On Friday, my son Ivar reviews his paperwork for his communication merit badge for Boy Scouts. This badge is an eagle requirement necessary for him to become an Eagle Scout. As he reviews the requirements, he notices number four. Looking over the document from the U.S. Scouts website, it asks him to “Interview someone you know fairly well, like, or respect because of his or her position, talent, career, or life experiences…Listen actively to learn as much as you can about the person. Then prepare and deliver to your counselor an introduction of the person as though this person were to be a guest speaker, and include reasons why the audience would want to hear this person speak”(U.S. Scouts).
He looks it over and cannot believe that this requirement …show more content…
It was difficult to find a balance between school, work, and home life. Some days it didn’t seem like there was enough hours in the day. The first couple of weeks were a huge adjustment. When I started back at college, the extent of my writing was the notes I would write to your school regarding early dismissal. Since it was almost twenty years between high school and college, English 101 was really difficult for me. It took a while for me to get use to the different writing formats.
Ivar- What is the class English 101 about? What type of writing did you have to do in English 101? Was it hard?
Mom- It was really tough. When I was in school, I do not remember writing papers structured in so many different styles. Recently I read an article named “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott, she described the difficulties that almost all writers experience. She writes, “We all often feel like we are pulling teeth, even those writers whose prose ends up being the most natural and fluid”(Lamott 1). For me this is a daily struggle. It is really hard for me to get started when I get assigned a paper. I really like to read and write, but I find myself struggling, and dreading assignments.
Ivar- You mention that you struggle with writing, so then why are you an English major? How would you describe yourself as a writer? Do you think you have improved your writing habits from the time you originally went back to school in …show more content…
I want to eventually become an elementary teacher. Once I get my bachelor’s degree I want to get my master’s degree in education from Eastern. I would say I am a decent writer. There is always room for improvement. When I was in high school, we didn’t focus on writing drafts. When writing papers, I find it’s beneficial to write drafts. The article by Anne Lamott that I was referring to earlier mentions “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something -- anything -- down on paper…the first draft is the down draft -- you just get it down. The second draft is the up draft -- you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it's loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God help us, healthy”(Lamott 2). When I review the process that I currently have while writing papers this concept applies to them.to put it into perspective. If I get a writing assignment, I would be overwhelmed if I had to write the perfect paper initially. Often I cringe when I read my first drafts. I have a hard time organizing my thoughts. Sometimes I ramble with needless information. The second draft allows me to pinpoint my thoughts and ideas and allows me to describe things in more detail, it also allows me to eliminate some of the trivial information that I don’t
He looks it over and cannot believe that this requirement …show more content…
It was difficult to find a balance between school, work, and home life. Some days it didn’t seem like there was enough hours in the day. The first couple of weeks were a huge adjustment. When I started back at college, the extent of my writing was the notes I would write to your school regarding early dismissal. Since it was almost twenty years between high school and college, English 101 was really difficult for me. It took a while for me to get use to the different writing formats.
Ivar- What is the class English 101 about? What type of writing did you have to do in English 101? Was it hard?
Mom- It was really tough. When I was in school, I do not remember writing papers structured in so many different styles. Recently I read an article named “Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott, she described the difficulties that almost all writers experience. She writes, “We all often feel like we are pulling teeth, even those writers whose prose ends up being the most natural and fluid”(Lamott 1). For me this is a daily struggle. It is really hard for me to get started when I get assigned a paper. I really like to read and write, but I find myself struggling, and dreading assignments.
Ivar- You mention that you struggle with writing, so then why are you an English major? How would you describe yourself as a writer? Do you think you have improved your writing habits from the time you originally went back to school in …show more content…
I want to eventually become an elementary teacher. Once I get my bachelor’s degree I want to get my master’s degree in education from Eastern. I would say I am a decent writer. There is always room for improvement. When I was in high school, we didn’t focus on writing drafts. When writing papers, I find it’s beneficial to write drafts. The article by Anne Lamott that I was referring to earlier mentions “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something -- anything -- down on paper…the first draft is the down draft -- you just get it down. The second draft is the up draft -- you fix it up. You try to say what you have to say more accurately. And the third draft is the dental draft, where you check every tooth, to see if it's loose or cramped or decayed, or even, God help us, healthy”(Lamott 2). When I review the process that I currently have while writing papers this concept applies to them.to put it into perspective. If I get a writing assignment, I would be overwhelmed if I had to write the perfect paper initially. Often I cringe when I read my first drafts. I have a hard time organizing my thoughts. Sometimes I ramble with needless information. The second draft allows me to pinpoint my thoughts and ideas and allows me to describe things in more detail, it also allows me to eliminate some of the trivial information that I don’t