Motivations for Writing

Coming into college, I wasn't sure what to expect from my English classes. Would they be like the APs I took, where we read a book and then wrote a paper on it? What does a hybrid class mean? Will the essays be monstrously long? Looking at it now, I can gladly say that this class has been one of the most fun and challenging classes I have taken. Despite only meeting once a week, it has still taken a good bit of brainpower to follow along; in addition to our regular assignments, understanding the Bb Vista software has taken some time.

However, while I have enjoyed the class, it hasn't changed my overall motivation for writing assignments. Throughout all of high school and this class, I have approached papers and other such assignments in much the same way - as something I complete for a grade. This is not to say I don't enjoy what we do in English; on the contrary, I still love many of the books I've read in these classes and appreciate how much they taught me. The fact still stands that very rarely have any of the paper topics compelled me to write for more than a grade. The only recent time I can remember this happening was during my senior year, where we had to write a 10 page, roughly, term paper on a book of our choosing.

So, while this course hasn't changed the way I look at papers, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it. This class has certainly been one of the most fun I've taken, with our discussion of urban legends (which I love hearing about) along with others. The only thing that has taken me aback is our lack of discussion of various novels and authors, such as I studied in high school, although I don't have a preference for either type of class.