<p>I currently am taking liberal arts courses and some pre-nursing courses and am pre-nursing now. I am beyond frustrated with my professors. I have always gotten A's and A+'s my whole life in writing, which is my favorite pasttime. I got stuck with two professors this semester that either are on meds or have no ability to distinguish proficient writing from non-proficient writing.
One of them conducts a writing intensive course along with literature. No matter how much I adhere to the criteria and write an articulate paper, the highest grades I received are a B and an A-. When she first read my second paper, she said it was not exciting creatively, even though I went into specifics.
The other professor gave me a B+ for my first paper. He said it was very good, but I did not use enough terms related to the course itself. So, of course, for my next paper, I peppered it with terms we learned during the semester, and he informed me yesterday that I received a B+. This was after our final, and there were many people around, so I thought that maybe he mistakenly told me the grade for the 1st paper, since he has not yet finished grading the second papers, even though the semester is finished. So I emailed him and he has not yet responded. I cannot understand how two professors who do not even give an outline for their papers, then go about complaining it was not exactly what they desired, even though it was not specified in the first place! I am very upset, and do not know what to do.</p>
<p>Stop blaming the teachers and figure our what YOU did wrong.</p>
<p>Did you use a writing center or similar service on campus? Did you meet with your professors to look over old papers? Did you ask them questions as you wrote your paper? Did you talk to your professors in the context of ‘how can I improve my skills?’ as opposed to ‘why did you not give me an A?!?’? Sometimes, the approach makes all the difference.</p>
<p>There is a difference between creative academic writing and specifics. A creative topic (one likely to received an A) is not one that was discussed in class and not something that everybody else has written about, but something interesting about the text that you have discovered. A lot of students have a hard time understanding the concept of the thesis as an argument, and they instead use the thesis as a summary of their paper, which merely summarizes. A well-written paper challenges others to disagree and believe it’s wrong-- that’s all part of the package.</p>
<p>And finally, an A is not given for meeting expectations-- it is given for exceeding them. The A paper shouldn’t simply meet whatever rules they laid down in clas, but work to form a coherent and interesting argument-- that is what an A paper does. But yeah, professors aren’t just going give you As, regardless of what your grades in your last writing classes are. This is college.</p>
<p>Some professors just give out harsh grades, which can make you work harder (like you had done). I’d say to try and learn from them that you sometimes can’t please everyone. I’m a writing major, and I got a 3.8 in my class this semester and another 3.8 on the final paper partly because she didn’t agree with my position. Things like that happen, but it’s all part of the college life! Good luck.</p>
<p>The main thing you get out of those courses (the liberal arts courses) is an ability to write well, so I should hope that there are some improvements you have to make beyond your writing ability in high school.</p>