Write about your most difficult assignment--what made it difficult, what did you do to manage that difficulty, and what did you learn from the experience
My most difficult assignment was an essay I had to write for my combined IB English and world history classes. My high school was known as International Baccalaureate school, meaning it had more IB classes and few AP classes. IB classes were similar to AP, but it is taken internationally recognized and the classes were either standard level (1 year) or higher level (2 years), resulting in more college credit if the exam for that class was passed. Part of both classes' exam scores included scores on the extended essay, and I ended up doing well but it was my least favorite assignment to this day. It had to be a 4000-5000 word research and analysis paper about an assigned historical event, coming up with a research topic based on it, doing lots of research and developing an argument about it.
What made the assignment difficult was having the endurance to create a long and in depth paper, being assigned to a topic, and not knowing anything about the topic to begin with. I ended up getting assigned the Jonestown Massacre, which I did not know anything about in the first place and was not really interested in. It was also difficult to write a paper that long, because my longest paper before that was about 2000 words and more of a personal narrative which is much easier. It was also difficult to come up with a research topic and an argument that was both interesting to me backed up by research.
At the end of the day, it was made easier because my teachers made it easy to stay on track. We were given about two months to write a first draft, with mini deadlines along the way with how many words should be written by then. We were also given mentors that graded our first draft in the way IB will grade them, and they gave us constructive criticism. Also when I came up with a research topic and argument based on what I could find interesting, more on the psychological side of why Jim Jones committed the biggest American massacre before 9/11, it was easier to motivate myself to do the research behind the topic.
What I learned from my assignment is that some assignments are not fun and difficult to do, but it must be done in order to improve writing skills and learn how to write research papers in the future. The goal of the essay was also to prepare for college level writing and essays, so this was good preparation in my opinion. I also learned a lot about history and I did a lot of research into psychological topics which I found interesting, and now I have more of an interest in minoring in psychology.
My most difficult assignment was an essay I had to write for my combined IB English and world history classes. My high school was known as International Baccalaureate school, meaning it had more IB classes and few AP classes. IB classes were similar to AP, but it is taken internationally recognized and the classes were either standard level (1 year) or higher level (2 years), resulting in more college credit if the exam for that class was passed. Part of both classes' exam scores included scores on the extended essay, and I ended up doing well but it was my least favorite assignment to this day. It had to be a 4000-5000 word research and analysis paper about an assigned historical event, coming up with a research topic based on it, doing lots of research and developing an argument about it.
What made the assignment difficult was having the endurance to create a long and in depth paper, being assigned to a topic, and not knowing anything about the topic to begin with. I ended up getting assigned the Jonestown Massacre, which I did not know anything about in the first place and was not really interested in. It was also difficult to write a paper that long, because my longest paper before that was about 2000 words and more of a personal narrative which is much easier. It was also difficult to come up with a research topic and an argument that was both interesting to me backed up by research.
At the end of the day, it was made easier because my teachers made it easy to stay on track. We were given about two months to write a first draft, with mini deadlines along the way with how many words should be written by then. We were also given mentors that graded our first draft in the way IB will grade them, and they gave us constructive criticism. Also when I came up with a research topic and argument based on what I could find interesting, more on the psychological side of why Jim Jones committed the biggest American massacre before 9/11, it was easier to motivate myself to do the research behind the topic.
What I learned from my assignment is that some assignments are not fun and difficult to do, but it must be done in order to improve writing skills and learn how to write research papers in the future. The goal of the essay was also to prepare for college level writing and essays, so this was good preparation in my opinion. I also learned a lot about history and I did a lot of research into psychological topics which I found interesting, and now I have more of an interest in minoring in psychology.
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