Prompt for English 15: For this first post, just write 100-200 words about your experiences with writing in the past. How do you feel about your own writing? What have you done in writing classes in the past? What would you like to work on in this class?
Alright, not to start off with criticism but it's my personality; what kind of prompt is this? Would you like me to go into detail about how each paper written was strenuously typed and ended with blood dripping from my fingertips? Or how I wrote with the style and grace of a ballerina in Swan Lake? The grades I received on school papers reflect an average, mundane writer who doesn't care for the grammatical rules set by teachers on a committee, (MLA, ALA, etc.). If a period looks like it belongs there, then that is where I will place it.
In this class I wish to be appreciated for having a different view point and expressing it eloquently. . . What I'm truly requesting is that you, as the teacher, give me the freedom to write about something interesting or something of my choosing rather than an assigned prompt.
Vague prompts allow people to write what is on their mind, which in this case was all I wanted. It worked.
ReplyDeleteYou will most definitely be allowed to express and elaborate on whatever view point you have. I will be grading your writing, which, while it does include your ability to craft an argument, will not dictate what position you have to take.
All the papers are going to be generally wide open. The first two will be more somewhat limited (to responses to readings in the book) but otherwise you'll be free to choose. Even with these first two assignments, if you have something else you want to analyze, I'll let you pending approval (I just need to make sure its not going to hurt you in the end).
And, no, most people aren't glorious writers. That's fine.