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| "Momus Criticizes the Gods' Creations" (1561) Meerten Van Heemskerck |
Have you ever received intense criticism for a paper you've worked hard on?
How did you respond?
From your perspective, how can teachers help students learn to value and take advantage of criticism of their work?
How did you respond?
From your perspective, how can teachers help students learn to value and take advantage of criticism of their work?
This past year was probably one of my hardest when it came to writing. Our teacher was an ex-stage director of many plays and she was very skilled with writing. Since we were in the advanced class she expected the best work on everything we did, including rough drafts. I had just submitted my rough draft of our final paper; a 10 page paper over a controversial topic as well as 20 pages of research. I had done what I though was my very best but when I got my critique back I was horrified! I got a C- and was thinking what could I have possibly done wrong? Turns out there was a lot that I did wrong and I think it really humbled me and made me realized that I am not invincible and there is always room for improvement. I ended up going and talking with my teacher and having her explain different things to me about what I had done wrong and it really helped my writing. I think that teachers should give more criticism on assignments and encourage their students to take advantage of the criticism by asking questions and using that crticism to improve their work.
ReplyDeleteI took some concurrent classes during my senior year and wrote some essays for my comp classes. During the last semester, I received what I thought was a lot of criticism for one of my essays. At first, I was upset and wondered what I could have done wrong. After I thought about it though, I decided to use the feedback to write a better essay.
ReplyDeleteI think that students have the misconception that all criticism is bad. That simply is not true. There is such a thing as constructive criticism, and I believe that if students were given more of it, they might use it like I did to write better essays.
-Kaylee George
At Norman High every senior has to write a senior research paper. I wrote my paper over George Orwell's "1984" and the totalitarian regimes. I worked so hard on it and researched so much only to be told it just wasn't good enough, my teacher told me that I have so much potential and she's seen better from me. That comment made me feel even worse because I had worked so hard and that she had seen better in other papers that didn't require as much effort. Although besides that comment, the actual criticism she wrote on my paper was beneficial to my rewriting of the paper. I think that the word criticism has a negative connotation to it. Criticism can benefit you when it's given and received in a positive way. If teachers told their critiques in a positive manner and the students felt as though they were being helped instead of feeling as though their hard work just wasn't good enough. That also depends on the teacher-student relationship.
ReplyDeleteDuring my first year of concurrent study, I took a composition 2 class. I was shocked to learn how different the writing style was in college compared to my high school classes. We were told to write our first paper over something we felt very passionate about. I chose the subject of gun rights. This topic was something I found writing about very easy, considering my father deals in firearms and makes his living on selling them. I wrote from the heart and thought my paper would be graded accordingly. I was surprised to find harsh criticisms on my paper when I received my copy back. I scheduled a meeting with my professor during office hours the second I could. His explanation was my material seemed too uninteresting and the matter at hand was too big of a topic for me to handle. I politely took his criticisms and asked what to do to write a better paper. He told me to write about subject matter that was more neutral and to gain material in my writing that made the reader excited to read it. I believe that had I known these tips beforehand my paper would have received a much higher grade. I think teachers can help students by providing tips on paper subject matter before the assignment.
ReplyDeleteI didn't handle criticism very well until I had my AP English teacher. She graded very harshly. It was the first time I ever struggled in a class, especially on writing. At first, I didn't take her advice. I just assumed she was being nit-picky and I ignored her. I saw no improvements in my grades. Finally, I sat down with her and discussed where she saw flaws and things I could do to fix them. Not only did my grade improve but my writing had improved tremendously as well. Critiquing is actually teaching. To help students understand that, the teachers could possibly have them critique other students' papers and then discuss.
ReplyDeleteI had a very similar experience and completely understand! My AP Language and Composition teacher my junior year was one of the toughest teachers I have ever had. We wrote almost every day, and we had a paper due almost every week. I had never been graded so intensely and with so much attention to detail. When I started getting these graded papers back I was so surprised and discouraged. When I started paying attention to all her critiques and her comments, my writing improved tremendously. To this day, she is my favorite teacher I had in high school. Because of her critiques and her harsh grading technique my writing grew so much throughout that year, and I am so thankful for teachers like her that push students to do their absolute best, even when it is difficult.
DeleteI have been very intensely criticized for some of my writing in the past. This criticism was not from a teacher or professor but from a dear friend. It leaves a deep impact on you when someone calls what you’ve worked on essentially garbage. My reaction was to brush it off and act like I didn’t try, this I think would be one popular reaction. The other two main reactions would be to either be really mad or really upset about it and visually show it. I think from what I’ve learned from this intense criticism should be that teachers should be critical but they should show the person how to become better writers instead of just providing criticism.
ReplyDeleteI agree in that criticism can only help so much. It is like part one of a two step process, and without the second step it is useless. It is not enough to tell someone what they are doing wrong, you have to tell them how to fix it. I think the best way to deliver criticism, is to walk the person you are criticizing through your thoughts. In responding to criticism a postive attitude is definitely needed. Anyone can be hurt by critical feedback, but a truly successful person needs to be able to take it with a grain salt.
DeleteTessa Neeley
I remember an instance last year in my concurrent Comp II class where I wrote an essay over the Holocaust. I had done an extensive amount of research and spent many hours into writing this essay. Twelve pages later, I held in my hands what I believed to be the best essays I had ever written. I was very confident with it and was excited to receive little feedback on improvements for the final copy. I was shocked when I got the rough draft back and it was covered in red marks. My professor had rejected many of the ideas I had put into the paper and wanted me to restructure the entire way that I went about writing it. Needless to say, I was devastated. After I got over myself, and began making the revisions, I realized that my final copy was much more scholarly and overall better. I think that teachers should give criticism to students in order to help them grow. It does not always have to be taken to heart because people have different viewpoints.
ReplyDelete