Really? English Class? Again?

Obviously, you can write. In the age of Facebook and smartphones, you might be writing all the time – perhaps more often than speaking. Many students today are emerged in text like no other generation before.  So, why spend yet more time and attention on writing skills? Research shows that deliberate practice—that is, close focus on improving one’s skills—makes all the difference in how one performs. Revisiting the craft of writing—especially on the early end of college—will improve your writing much more than simply producing page after page in the same old way.

Becoming an excellent communicator will save you a lot of time and hassle in your studies, advance your career, and promote better relationships and a higher quality of life off the job. For example, in 2021, The Conference Board of Canada identified the following as top-priority skills to have for the Canadian job market:

So, what communication skills are employers looking for?  Check it out!

Video source: https://youtu.be/xQfYiHbAjJo

College writing is different

College writing assignments require you to apply academic skills to new intellectual challenges – you must learn to adapt as you encounter different forms of assessment. Professors assign assignments because they want you to think rigorously and deeply about important questions in their fields. To your instructors, writing is for working out complex ideas, not just explaining them.

Professors expect you to look deep into the evidence, consider several alternative explanations, and work out an original, insightful argument that you actually care about. Writing a paper isn’t about getting the “right answer” and adhering to basic conventions; it’s about joining an academic conversation with something original to say, borne of rigorous thought.

When approaching college writing assignments, many students first figure out what they want to say and then write it down as clearly (and quickly) as they can. One quick round of proof-reading and they’re done. Many students dislike editing and revising (i.e., actually rewriting) a paper because it feels like throwing away hard work. Consequently, when students are invited or required to revise an essay, they tend to focus on correcting mechanical errors, making a few superficial changes that do not entail any rethinking or major changes.

So what do professors want?

At one time or another, most students will find themselves frustrated by a professor’s recalcitrant refusal to simply “Tell us what you want!” It’s a natural feeling and, at times, a legitimate one. While professors want to set you up to succeed, they may find their expectations hard to articulate, in part because they struggle to remember what it’s like to be a beginner in the field. Often, however, the bigger and better reason that professors won’t just tell you what to do is that there simply isn’t a particular “answer” they want you to give in the paper. They want to see your own thoughts and careful analysis. Some students assume that they should be able to envision a paper and its thesis within minutes of receiving the assignment.  Other students assume that every professor has a completely different set of expectations and, consequently, conclude that writing papers is just an unavoidable guessing game about entirely subjective and idiosyncratic standards.  Well constructed writing assignments are supposed to be challenging to write, and professors are, above all, looking for your own self-motivated intellectual work.

Despite some variations by discipline, college instructors are bringing similar standards to evaluating student work. The following illustrates especially well the scholarly mindset and independent work habits they expect students to bring to their work:

• “thorough understanding of context, audience, and purpose,”
• “mastery of the subject,”
• “detailed attention” to writing conventions,
• “skillful use of high-quality, credible, relevant sources,” and
• “graceful language.”

Professors want to see that you’ve thought through a problem and taken the time and effort to explain your thinking in precise language.

The following chapters in this book seek to clarify these ideas. They begin with the most fundamental issues (such as audience and purposes of writing), move through the more complex stages of the writing process.  Remember: we all started at the same place, so these are skills that you will practice and hone throughout your life, not just in this course.  Don’t expect yourself to be perfect (or even good) at all of this right away!  It’s a journey, and your professors are here to help and guide you through it.

Because most professors have different expectations of their students, it can be tricky to figure out what exactly they’re looking for. Pay attention to the comments they leave on your paper, and make sure to use these as a reference for your next assignment. I try to pay attention and adapt to the professor’s style and preferences.

Practice Exercises

1. Ask a professor about his or her work. What drew them into their field? What do they work on in their scholarly or creative endeavors? What do they most enjoy about teaching? What behaviors do they like to see in students?
2. Go to Professor Stephen Chew’s website about good study practices and watch the first video titled “Beliefs that Make You Fail … or Succeed.” How can the concept of metacognition be used to explain why good papers are challenging to write?