<p>Hey everyone. Next year I'll be heading to one of the many small LAC's in the cold Northeast, and I'm a bit worried. You see, I'm living abroad with a high school exchange program and I haven't written a real essay in over eight months due to the facts that: one, I'm attending school in my host country's language (which I don't know well enough to do real work in); two, my teachers care so little about exchange students that they still haven't added me to the class list and therefore I don't have grades; and three, that schools' curriculum here is radically different from the average school in my state back home. </p>
<p>It's a miracle that I won't have to repeat this year, but I digress. What I'm worried about is that in September, when my classes start and I'll have to study and (my biggest fear) write coherent essays on dense topics, I'm going to crash and burn and flunk out. </p>
<p>I'm interested in majoring in either Philosophy or English so I've been doing a few relevant things to keep my mind from rotting over here. For example, I've been reading a lot, about a book a week, of novels and writers from the canon. Right now I'm working through Huckleberry Finn not because I want to but because I feel like I should have a more firm knowledge of the roots of American literature. Next week I'm planning on getting through Joyce's Dubliners and after that I'll be reading The Iliad and The Odyssey before attempting to tackle Ulysses. As far as philosophy goes, I just found all these great sites with free courses from places like Yale and Berkeley (thanks to the CC community) and I'm taking an intro philosophy course online at Yale. I'm taking notes along with the lectures so I'll have some practice. Plus, I love having a notebook filled with scrunched pen writing.</p>
<p>While I think doing these things is helping me a lot with reading and I guess thinking, the one thing that I'm getting no practice on is writing. So my question after this admittedly rambling post (mainly because I'm trying to practice ;) ) is: what should I do to practice my writing skills? I've never really seen people write essays for fun in high school but if I had some direction I'd gladly do it. Could CC give me some direction?</p>
<p>Thanks abunch for any and all advice!</p>
<p>I would suggest making your own topics on the books you have read and trying to write a paper over a week or so; if it takes you less time, even better.</p>
<p>Honestly, while you are in a little deeper than most people, pretty much no one enters college knowing how to write a college level paper. You should be fine, so just relax. I’m sure your college also offers some sort of tutoring for writing.</p>
<p>Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Why aren’t you spending more time practicing the language of your host country? It sounds like you’re wasting an amazing opportunity over there.</p>
<p>Well, Princess, to be totally honest I’m completely uninterested in the language. It’s considered one of the hardest languages in the world and it’s not spoken by many people. I know that sounds bad but really I’ve had a lot of regrets about coming here for a lot of (personal) reasons and I haven’t had much of a desire to practice. That being said, I can still hold a conversation in it, but that’s quite different from doing something academic with it.</p>
<p>Of course, that’s just how I feel about it. I’m sure lots of people would vehemently disagree and, as you said, admonish me for wasting an opportunity, but oh well. The language is Polish, for anyone who’s curious; I’ve just been a little reluctant to say so in case there are any Poles/big fans of the Polish language on here that would be offended. </p>
<p>zchryevns, for conversation’s sake, when would you say people start to write ‘college level papers?’</p>
<p>It depends on the individual’s aptitude, drive, and commitment. For some, this occurs after several AP English courses in high school; for others, it isn’t until they’ve passed their university’s “Academic Writing” course (which nearly all post-secondary institutions seem to require for graduation).</p>
<p>I’ve always liked to write, and I often write essays for leisure. I find the process of transmitting my thought into prose insightful–and not not only on how I think, but also on observing the clarity in which my thought emerges. Since, as the saying goes, language reflects thought, it’s safe to assume that thought reflects language. After all, most of us think in our native tongue, whose diction and syntactical constraints shape our thought.</p>
<p>So if you can communicate clearly and succinctly, odds are good, not guaranteed, that you are a clear and efficient thinker.</p>
<p>My best advice is to read lots. And if you have time, you can write too; maybe try a few-paragraph responses to the material you’ve covered, and see if you can type an adequate response on its thematic development?</p>
<p>But Augustus, don’t you think that in conversation (everyday or even of more abstract bent) we tend to use a lot of stock phrases to get our points across? For example, I often say “the only problem IS” when I’m describing something to another native speaker. And then there are filler words like “um” and “I mean” that don’t really mean anything but give you time to think as, at the same time, they help you transition from one thought to another. Our stock phrases, essentially crushes, need to be knocked out when we’re writing a paper and that’s what I think the biggest difficulty will be - not necessarily coming up with thoughts, but coming up with them in a way that has the kind of variety and coherence that makes a paper good. You know what I mean?</p>
<p>Yes! That is is why academic writing is such an important tool to practice. It eliminates superfluity in speech. Believe me; speech without the “stock phrases” inherently communicates coherence and variety. Once you immerse yourself in language you’ll quickly learn that there are much better way to transition between thoughts than “um” or “I mean.” It’s how you shape the actual content of your speech that determines the quality of your use of language.</p>
<p>Also, judging from your last few posts, the level of your writing seems very similar to that of the average freshman in college. Don’t sweat it too much.</p>