Dear Future English 110 Student,
It has been brought to my attention that you are considering or are taking English 110 in the upcoming quarter. This class, while challenging, is fun, and very helpful. I thought I was a good writer and then I took English 110. This is when I realized that I was a good writer, but there was a lot of room for improvement. In this class you deal with topics that you never think about when you write. These topics include tone, audience, ethos, logos, pathos, and whether your writing is timely, compelling and relevant.
While this class is fun and helpful, you will find yourself challenged in this class. This is by no means an easy A. The teachers know that you have better to offer, so they will push you until they get the best work you can do, and until that happens, you will continue to be pushed. You will not only be pushed to show what you already know, but they push you to include what you are learning in class. They know what they are teaching in class will improve your writing, so they really like to see what you are learning in class to be incorporated into your papers. This was one of my problems on my first paper. The first paper was about taking a primary source and analyzing this source. I wrote the paper, and was disappointed in my grade. I wrote a quality paper, and was confused by my grade. I set up a meeting with the teacher, and after that meeting I understood what I did wrong. I wasn’t applying what we learned in class to the paper, and at that same time I realized how much better my paper would have been if I had incorporated what I learned into the paper.
The other interesting part about this class is the public writing. You are given several chances in this class to write for a public audience and also read and analyze public pieces. This is particularly interesting because most of what you’ve written your whole life has been for teachers, not a public audience. You have to learn to tailor your writing so it is appropriate, and interesting to the public. This class gives you the opportunity to do this.
The bottom line? If you are going to take English 110 be prepared to have fun, learn a lot, be challenged, and become a better writer.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Aaron,
ReplyDeleteGreat post, you did an awesome job of explaining what went on this quarter in our class and gave future students a really good insight on what to expect. I liked how you added the concepts of logos, ethos, and pathos as well as the commonplace creed. You prepared them with how you viewed the class and what will be expected out of them. This point was reinforced well with the personal story you added about the first paper you wrote, and how you learned to grow as a writer from it. You made a really good point that this class challenged everyone to not only apply what they already knew into writing papers, but also incorporating what we were learning. I think this blog would give future students an accurate percpective on the class, get them prepared for the challenges that lie ahead of them, and get them excited for their writing to flurish.
Aaron-
ReplyDeleteYou really make some great points in this letter and give incoming students a real heads-up. I like that you incorporated your personal experiences, even when they proved challenging to you, because they make your letter genuine. Showing how you learned from your experience also lends itself to showing the readers your credibility. I'm glad you highlighted the aspect of the class that focused on writing for a public audience, becuase it really is a unique experience. I really like the way you concluded your letter, it was simple and to the point -- reminding readers to be prepared to work hard with that the chance to become better writers.
Aaron,
ReplyDeleteI agree with this! In your second part, I was confused with my grade too, but didn't realize what I was doing wrong. Asking the teacher helps out too. Your letter helps students to remember that when they need help, they need to make sure that they understand the whole aspect of the paper so that they get a respectable grade. Good job!