In high school I was lucky enough to have had the toughest Honors English teacher on the planet, Mrs. Starr Whitney. She was demanding, critical, thorough, and, above all, excellent. I didn't appreciate her one bit until I was in college and realized that very few of my peers could write a really sharp research paper. She empowered me with an advantage over many other students. Not being stressed-out or intimidated about the HOWs of writing papers frees you to focus entirely on the WHATs of your topics, giving you an academic edge. I recently found my Honors English Notebook and felt nostalgic and grateful, so I have decided to share the process of writing a persuasive essay or thesis paper.
What this teacher expected of us was simple and in no way negotiable. Here were our expectations quoted directly from the notebook:
