{"id":2265,"date":"2014-08-18T09:00:49","date_gmt":"2014-08-18T16:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/?p=2265"},"modified":"2019-04-21T19:38:49","modified_gmt":"2019-04-22T02:38:49","slug":"writing-strategies-to-make-english-class-easier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/writing-strategies-to-make-english-class-easier\/","title":{"rendered":"10 \u00bd Writing Strategies to Make English Class Easier This Semester"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every student has to take English classes at some time or another. In all of these classes, you\u2019ll have to write stuff<\/strong> (cue theme from \u201cJaws\u201d).<\/p>\n

Given a choice between two classes, \u201cWriting 101\u201d and \u201cBreaking Rocks with Your Head,\u201d most students would pick the latter. Why is that? What is it about writing an essay that makes even the toughest and bravest students quiver in fear? What writing strategies can help you cope?<\/p>\n

The Good Old Days<\/h2>\n

Back in the 19th<\/sup> century, people didn\u2019t have TV, computers, DVD players, or even lava lamps. Not only that, but travel was expensive, slow, and often dangerous. People amused themselves\u2014and went to faraway places\u2014by reading books.<\/p>\n

Today, much of your entertainment comes visually. Most people don\u2019t read for amusement any more (though many still do). The result is that for a lot of folks, the only time they read a book is when they have <\/em>to.<\/p>\n

A Good Reader Is a Good Writer<\/h2>\n

English has rules rules rules rules rules rules rules<\/em>. Then, when you learn those rules, you find out that those rules only apply most<\/em> of the time. Our language is messy\u2014there\u2019s no doubt about that. But the way we learn English grammar isn\u2019t by memorizing rules\u2014it\u2019s by using the language. We do that initially by speaking\u2014by conversing. Pretty soon, we get a \u201cfeel\u201d for what\u2019s correct and what isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

The same process happens when we read. We acquire an eye for correct grammar and sentence structure; an incorrect sentence just looks<\/em> wrong. The more we read, the more expert we become at this; the less we read, the more we have to rely on memorizing all those rules. (This is why it\u2019s much easier to learn a foreign language by \u201cimmersion\u201d than by studying a textbook.)<\/p>\n

So I Fear the English Class of Doom Because\u2026?<\/h2>\n

Because you haven\u2019t read enough and, therefore, haven\u2019t written enough.<\/p>\n

I guarantee<\/em> you haven\u2019t done enough writing to be really good at it, because writing is something that the vast majority of people regard as a chore (and if the above doesn\u2019t apply to you, please accept my apologies).<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t done much reading, then you haven\u2019t been exposed to diverse points of view, heard different voices, and\u2014most of all\u2014you haven\u2019t been to other places, in the minds and experiences of authors. As a result, you haven\u2019t had the opportunity to create writing strategies that fit you.<\/p>\n

So you fear English class just as someone strapped into the pilot\u2019s seat of a 767 and told to land it would be scared. Critical reading and writing strategies just aren\u2019t in the ol\u2019 skill set just yet. This is not a fault of yours; it\u2019s a fault of modern culture.<\/p>\n

Twitter posts doth not a writer make.<\/p>\n

No! Don\u2019t Make Me Write an Essay. I\u2019ll Take the Firing Squad Instead!<\/h2>\n

I strongly suspect that what makes many people blanch at the thought of writing an essay\u2014whether expository, narrative, or argumentative\u2014is their first exposure to the task: a book report. The process of writing your first book report is what we fondly call regurgitation<\/em>\u2014swallow information, then puke it back up on demand. There was never any of yourself<\/em> in the process, and if you hated the book, you didn\u2019t dare say so.<\/p>\n

Then, you were probably asked to write an essay dealing with some topic or other that your teacher thought was important\u2014or if you were lucky, you got to choose the topic. You struggled with this because while you were (and are) used to describing things, telling stories, and arguing your point<\/a>, you had done all those things orally<\/em> and, unless you were some kind of child prodigy, haphazardly.<\/p>\n

Essay writing forces you to arrange all your thoughts like ducks in a row. This doesn\u2019t feel natural, at least not at first.<\/p>\n

Why English Class Sucks<\/h2>\n

Here are the reasons, then, why going to English class is like French-kissing a dragon:<\/p>\n