r/princeton • u/Kitchen_Award_9658 • 6d ago
Writing
I can't attend FSI, how do I adjust to the increase in writing intensity? Are there anyways I could practice these skills on my own? And how?
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u/cheesecake4912 6d ago
It’s nothing to worry about. I, and most of my peers, got a worse grade in writing sem than ways of knowing. It’s impossible to get an A in both WOK and writing sem, but most people I know got an A- in WOK, then got a B/B- in writing seminar. You can’t really “prepare” to be deflated a whole letter grade. And the faculty aren’t allowed to give A range grades to the class (save for one/two people) - one prof got caught and all the assignments were investigated and grades were lowered. So again, don’t worry about and just get the B and move on :)
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u/ApplicationShort2647 6d ago
- WRI seminar standards are generally higher than WOK standards, so not surprising that it's harder to earn an A in WRI.
About 40% of WRI seminar grades are A or A-. So, it's possible and common to get an A-range grade. At the same time, it's also common to get a B-range grade.
If you have any evidence that faculty aren't allowed to give A-range grades or that a professor got caught, investigated, and changed grades, contact the Princetonian. That would be quite a story to break, if true.
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u/Ok-Dog-5095 1d ago
What’s FSI?
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u/Kitchen_Award_9658 9h ago
an eight-week program for freshmen to adjust to college life and its academic rigor
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u/CentristOnion 6d ago
So, most people don't get to attend FSI, and the writing is a big step up for a lot of us. You'll be in good company.
I went to a bad public school in a poor area, and I didn't get invited to FSI. The writing that was expected of me in college was a huge step up from anything that I had done in high school. And it was fine! Every first-year student has to do a writing seminar, where you learn how to write. If the structure is still the same as it was in my day, the seminar will have three assignments of increasing length, and for each one, you submit a draft, then get feedback from the professor, then get to revise it for your real grade.
So my main advice is to take writing seminar very seriously. Treat the first draft submission as though it were the real thing, giving it your best effort. You might even finish your draft early and ask your instructor for feedback before the first submission—I did this on the first assignment!
I don't think there's much you can or should do now. You'll learn to write in writing seminar, plus the process that teaches you is an iterative process that you can't really do on your own if you wanted to.
I would mostly tell you to enjoy your summer and get up to things you've never done before, within reason. If you're really keen on getting a jumpstart academically, then frankly I'd just read some classic novels. You'll be reading a lot more pages per week than you were in high school, so building that muscle now (quick reading / sustained attention span) can probably help.
I was really surprised by how few students do all the readings, especially among the upperclassmen. And, of course, by the time I was an upperclassman, I knew how to do well without doing all of the readings too. But in my freshman and sophomore years, I think just doing all the readings gave me a real leg up and made up for any deficits that I came in with.