Assignments Quote by Paula Fox
“I taught writing classes at the University of Pennsylvania for a number of years and I realized that all you can do is encourage people and give them assignments and hope they will write them.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Paula Fox on teaching, The New Yorker, 1995
Teaching writing often reduces to encouragement, assignments, and hope that students will complete them.
In simple terms: Teaching is mostly encouragement and assignments with hope.
Key Takeaway
Provide clear tasks and trust students to act.
Themes
education
creativity
mentorship
Mood
reflective
optimistic
Type
advice
reflective
When to use this quote
- college writing courses
- creative workshops
- online writing programs
Key Concepts
pedagogy
motivation
student autonomy
Questions to Reflect On
- How can teachers foster intrinsic motivation?
- What structures support sustained writing practice?
A Different Perspective
Students may lack intrinsic motivation, limiting outcomes.
![“The only thing I might have noticed [and this is pretty anecdotal] is that there is some tendency to need to be taught that 'writing is rewriting' - maybe more of a sense than was pervasive 10 years ago that the first or second pass of a story is sufficient. That is an idea that is easily…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/249/george-saunders-317_blogging_the-only-thing-i-might-have-noticed-and_2019915.jpg)
