English 101: I can't write essays

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>I don't know if this is the right section but here we go...</p>

<p>Hello. I've always been pretty good with doing my English homework and turning it on time. I'd always get A's on those small assignments, but when it comes to writing an essay, I just can't write. I understand the prompt and what's expected of me, but I just can't for the life of me ever write an essay.</p>

<p>In high school, I never once turned in an essay for an English class. And it's odd because I was pretty good at writing for my US History class and AP World History DBQ's and FRQ's. But when it comes to English essays, I just freeze up and can't do them. I'm very comfortable reading argumentative and persuasive essays and what not, and analyzing em is real fun, but when it comes to writing one myself, I feel incompetent, because I understand all of the subtleties authors have to use in their writing to put their point across whenever we analyze such pieces. </p>

<p>It just feels unnatural for me to analyze how an author persuades its audience and how it forms his or her argument, and then have to suddenly be told to write an essay of your own. Why couldn't we learn how to write and use these techniques instead of just learn how to spot them in other writers' works? </p>

<p>This problem has followed me through to college, and now that I'm taking a summer English 101 course right after having graduated from high school, I'm on the verge of dropping out of the course just because I can't write the essays assigned. I have an A+ average in the class right now from an in-class writing assignment and homework assignments, but I know that my grade will suffer terribly after having missed my first true essay assignment, and I feel it'd be best to just drop out right now with a W then ruin my GPA before I even start my freshman fall year. </p>

<p>I told my mom about this but she simply got mad at me because she's been bragging about me to her co-workers about how I already started college. I still plan on going to college in the fall, I just want to drop out from this summer course. I also feel really stressed from all of this, because even though it's one class, I have to spend the entire day after class at my mom's work because she's my ride to and from school. I've started breaking out, gained some weight, and have bags under my eyes from staying up late every night to finish up the assignments.</p>

<p>I don't know what's wrong with me.. I can write timed or in-class essays with ease but when it comes to essay homework assignments I can't think. It's as if my mind freezes up and no matter what I try I just can't seem to write. I've tried timing myself at home to stimulate in-class writings but I can't seem to trick my mind. </p>

<p>I even missed the last two days of class just because I couldn't bear come to class empty handed without a draft to peer-edit or final draft to turn in. The teacher's pretty nice but I'm scared and ashamed that I missed class just to avoid that. I feel like it's not a good excuse to not doing an assignment, and the teacher would probably have a hard time believing I have difficulty with writing essays since I got an A on our first in-class writing assignment.</p>

<p>Help?</p>

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<p>Have you ever read either of these books?</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Literature-Like-Professor/dp/006000942X”>http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Literature-Like-Professor/dp/006000942X&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-Intelligent-Touchstone/dp/0671212095/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404786452&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+read+a+book+by+mortimer+adler”>http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Book-Intelligent-Touchstone/dp/0671212095/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404786452&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+read+a+book+by+mortimer+adler&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Might help, but maybe not in time for this course. </p>

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<p>Also, talk to the instructor. It’s OK to say you feel ashamed. That’s a natural response, but you should address this issue. </p>

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<p>

Yes! Getting you through the tricky stuff is part of what your instructor is TRAINED to do. Don’t hide. Get help.</p>

<p>And take advantage of any tutoring that’s available. Your school probably has a writing center. Check it out. Tutors are for more than proofreading. They are trained to help you plan your essays and can assist you at any other stage of the process, too. If you get a bad tutor, come back and try a different one.</p>

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<p>Read Bird by Bird by Anne Lemott. There’s an entire section about how every good writer writes “sh***y first drafts”. The purpose of the class is for you to learn how to write. You need that class. Don’t drop it.</p>

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<p>Talk to your professor about it. If you avoid the issue, this could go on forever, and writing is a very important skill to have regardless of what field you’re in.</p>

<p>If you can write essays in class, it doesn’t sound like writing is the real issue, but just that you can’t seem to write on your own. Have you tried breaking an essay up into smaller pieces? Instead of just sitting down and trying to write from beginning to end, try to figure out your thesis. Then figure out what evidence you could use to support your thesis. Then write a sentence about how each piece of evidence supports your thesis. Take it step by step until you’ve pulled together some sort of essay that you can work with. The first draft is always the hardest, but instead of thinking of it as a giant essay, break it into smaller, more manageable pieces.</p>

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<p>Use the DBQ format to write your english essays. That’s what I do.</p>

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<p>I suggest you talk to your professor about it because it’s their job to teach and help you. I think you have the mindset that you cannot write an essay for an English class and that is what’s holding you back. If you think that way, then you are already limiting yourself to what you can and cannot learn. Writing is like everything you do in life. It takes practice and a lot of trial and error sessions to get you on the right path. I am a good writer and sometimes I get stumped, too. With every assignment, make sure you know what the objectives are (I like to print the assignment page and have it close by to read through), find your topic and the angle, and make sure your thoughts do not contradict one another. It’s English 101 so they expect your essays to be bad (not extremely bad though) and I think you should continue with the course. Please talk to your professor after class and schedule a time when you can be in their office to get some tutoring. If you have an essay assignment coming up, write up a draft ahead of time (since you are struggling with writing essays) and bring it to them to review. Ask questions during your session with your professor. Your professor will always want you to succeed but you have to let them know you need help. When you get better at writing essays, you will be able to better analyze literature and spot certain things an author is doing. Good luck!</p>