Big time problems!

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OK, not that big, but I'm finding my English AS difficult. My teacher isn't very helpful (for example she said I needed to decide what to write about by myself, which left me to worry about it but not decide because I knew what she's like... when I showed her my 'style model' she just looked at it and said that it was 'really boring' because there were graphs in it , and said that I should do something else or I won't get a good grade. I thought that was quite personally insulting and dismissive. I really like the website and my interest in it is a part of me. It's not that I don't have any ideas, because I do, but I'm anxious about having the right ideas (and not irrationally so!). How do you deal with teachers like this? I've stopped going to one of my other classes because of the teacher which means one less qualification. Someone had already had a word with her about how she upset me but even after that she said I 'need to grow up' for getting upset and pointed at me in front of the class and said 'you are going to fail' for not doing a homework I hadn't even been given.
Please don't say that I'm pathetic or I need to pull up my bootstraps, I already feel bad enough about it.

The truth? You can't please teachers like this unless you do just what they tell you to do. Just write what she wants to hear instead of what you want to write about. It sucks, and it's unfair, and it may even be harder to do, but you need to pass your class. Sorry. Also remember that she'll never know if what you write about yourself is true or not, so use your creativity if you have to write about yourself but don't want to divulge certain information due to fear of being judged.

Edit: On second reading, I realized that she didn't ask you to write about yourself...she asked you to decide on a topic by yourself. oops.

If you are writing an essay about anything, try writing a persuasive one, in which you advocate for or against something. Just remember to address counterarguments.

Intro- Introduce topic, give background info as needed. State opinion because of support 1, support 2, support 3.
Body 1- support 1 for opinion, anticipate and address counterarguments
Body 2 - support 2 for opinion, anticipate and address counterarguments
Body 3 - support 3 for opinion, anticipate and address counterarguments
Conclusion - reiterate (in different language) your opinion, offer ways to deal with the problem in the future

A very basic format, but solid organization and easy to do if you feel strongly about anything.

Intro For a main idea statement (thesis) you could use something like, "Autistics are unfairly portrayed in the media as fragmented, marginalized and lazy because of public ignorance and prejudice."
Body 1 "The public often views autistics as people who are not wholly present, or are missing something. This is because of negatively-worded diagnostic criteria that emphasize deficits rather than strengths." (etc. etc.--give examples, use a transition sentence into the next paragraph)
Body 2 "Although the public generally labels those affected by autism as an outlying group, many autistics bloom within defined autistic sanctuaries, such as wrongplanet.net." (etc. etc. --give examples, use a transition sentence into the next paragraph)
Body 3 "Finally, many people regard autistics as lazy because of their apparent inability to function within the neurotypical world. In fact, many autistics flourish, and must work harder than neurotypicals to cope with everyday living because of neurological differences." (etc. etc. -- give examples)
Conclusion "Although autistics are whole, celebrated and persevering people, the media continue to portray them unfavorably." (sum up argument) "In order to combat this ignorance and negative mindset, those who are educated about autism must commit to spreading their knowledge throughout the media." (examples, etc.--perhaps a format that follows "Instead of ____, we should _______.)


Just an idea.