Confidence Gaps in Writing
By Victoria Paal
For pretty much every paper a student writes, in every subject at a university, a clear, strong argument is necessary. Papers without a strong argument lack direction and purpose. In order to establish a powerful thesis for a paper, a student must have the confidence to analyze and state his or her own views; a mere synthesis of other authors’ arguments is not enough. This is perhaps one of the most difficult steps in transitioning from high school- to college-level writing. While assisting students in College Ten’s core course, a class on social justice issues, I found a pattern of apprehensive and self-doubting essay writing to be particularly prevalent among my female tutees. After meeting with my sixth female student displaying these qualities in her writing, I decided to make confidence-building a primary effort in my writing assistance.
From my own experience in school, self-esteem seemed to be the buzzword of education in the 1990’s. Students were asked to frequently write papers using their own voices, class discussions focused on validating everyone’s contributions, and guidance counselors worked extensively on developing students’ confidence in a multitude of settings. The education I received at my feminist-structured all-girls school may, however, have been an aberration. Many studies have shown females nation-wide to be left out of the self-esteem trend. This is a shame, because it is self-esteem and self-confidence that give girls the sense of entitlement that their opinions are worthy of being noted - in class discussions, conversation, and especially in writing. A well-written college-level paper is not merely a response to a given assignment; it is a site for one to assert her ideas, opinions, and arguments, especially when dealing with issues as fiercely contested as those relating to social justice.
In the mid 1990’s, the American Association of University Women conducted the most extensive national survey on self-esteem and gender ever at that time. The results found girls’ transitions into adolescence are marked by a loss in confidence in their abilities, a general sense of personal inadequacy, and “self censorship of their creative and intellectual potential.” Furthermore, the study finds that at the beginning of adolescence, “girls’ self-regard drops further than boys’ and never catches up” (Orenstein, xx). Both boys and girls agree that teachers encourage more assertive behavior for boys and that boys receive more attention. Consequently, boys are more likely to speak out in class and challenge the teachers’ comments (Orenstein, xxi). It is difficult for one to truly engage herself with academic material if she is silent throughout class. As fellow writing assistant Claudia T. Corral comments, “without the confidence in hearing one’s voice in, say, a section of a class, one lacks true voice” (1). Teachers, though unconsciously, may not only be stunting females’ self-esteem by neglecting their input in class, they may also be inhibiting female students’ academic potential by reinforcing their silence. Moreover, not feeling comfortable enough to challenge a teacher in school most likely will carry over to not feeling comfortable enough (or not even knowing how) to challenge authors’ assertions in essay writing.
While some of this behavior on students’ and teachers’ parts is arguably less prevalent in college, where the transition into adulthood typically brings a greater sense of maturity and self-worth, I found the results of this confidence gap to carry over quite a bit into my students’ writing. The very first student I met with said, before even introducing herself, “Please don’t criticize my paper or me; I can’t handle criticism, even if it’s constructive.” To her, criticism in any form suggested a personal attack - she lacked the confidence to analyze and break down her own work through positive or constructive criticism and suggestions.
Other students simply do not feel their own thoughts are valuable enough to include in their papers. Many express that they are intimidated by the implied expertise of the authors they read in class. They believe their own arguments are too shallow, vague, or simply incorrect to be placed side-by-side with these professionals. I frequently receive papers from female students with absolutely no argument or opinions of their own included. Many argue that this tendency to merely summarize readings arises from the way students are taught to write in high school. While the five-paragraph recapitulation of others’ ideas is quite common in high-school courses, I do not believe the indoctrination of this high school writing style is entirely to blame for the papers I receive in sessions. This is a recurrent pattern of writing I have found almost exclusively in papers written by females; in fact, I have found my male students tend to make grand, sweeping statements, and insert their arguments into their papers frequently and without much thought. This is similar to Nils Michals’ findings of male students who write with self-congratulatory tones and an excessive ego surrounding their ideas (7). For the women I work with, however, the idea of the paper as an ongoing dialogue between themselves and the authors is quite daunting, if comprehended at all. When an argument is included in their papers, it is often indirect or wishy-washy, or it fluctuates back and forth between two or more contradicting stances throughout the writing.
It is quite difficult, however, to rectify twelve-plus years of gendered education in a few weekly forty-five minute sessions. I began small, by making sure to precede pretty much every criticism or suggestion with a compliment, specifically when working with female students. Oftentimes students who lack confidence take any form of criticism to be a determinant of their intelligence. By preceding what can be potentially construed as negative with a positive comment, students not only get a clear understanding of their strengths as writers, but they begin to recognize that helpful advice is not always meant to be a blow to their egos. Furthermore, I have found my students to be more likely to repeat and build upon positive aspects of their papers once these portions are drawn to their attention. Criticism crushes some female students’ self-esteem, making them more likely to avoid engagement with the essay topic and the tutoring session, while compliments bolster their self-esteem, which is likely to increase engagement. Of course criticism is necessary for anyone to improve in anything, so I try to follow Sarah Freedman’s advice of choosing “at least one point to praise and one or two, never more than three, to criticize negatively” (2). This way a student with a fragile self-image is less likely to feel overwhelmed or insulted.
