Conversation 1

How does the author feel about her writing skills? 

  • In the beginning, the author was very confident about her writing skills and believed that she would ace her proficiency test. She was a good student, always getting good grades, never had a gpa lower than 3.0, and so much so that she expected to pass the proficiency test with no problems. However, Shannon failed the writing section of her proficiency test twice, and that caused her love for writing was slowly vanishing. As stated in the article, “I continued to excel in class and passed the test on the third try. But I never again felt the same love of reading and writing.” 

How does the author feel about standardized tests? 

  • The author felt that the graders of her standardized tests did not enjoy her writing, and that made her upset. It is as quoted, “Obviously all my English teachers and many others enjoyed or at least appreciated my writing… Unfortunately the graders of the ninth grade proficiency test didn’t feel the same..”. She doubted herself and her writing, all because she believed that the graders did not like her writing. 

Has there been a time in your life when you doubted your abilities as a writer or in general? 

  • There have been a few times where I thought I could’ve written a paper better than I did. It is hard to write when I put too much pressure on myself to make a “perfect” piece of writing. I’m still learning how to be confident in my writing and in myself.

How do you feel about your writing abilities?  

  • It’s hard to say how I feel about my writing abilities when my feelings always change. Sometimes, I think that I am a great writer, other times not. However, I do give my all when writing and I think that I am slowly but surely getting the confidence I need for writing.

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