The Idea of an Essay, Volume 2

181 that is not possible in a classroom setting. Often, freshmen students feel incompetent and isolated from the field of writing within their composition classes because they don’t grasp all the requirements or facets of their assignments. Conferences with the student’s writing professors help to resolve this issue by clarifying any vague components of the professor’s expectations for the student’s paper. Individualized conferences are also practical for professors because sessions can have a limited time allotment, thus requiring a minimal number of hours outside of the classroom. Furthermore, conferences with students demonstrate the genuine care that the professors have for their pupils, earning the esteem of adolescents, faculty members, and supervisors. This component of the solution to accommodate isolated students within the writing field serves the same purpose as the final part of the resolution strategy that involves a limited range of assignment topics. The last portion of this successful method involves professors allowing students to choose from a limited range of assignment topics. Sarah Lewis’s professor designated a specific topic for her argumentative essay, making her feel intimidated on the first day of class and cultivating her feelings of incompetence and isolation. While those who oppose this approach may prefer to choose the faulty method by allowing students to choose whichever topics they desire, the effective strategy allows teachers to select a predetermined list of relevant yet challenging topics from which the writing students can select. This technique diminishes students’ feelings of entitlement and promotes self-concepts as competent writers, for students who feel inadequate in the writing field can choose a topic from the list that they feel qualified to address in their compositions. They are also able to refine their writing skills by constructing their papers to meet the expectations and goals of their professors. College writing instructors should make the assignment subject matter in their writing classes more relevant to the way students think without compromising the original academic standards of the teachers (Guillory, Personal interview). Professors can accomplish this in a practical way by first asking for their student’s input as to what topics interest them such as current events that concern young adults, or history topics that motivate the writing students. They should then permit the pupils to select a topic from the list throughout the semester. Professors may even choose a