While this technique did appear to boost the esteem of a majority of my female students, this is, of course, not a fail-safe method. I had one student, who I will call Mary, display many signs of an apprehensive or unconfident writer. She was very quiet during sessions, she winced at criticism, and she never, ever included an argument of any form in her papers. The first paper Mary wrote was on prejudice, privilege, and discrimination, and how all three of these topics relate to social justice. Her paper was a scattered summary of the readings. While it clearly needed a great deal of work, I treaded lightly in terms of criticism, as her shaky, quiet voice clued me in to her almost frightened reaction to writing. When she brought back her revised draft the next week, however, it was clear that my suggestions were too congratulatory and positive. She had misconstrued my emphasis on the effective aspects of her paper as meaning the essay was perfect and needed little to no revision. Indeed it is quite difficult to strike the perfect balance of complements and criticism. While it did seem that an overall positive attitude towards my students’ papers boosted their confidence in writing a great deal, this is a variable that depends significantly on the individual characteristics of the students you are working with.
Lack of a strong, coherent argument is a frequent problem for female students who lack confidence. When I sense this is a problem with a paper, I will spend a great deal of time talking with the student about the essay subject. Since the students I am assisting are writing papers on issues of social justice, their own thoughts and experiences are essential to the topics. Usually the students will have very strong and mature arguments, complex thoughts, and salient experiences relevant to the paper. These ideas are not present in writing, however, because the students feel their arguments are not as pertinent, concise, well worded, or grounded as the arguments of the authors they are reading. By holding a conversation with the student on the paper topic, I am able to ask questions, provide comments, and lend support to her ideas, thereby complicating and reinforcing her preexisting beliefs in relation to the reading. Having a student take notes throughout this conversation allows her to track her ideas, which can later be formulated into a well-worded argument or thesis. When a paper is presented to me that consists entirely of a summarization of the authors’ arguments, we are able to direct this conversation relative to the specific points the authors make. By asking fairly basic questions, such as, “Do you agree with author A’s stance on welfare? Why not? What would author B say? Do you have any personal experiences relevant to this?” I am able to bring in the student’s opinion directly in relation to the topic and each specific paragraph.
Lauren is a student of mine who consistently demonstrates her insecurity with writing by not including arguments in her papers. After reading her work out loud, when I ask her what she is trying to prove in her paper, she will struggle for a response for a moment and then simply resign with “I don’t know….” For her paper on welfare, she clearly and accurately stated both author’s opposing arguments, but there was simply no thesis or use of her personal voice. However, when I asked Lauren, “What do you think of Charles Murray’s characterizations of women on welfare?” she responded with a passionate and articulate argument. We continued on - “What do you think of Piven and Cloward’s argument about the laissez faire economy”, “What do you think can be done to reform welfare?” Each question yielded more and more of a response - instead of putting ideas into Lauren’s head and mouth, she was expressing her opinion fully and on her own. I took notes on what Lauren said, and in the end we were able to work together to organize those notes into an effective draft of a paper. When Lauren came back the next week with her revised paper, her thesis read:
- “The welfare system is complex and highly debatable. While there certainly are flaws in it, it is a crucial safety net for many, and therefore we should work to reform it instead of removing it entirely.”
While not perfect, this paper had clearly come a long way by developing this thesis. Lauren worked very hard to incorporate and build upon this argument throughout her paper, and she expressed to me how much more fun it was to write using her own thoughts and voice. Although Lauren continued to question herself as a writer, throughout subsequent sessions she demonstrated an increased appreciation for writing and a bit more enthusiasm about the paper topics. Overall, she is far more engaged, which will hopefully develop into her being far more confident as well.
Learning to write a college-level paper is extraordinarily difficult for almost everyone. It is likely to be even more difficult for women who come to universities with non-engaging, confidence-shattering experiences in education. It is fairly easy to recognize the signs of an unconfident or hesitant writer - a quiet passivity in sessions, a self-deprecating attitude towards one’s work, a lack of an argument in papers. It is markedly more difficult to help improve a near stranger’s self-esteem. By starting small, with complements and a positive, encouraging attitude and then moving on towards examining a writer’s argument, baby steps may be made to increase engagement and confidence. Systemic gender inequities will not be erased in weekly tutoring sessions, but profound impacts can be made in individual’s lives by helping a writer find the confidence and the key to her own voice.
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