Frustration
According to Brand’s Emotional Scale for Writers Glossary, frustration occurs when individuals feel they are prevented from meeting their goals (Psychology 220). Students reported feeling frustrated when they experienced writers’ block; when they had difficulty transferring what they were thinking onto paper; when they were unsure of how to complete certain assignments; and when they did not receive adequate help. The sections on happiness and satisfaction address issues of helping students to complete assignments successfully and providing feedback. This section will provide suggestions for helping students to overcome writer’s block. In “Breaking the Block: Basic Writers in the Electronic Classroom” (2000), Judith Mara Kish defines writer’s block as the inability to produce text because of fear of making mistakes. Because of this fear, writers continue to formulate sentences in their heads with the hope of producing the “perfect” sentence. This obsession with perfection often results in an inability to write anything (143). Kish provides several ways to address this issue, including modeling the style of writing that specific genres require; providing invention activities; allowing students opportunities to research the topic; receiving peer feedback; and encouraging students to use the computer to create blocks of texts at a time rather than creating them linearly. This last recommendation removes the most common barrier to writing—finding a place to start (146-54). Since frustration ultimately results from individuals’ inability to accomplish their goals, teaching goal-setting alongside writing skills may reinforce students’ success. In “Goal Setting for Students and Teachers: Six Steps to Success” (2005), Laura Rader outlines a goal-setting strategy that includes selecting and writing down goals; establishing a time to complete the goals; developing a plan to achieve the goals; envisioning completing the goals; persisting while trying to obtain the goals; and evaluating one’s progress. Because some sources of frustration originate outside of the classroom, it is unlikely that instructors will be able to help circumvent all potential barriers to students’ success. In these cases, students must determine what decision will yield the best results for them at the time. Sometimes that decision may require delaying their academic goal, which can be an emotionally intelligent move if it is in the students’ best interest. However, when the source of frustration is within the classroom, a response guided by emotional knowledge can help alleviate this inhibiting emotion. Helpful Resources I suggest using the Early Semester Goal Setting activity at the beginning of the semester. It works especially well with Gail Godwin’s essay “The Watcher” from our Fundamentals of Writing text. Godwin’s essay is a humorous account about the length she goes through to avoid writing. Students usually identify with her and open up to share their own fears of writing. I create a carbon copy of this activity and keep a copy of it in my files to refer to for office visits or mid-year conferences. |