Do We Need to How Know Write to? You are eighteen years old, sitting in front of a blank computer screen. It’s already twelve o’clock, you just got back from your friend’s house, and a paper is due tomorrow; a paper that you were assigned two weeks ago. The paper is on a book you never read by Patty Davis. It’s late and you are tired.
With a click of a mouse, a few entered words, and some brief scanning, you have located a paper online with exactly what you are looking for. Before even proofreading it, you print it out, staple it, and head off for bed. Most people may see this student’s unethical decision is uncommon among today’s children. Unfortunately plagiarism and “shared writing” is a growing problem among America’s youth. According to a study done last spring, “One out of every three high school students will get a book summary, research paper, essay or speech offline during the school year” (Education Today).
These “easy-out” homework methods are turning today’s children into laid-back, lazy students who believe they no longer have to work for their grades.
The major problem is that these students don’t realize they are hurting themselves in the long run. In today’s society, a young adult without competent and applicable writing skills will have a hard time finding a good job that doesn’t require the phrase “Would you like fries with that.” Winar 2 Since writing skills are so important, East Carolina University requires every student to take the English 1100 and 1200 courses in order to graduate. Everyone has room for growth and these courses are designed to improve any student’s writing skills. My 12 th grade Advanced Placement English teacher would always say “A student who can’t write well is like a blind traffic cop; you can’t expect to succeed in something unless you are well equipped with everything you need” (Mobley).
The Term Paper on Students in Today’s Classroom Are Not Given Enough Freedom to Learn.
Students in today’s classroom are not given enough freedom to learn. The diversity of students in today's classrooms underscores the importance of developing curriculum, teaching strategies, and policies to help all students succeed in school. Effective literacy instruction builds upon the cultural and linguistic backgrounds, ways of making meaning, and prior knowledge that all children bring to ...
East Carolina University makes a point to get their students to be better writers. Trisha Waters, a current 1100 student said “I have had to write many papers in this class and have noticed that over time my grade has improved, but my writing skills have improved even more. It is getting easier to write papers and I have learned a lot” (Waters).
Trisha is a student that has been in school for over twelve years, and she continues to grow in her writing ability. According to the Undergraduate Catalog, English 1100 emphasizes on “methods of organization; techniques for developing unified, well-supported paragraphs and essays…
proofreading and editing skills… .” (Undergrad. Catalog).
Since colleges are aware how English classes in high school are slack and students aren’t really pushed, 1100 and 1200 are vital to a student’s success. Personally as an Advanced Placement student, I got AP credit for English 1100 and am currently enrolled in English 1200.
Although I did not have to take 1100, I have heard many great things about it. My roommate Laura Brown once told me that her ” teacher makes us write a lot but he is always there to help and my grammar has gotten so much better since coming to college.” Kristen Davis, a junior at ECU majoring in psychology with a minor in communication, took both English 1100 and 1200. She commented: Winar 3 “Even if I had not taken those English classes, I still would have had to write paper after paper for all of my core classes. By taking English 1100 and 1200, I learned what college teachers expect from you and it saved me a lot of time when I had to write more important papers. By taking English in college, I learned how to organize my thoughts, research material, and write impressively” (Davis).
The Essay on Becoming a Better English Student
Last year my ability to write was above the average of my English class. At the time I thought that reading and writing were the only things to English. This year I was handed a light to show me that reading and writing are only the outlines of English. When handed this light I started seeing the interior: the texture, the color, and a lot more about the high lights of English.The texture of ...
Both English classes seem to have made a great impact on East Carolina’s students.
There are some people however, that feel they could have used six hours of credit towards something more beneficial like their major. Sophomore Tim Chandlen believes that he could have done just as well in college without taking English. “I was good at English and I hate busy work. English 1100 is all about writing dumb paper after paper and I got nothing out of it” (Chandlen).
Sarah Estraghi agrees “English 1100 was all busy work and nothing beneficial.
I got more out of English 1200 because I learned how to write analytically and cleaned up my grammar” (Estraghi).
According the guidebook, English 1200 is designed to instruct in “Critical reading, library research and research writing… analytical and argumentative writing” (Undergrad. Catalog).
English 1200 is based on source and research writing whereas English 1100 focuses on how to write and grammar techniques (Undergrad.
Catalog).
Since there are students like Tim and Sarah that believe 1100 is unneeded and not beneficial, it would be a good idea to create a place-out test. At East Carolina, there is a place-out test for Math 1065, various foreign languages and other classes. With a place out test for English 1100, people who had enough writing and grammar skills could get credit for 1100 and only have to take Winar 4 1200. I did not have to take English 1100 because of my Advanced Placement scores, and other students should be able to have the opportunity to skip to English 1200 as well. By testing students, East Carolina would be able to see the writing levels of their students and discover if any of their applicants need additional help.
Students could be placed into a level of English that would benefit them the most without wasting any time. Having strong writing skills can help a person get better grades and be a future candidate for higher-paying jobs. English 1100 and 1200 are both excellent classes that have been helpful in the past and hopefully in the future as well. By making English required classes, East Carolina is preparing students for the future and creating writers worthy of a college degree.
The Homework on Tips on Teaching English Creative Writing
Tips on Teaching Creative Writing It's finally happened. You've reached the pinnacle (or at least a peak) of your career: you've been asked to teach a creative writing class. Sounds easy, doesn't it? After all, isn't writing in your blood, with words flowing from your fingertips every day? The problem is that what comes so naturally on paper is hard to explain, difficult to define and even more ...
No matter how many online essays, papers and speeches high-school students may have printed out, East Carolina will be ready to battle il literacies and grammatical errors that they are faced with in the world today.
