WendyMay
Well-Known Member
The entire concept of writing for college professors is a bit confusing. Think about it. It's not like you're writing a personal letter to a friend. You're not explaining anything new to whom you're writing. What you're doing doesn't even seem natural. Yes, you're writing one-on-one to an individual, but you're not exactly educating this individual. Your professor likely has a more comprehensive knowledge of the subject matter about which you chose to write, so why do it at all? And the truth is, you likely don't even have a full working knowledge of your subject matter. So what should your angle be when going about this sort of thing? How should you approach it and how do you do a good job?
I have a few tips for you when it comes to your college writing, but I'd first like to frame things out for you. When dealing with academics, you need to understand your role at the university. You must remember who exactly you are. In the most basic sense, you're, as mentioned previously on this forum, a junior scholar. What do scholars do? Well, they learn and research and then report back to other scholars. Now, just because someone is considered a scholar doesn't mean that they know everything there is to know. Scholars may think along the same lines as one another, but they certainly can't study all topics and all subjects. Those things are spread out among many different people. Each scholar studies his or her own section of the world. Then, when they report back, they must understand that while who they're reporting to may have some cursory knowledge of the subject, their readers are looking to be filled in with the rest of what they don't already know. These readers are busy people engaging in learning and research of their own, so they'll appreciate reading something that's targeted toward them by someone who is writing for them and not to them. And this is exactly how you should view your writing for your professors. You're a junior scholar and they're senior scholars. They don't know everything, so it's in your best interest to share what you've discovered in a compelling way that will benefit them.
We already know that your professors will likely know more than you do about a certain topic. You need to ask yourself, "Is my professor trying to learn from me or do they seek something else?" Then ask yourself what the reason is that you're in college in the first place. It's you who is trying to learn. And to do so, you need to train your mind how to reason and how to think. The goal of your professor is to teach you how to work through complex ideas. They'd like to see you deepen your knowledge through learning, research, writing, and rewriting. It's the struggle that will aid in your learning and it's understanding this purpose of writing altogether that will guide you through and help shape your decisions. Your goal in writing a paper isn't to enlighten anyone but yourself. It's the entire process that will make each and every successive paper better than the last. And to benefit from your writing, you'll need to keep a sharp focus on that writing's purpose; to learn. To learn how to critically think and how to delve deep into a topic. Pretend that you're writing for colleagues who know some, but not as much as you do. Fill them in. Explain to them the importance. Show them why. By doing this, you'll begin to realize the importance of what you'll eventually become, which is an expert.
I'll offer you a quick tip here that may prove to help you throughout your college career. When you receive an assignment, don't shy away from it. Don't groan and hide the assignment away, only to look it over closer to its due date. Review the assignment immediately and begin to develop an action plan in your mind. Become excited that you have the privilege to write for an esteemed college or university. Remember how badly you wanted to attend your school and prove to yourself that you can impress your professors with your enthusiasm. If you approach your assignments in this way, you'll only travel in one direction and that's straight to the top.
I have a few tips for you when it comes to your college writing, but I'd first like to frame things out for you. When dealing with academics, you need to understand your role at the university. You must remember who exactly you are. In the most basic sense, you're, as mentioned previously on this forum, a junior scholar. What do scholars do? Well, they learn and research and then report back to other scholars. Now, just because someone is considered a scholar doesn't mean that they know everything there is to know. Scholars may think along the same lines as one another, but they certainly can't study all topics and all subjects. Those things are spread out among many different people. Each scholar studies his or her own section of the world. Then, when they report back, they must understand that while who they're reporting to may have some cursory knowledge of the subject, their readers are looking to be filled in with the rest of what they don't already know. These readers are busy people engaging in learning and research of their own, so they'll appreciate reading something that's targeted toward them by someone who is writing for them and not to them. And this is exactly how you should view your writing for your professors. You're a junior scholar and they're senior scholars. They don't know everything, so it's in your best interest to share what you've discovered in a compelling way that will benefit them.
We already know that your professors will likely know more than you do about a certain topic. You need to ask yourself, "Is my professor trying to learn from me or do they seek something else?" Then ask yourself what the reason is that you're in college in the first place. It's you who is trying to learn. And to do so, you need to train your mind how to reason and how to think. The goal of your professor is to teach you how to work through complex ideas. They'd like to see you deepen your knowledge through learning, research, writing, and rewriting. It's the struggle that will aid in your learning and it's understanding this purpose of writing altogether that will guide you through and help shape your decisions. Your goal in writing a paper isn't to enlighten anyone but yourself. It's the entire process that will make each and every successive paper better than the last. And to benefit from your writing, you'll need to keep a sharp focus on that writing's purpose; to learn. To learn how to critically think and how to delve deep into a topic. Pretend that you're writing for colleagues who know some, but not as much as you do. Fill them in. Explain to them the importance. Show them why. By doing this, you'll begin to realize the importance of what you'll eventually become, which is an expert.
I'll offer you a quick tip here that may prove to help you throughout your college career. When you receive an assignment, don't shy away from it. Don't groan and hide the assignment away, only to look it over closer to its due date. Review the assignment immediately and begin to develop an action plan in your mind. Become excited that you have the privilege to write for an esteemed college or university. Remember how badly you wanted to attend your school and prove to yourself that you can impress your professors with your enthusiasm. If you approach your assignments in this way, you'll only travel in one direction and that's straight to the top.