Syllabus Week

For the first two classes we had this semester, we introduced ourselves and got a chance to memorize everyone's names. Mr. Sweeney introduced himself as well as his class contract and told us that it was our chance to decide our fate within the class. Assuming everyone would want an A or B grade, each class member would have to fulfill a number of the things listed on his criteria. Following the contract, we went on to read the first story entitled "How to Become a Better Writer" by Lorrie Moore. Strange and confusing, I found the piece to be bizarre and unappealing. However, after discussing it in class I can understanding why we started off the semester by reading it. The speaker struggled including plot in their writing which is something all writers may come across at a certain point in their lives. Although it was not clear to me how the speaker was going to address the issue, it most certainly made me think about my writing and the importance of the plot within all of my stories. Another interesting thing that was point out in the class was how the speaker talked in second person; which is something that you will not catch very often. This challenged me to think about perspectives in my writing.