Attitudes toward Study
A person who believes that he is incapable will not make a real effort, because he feels that it would be useless. He won't go at a job with the confidence necessary for success, and he won't work his hardest, even though he may think he is doing so. He therefore is likely to fail, and the failure will strengthen his belief in his incompetence.
Alfred Adler, a famous psychiatrist, had an experience which illustrates this. When he was a small boy, he got off to a poor start in arithmetic. His teacher got the idea that he had no ability in arithmetic, and told his parents what she thought in order that they would not expect too much of him. In this way， they too developed the idea，“Isn't it too bad that Alfred can't do arithmetic?” He accepted their mistaken estimate of his ability， felt that it was useless to try, and was very poor in arithmetic, just as they expected.
One day he became very angry at the teacher and the other students because they laughed when he said he saw how to do a problem which none of the other students had been able to solve.
Adler succeeded in solving the problem. This gave him confidence. He rejected the idea that he couldn't do arithmetic, and was determined to show them that he could. His anger and his newfound confidence stimulated him to go at arithmetic problems with a new spirit.
How about your opinion after you read this passage?
You should write an argumentative essay on the topic of “Attitudes toward Study”.
You should write at least 400 words.
You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.
Attitudes toward Study
After reading the passage, I do not totally agree with the author in that if you believe you can do somethings you are more likely to succeed. Whether one can succeed or not just depends on the attitude is not that convincing. It cannot be denied that positive attitude does usually play a very important role in one's success, but there are other factors needed to be taken into account.
First, positive attitude might help some people to gain success in study but it is not always the case. When I was a pupil, everyone around me thought I am a clever student who has the talent for study, so did I. Though being enough confident with myself at that time, I was far from diligent because I mistakenly took that intelligence would certainly bring me high scores, and regarded those who studied hard as not clever enough. I did not realize my mistake until I attended middle school, where there are many teenagers who are much more intelligent and more diligent than me, and of course I was left behind.
Second, negative attitude will certainly do harm to one's study. My middle school life is full of sense of failure. When in primary school, I used to be the one who achieved the highest score in the class with ease, but what I studied in middle school classes became more and more difficult for me, and sometimes I even did not understand what the teachers were saying. I was bad in math, poor in English and even terrible in physics. There was once upon a time when I thought myself as a loser and not capable of studying and I even considered quitting school. It is so lucky for me to meet my 9th grade English teacher Mr. Han who helped me find myself gradually.
Third, recognizing your strengths as well as weaknesses will make your confidence last longer and you will not lose heart easily. Holding a negative attitude, I was least inclined to try but Mr. Han always forced me to do so. He always told me, “I cannot be more confident with your talent, but you are really too lazy and vulnerable. Never say ‘no’ to me, just try your best and you will see the difference.Though unwillingly at first, I decided to trust him and begun to learn every subject seriously. To my surprise, I found that certainly I am not a genius as there does exist something I am not good at but I am still capable for some subjects. When graduating from the middle school, I am still not excellent in others' eyes but I know clearly that when you want to gain something, you must strive for it.
From my own experience, I think that to gain success in study is not easy. To keep a positive attitude is essential, but do not be over-confident. Success lies more in diligence than in intelligence.
本文以“ 态度” 为切入点，探讨学习态度对于学习的影响。文章开篇点题，态度诚然重要，但不是成功的唯一法则。接下来的三段则围绕积极态度、消极态度与正视自己等三方面并结合自己学习经历分别展开论述。最后一段则总结全文：积极的学习态度很重要，同时，勤奋比智力更重要。