rest of you, can you plz focus more on the secret and not that it was worded badly?
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advice
(Anonymous) 2007-12-10 02:35 am (UTC)(link)English classes are about the rigid rules of writing and language. It isn't all puppies and fun, and I quote, it is not AP Creative Writing. AP Creative Writing and AP English are two different animals.
You need to learn the building blocks before you can play around, and even then, there is still more to learn. If you are failing AP English, you must not know the language as well as you think you do. I hope you realize why you are failing and how to over come that attitude of yours, so you can become a better writer. Because if that secret is how you really think of your own writing, things are going to hurt, and more failing grades will be in your future.
P.S. I'd give you a can macro, but you already got two. So I tried to give you some advice.
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The key to good writing, both in essays and in works of fiction, is clear expression of ideas; no more, no less. If you can't manage that, then I'm not so sure you care about the actual language any more than your classmates. Don't run before you walk -- creative writing is fun and all, but when it comes down to it the same skills are required for both, and you need to grasp the basics before you can move on to the artsy-fartsy stuff.
Being confident in your writing skills is okay, but you have to realize that all of us -- even the best of us -- have definite room to grow. Humility is more or less required if you are still in school, especially in high school, because no matter how good you think you are? It's not your best, it never will be, and if you can't accept that, you will continue to fail.
Tip: try not to think of essays as sterile and formulaic! They may be in some respects, but there is a great deal of wordplay and word-smithing involved. It is possible to indulge in wordy delight in your generic persuasive essay and beat the pants off all the people who see the word "essay" and reflexively write like robots.
And I would rather shoot myself in the eye than become an English major, by the way -- I'm no expert. Just giving my two cents, is all.
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The reason I entered AP was because I did so well in honours, and the weird things I do every day that are language driven lead me to believe that I'm good at English, but AP is just not for me.
Essays feel rigid sometimes, but being clever in them can get good grades in some ways, right? When I write specifically for my teacher, though, and not test-related things, he always circles parts I'd put there to be fun and takes off points. I don't know anything, though, so I'm probably doing it wrong.
I'm glad that you are a member of fandom and you aced your exams; the kids in my class, not so much.
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You know, it's funny. I've found that people who are very eloquent in speech are rarely so eloquent in writing. I haven't really found out why that is, as I'm the opposite (I consider myself a decent writer; above average for my general age group, certainly, but rather mediocre in the grand scheme of things). But that's neither here nor there.
I don't think essays should be rigid so much as they should be more controlled than your average pile of verbal vomit. Also, being clever is okay so long as it doesn't detract from your argument. I wouldn't make it a point to write for your instructor, necessarily. I mean, each to their own, blah blah blah, but I was taught always to write to a general audience.
As for clever bits in essays, well... there is a time and place. For instance! Doing so in an extended research paper will not get you any points with anyone. On the other hand, I once wrote an analytical essay (as practice for the AP English Language exam, I think, so it concerned style and form) on an article from The Onion entirely in colloquial English, complete with profanity, and my teacher somehow did not fry me to death (she opted to read it aloud instead and give me full points dsjkfjlf).
I don't know. I guess what I do is just... I look at essay-writing as just another mode of expression. There's fic, yes, but c'mon, persuasive essay! You're trying to convince whatever poor slob is reading your paper to think the way you want that person to think. You are most definitely not trying to sound like a robot.
Take baby steps. Start with the strict, typical five-paragraph essay format. Don't take liberties with that form until you're comfortable with it. My writing tutor in seventh grade had that thing hammered into all of our skulls, so much that I never needed a writing tutor again.
To be fair, though, writing ability is extremely variable, and relies not only on your grasp of the technicalities of the language, but your grasp on the artsy aspect as well. However! You certainly don't sound at all stupid; my guess is that after awhile it'll all just come naturally. It's at that point that you can stop taking essay-writing seriously. Before that, I'd just stick to the rules.
I really hope I'm making sense. I'm writing this as I pull a history paper out of my ass, so most of my brain is focused on Sallust. |D
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OHO!!
*badumching*
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In the end, you just have to deal with it. College is a lot better (as long as you're not an English major), I promise, but you need to get there first. If sacrificing a little bit of your current flair for a better grade is what needs to be done, you should do it. Humility is not something I personally ever endorse, because I believe in informed headstrength, but in high school especially it is a necessity.
Good luck.
a little late, but...
I've found this to be true, sometimes. My high school junior and senior year English teacher gave assignments that were highly structured (there was a list, A-P or Q, can't remember which, of rules to follow in his writing class, and if you had three violations in your paper he immediately stopped reading and gave you a F) and he provided a fairly specific topic with each paper. The assignments were daunting, but I found that I could do them well and I think he did help improve my writing skills.
But now that I'm in college? I've had three classes where all we had was short writing assignments, and then suddenly at the end of the semester a ten-page paper--just about any subject we wanted that could be covered under the scope of the class (the classes: Writing about the Arts & Humanities, English as a Language, and Traditional Japan--broad, broad range). Every single time I completely froze up ("BUT WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO WRITE?"), my original topic didn't work out, and I didn't know what my paper was about until about half a week before the paper's due date.
...I still got them done on time, though, so I guess it's not that bad. ('course, one of those isn't graded yet, hah.)
Are you planning on taking the exam still? Good luck if you are. :)