Bonita Nussbaum

Paper 4 - DEAR STUDENTS

Dear Students

          Welcome.  As your teacher, it is my responsibility to help you learn to write effectively.  I know, you hate to write; so do most of us.  There is nothing harder than putting your thoughts down on paper for others to scrutinize and analyze.  Rarely will you lay yourself bare more than in writing.  Why?  Because when you write you are exposing your thoughts and beliefs.  You are writing things that you feel strongly about and you are opening yourself up to misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and misrepresentation.  About now you are probably asking yourself why would I want to write?  I am going to try and persuade you that writing will serve you well if you take the time to learn the basic skills. To add to my persuasive argument is the inescapable fact that the State of Oregon requires all students to pass a CIM test on four types of essays:  descriptive (expository), narrative, persuasive, and imaginative.  My goal is to do all I can to help you meet this requirement.

          There are going to be times in your life when you will need to get information to others. You may be asked to describe your talents or your goals.  You may be asked directions on how to get from one place to another.  Even applications to places like Fred Meyers, ask that you write a paragraph describing what makes you qualified for a job with their company.  These are the kinds of things that make up a descriptive essay.  You may be asked to re-tell an event or become an eyewitness to an accident or a crime.  You may be asked to write a brief autobiography.  I was required to do this on every application for a teaching job I submitted.  This becomes a narrative essay. To do a good job on either type of writing, you simply put down on paper what you would otherwise say. 

          There are going to be times in your life when you will be asked to defend an opinion or persuade others to agree with your position. Sometimes the issues will be small, such as persuading a judge to lower your fine on a traffic ticket.  Other times, the issue might be life and death, as in the case of lawyers who must write arguments to support or oppose the death penalty for their client.  You may want to file a consumer complaint against a product or a company; you might even be compelled to write a letter to the editor to help persuade your community to change their minds on an issue.   In any event, you will need to know how to present concise arguments that are backed with supporting evidence so there will be no question where you stand and how you arrived there.

          The last type of essay you will be asked to write is imaginary.  This is the essay that lets you be creative, taking your reader anywhere you desire.  A good imaginative essay catches the reader’s interest right from the start, keeping them engaged until they want to skip to the end to find out what happens.  This kind of essay can be scary because it has nothing but original ideas and many of us are quite timid to share ourselves this way with others. 

          Lest you think I don’t know how you may be feeling, let me tell you about my summer.  I took part in the Oregon Writer’s Project as part of my Masters Program at the University of Oregon.  Going to school in the summer, much less taking a class where I would have to write, is not my idea of fun, but it’s nine credits that I need and I figured that I should be willing to do the things that I ask you to do. What I never expected was the satisfaction I get from writing.  Granted, the first time I had to share my paper with a group of my peers, I lost a little sleep the night before.  I had written an essay from the heart and it was intimidating to share the depth of my feelings with people I hardly knew.  When I finished reading it aloud to my editing group, I realized the power of my words, because they had moved them, like they had moved me.  Each time I wrote, it was always hard, but my fear factor faded away and I became more confident that my words carried meaning and worth.

          I have learned two things this summer.  First, I’ve learned that I need to write small.  This doesn’t mean the size of the letters, it means keeping what I write manageable.  If I bite off more than I can handle, frustration sets in and writing suffers.  Second, I’ve learned to look at life differently.  Author Anne Lamott writes that “writing is what motivates us to look closely at life and helps us understand who we are and how we are to behave”.  All of the techniques that make a good writer apply to living a life of purpose and value, a life where we must learn to not sweat the small things and concentrate only on what’s important to living right now. 

          So why do you need to write? Because it’s a necessary skill to have in a world where technology separates us from each other and allows for little communication. Not being able to express your opinions or your ideas effectively stunts your mind and turns off creativity.  The logic that’s used to organize your writing also helps you problem solve in your life.  Being able to pick out what’s important and discard unnecessary “noise” keeps your mind focused and clear. Most important, however, is beginning to know yourself and your potential.  When I share what I write, a part of me goes out into the world forever in a way that is not possible if I speak. So have fun writing.  Remember that we are all in this together. 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Nussbaum