Ana Lia Alonso
Teacher: Stella Saubidet
ISFD N° 41
19 September, 2013
Mistakes in my Essays
A Question of Anxiety
Learning how to write an essay, is an
exasperating process, since there are many instructions to follow, and I do not
know how to order my ideas to produce a correct work. Although I have enough
material to understand the steps required in a proper essay, from the beginning to the conclusion of writing, there are a lot
of doubts that not only make difficult my challenge, but also blind my mind. Am
I able to solve these problems using some strategies or is this a question of
time and patience to solve this puzzle? Brian Adams says: “Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your
thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds
anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence,
decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success” . It appears that if I follow the
correct steps, it will be easy to create a good essay, but all these steps
have their clues and I have to understand them gradually, without anxiety, as
well as being helped by another view about my work.
It is known that the title and first
paragraph are probably the most important parts of an essay, that´s why it is
essential to think them quietly and it is the first problem to solve, since I
always think if the title is reflected into the essay or not. Within this
paragraph, is the topic sentence, a very relevant part of an essay which is
difficult to select. In
addition, the thesis has to contain my posture about the topic chosen and as if it was not
enough, this thesis have to be supported with evidences, examples or quotations
in the body paragraphs. At this point of the essay, I have doubts about the
inclusion of non relevant information. Finally, the conclusion has to refer to
all the data provided before, to assert our position about the thesis. At this
moment, I feel worried about the possibility of not being understood, so I need
the view of another person to edit the essay.
All
these necessary clues and steps are uncomplicated to learn, remember and
enumerate, but when I have with all the information in front of me, I should be
unperturbed, letting aside the anxiety. The problem is that I am so anxious,
that´s why it is important for me a peer correction, which make me conscious of the
mistakes that I cannot recognize. When I read the corrections
of my production, I feel ashamed of my mistakes that
seem to be made by someone else. I feel I will not be able to improve my writing till I take enough time to understand all the steps. In the same way, I know that at least half of the problem
is produced by the disproportional and unnecessary sense of responsibility that makes me do
everything so quickly, skipping steps instead of going slowly and
consciousness.
Begin vs Start
Begin and Start
are
two verbs (sometimes used as nouns too) that are often confused when it comes
to their meanings. Strictly speaking there is some difference between the two
although both of them are sometimes interchangeable. The most important
observation here is that the word ‘start’ is more informal usage when compared
to the word ‘begin’. In other words the word ‘begin’ is used in the formal
style.
Posture synonym of Position
Posture: A frame of mind
affecting one's thoughts or behavior; an overall attitude.
Position.: Point
of view or attitude on a certain question
Select vs. choose
Select is more formal than choose, and in everyday
English, people usually say choose rather than select.
Assert vs. affirm
Assert : To say something clearly and firmly' (= to declare something)
Affirm: To state firmly or publicly that something is true
We
assert forcefully; we affirm positively.
Discover-
recognize
Discover: To be the first to find, learn of, or observe,
Recognize. To
know to be something that has been perceived before
Rectification vs. correction
