IGCSE (First Language) Directed Writing Practice 2, November 2018 - [Paper 2 - 40 marks]

 

Why don’t I appreciate what I have?

 

This article explores issues to do with appreciation.

 

Appreciation seems such a half-hearted emotion, a sort of weedy cousin to the chest-bursting emotions of love and anger. Appreciation never moved mountains. No one ever cried into their pillow listening to a song about appreciation. ‘I appreciate you’ would be a good greetings card to send if you really can’t think of anything better to say.

 

Yet appreciation – gratitude for what you have, or what someone has done for you – is powerful and underrated;  it  can  make  you  generally  happier,  lower  your  stress  hormones,  and  strengthen  your immune system. Appreciated workers give that bit more. Lack of gratitude, however, can make you feel locked in a never-ending cycle of dissatisfaction, constantly looking out for what you lack.

 

So why don’t you appreciate what you have? You have never been taught how to – it is a specific skill. You probably think appreciating what you have is foolish, unambitious or tempting fate, or that you shouldn’t look at what you’ve got, but what you could still have (Isn’t that ambition?). You may be out of practice, ground down and grumpy. Or you may simply have accumulated too much stuff to appreciate what you have. Having tangible products in your life, that gadget, that trinket, actually just makes you want more, but the thrill of acquisition is short-lived. Ultimately, possessions make you less grateful than simple pleasures such as family gatherings or sitting next to someone you like and watching a film together.

 

The good news is that experiences have been shown to engender more gratitude than mere things, and experiences do not need to be expensive. A purchase can cause excitement, but that excitement soon wears off. We get used to the things around us in a process called habituation and don’t appreciate them anymore. Experiences grow in the mind to become golden and precious.

 

Although there is some evidence, in studies with chimpanzees, that gratitude is hardwired in us as a reciprocal social tool (you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours), experts believe that we learn gratitude when we are young. If children are shown how to deal with difficulties by appreciating what they do have,  they  can  become  more  resilient  adults. You  can’t  control  what  happens. You  can  only  control how you look at a situation and deal with it. Unappreciative adults can learn too. It’s simply a question of practice, of flexing a different mind muscle.

 

However,  it  doesn’t  work  just  by  being  told  you  should  be  grateful  for  what  you  have.  That  doesn’t make you appreciative, it just makes you defensive. To be appreciative, you need to be reflective, to look at things differently. Therapists call this ‘reframing’, though it doesn’t work for everyone.

 

In the last decade, there have been more books and studies on appreciation than ever before. The short  version  is:  stop  complaining  so  much,  look  around  you,  keep  a  gratitude  diary.  ‘Don’t  look  at what you haven’t  got,’ they say. ‘Refocus. Do this every day and you can retrain your brain  to work differently. You can stop being a moaner and become an appreciator.’

 

You see some people trying to be appreciative. They photograph their dinner and post it on social media:  ‘I’m  so  lucky,’  they  bleat.  This  isn’t  the  same  as  being  appreciative.  Others  are  just  born ungrateful. They believe the world should live up to its obligations and provide them with the things they want. That’s not a mindset that leads to an appreciation of family, friends and colleagues. My own mother argues that appreciation should be less about being grateful for what you have, or can get, and more about being grateful for being able to help others.

 

The problem is all this being appreciative seems so passive, doesn’t it? Being appreciative shouldn’t equal becoming a doormat. Shouldn’t we always strive for more, for better, for bigger?

 

Perhaps  the  point  is  that  the  more  you  appreciate,  the  more  you  see  to  appreciate  and  the  more appreciative people are of you.

 

Question 1

 

Imagine  that  you  are  a  parent  of  a  pupil  at  a  school  where  the  headteacher  is  considering introducing a series of lessons on appreciation.

 

Write a letter to the headteacher in which you should:

•     identify and evaluate the ideas about appreciation discussed in the passage

•     consider how effective the proposed lessons might or might not be.

 

Base your letter on the ideas in the article, but be careful to use your own words. Address each of the bullet points.

 

Begin your letter: ‘Dear Headteacher … ’

 

Write about 250 to 350 words.

 

 

Suggested responses:

 

A1 ideas about appreciation

•    Not an exciting concept / does not create an emotional response – considered weak / half-hearted emotion / over- looked

•    Emotional benefits – can make you happier to appreciate what you have / more productive; feel dissatisfied with life if not appreciated

•    Physical benefits of feeling appreciative / strengthens immune system / lowers stress

•    Need to be taught how to appreciate

•    Shows a lack of ambition / seen as foolish / passive – being grateful/appreciating what you have is considered negatively

•    Materialistic possessions bring only temporary pleasure/encourage dissatisfaction

•    People should appreciate what is really important in life e.g. family , friends, colleagues or helping others

•    If taught young, appreciation can build resilience

 

A2 how effective the proposed lessons might be/possible ways to show evaluation

 

•    Dependent on individual – part of your personality so can’t be taught / learned from family, not at school

•    Social tool – so should learn how to use it

•    Learn it when young – we teach other social skills in school so why not appreciation?

•    Teachers can learn it too by teaching it (‘adults’ mentioned in the passage)

•    Plenty of materials available recently – books/research

•    Can affect the school ethos positively, or family life / wider society

•    Lessons would have to do more than preach – but being reflective is useful in itself for students

•    Could discourage ambition in student / give out mixed messages – e.g. why try hard if you are happy with what you have already

•    Might waste curriculum time for exam students/universities don’t care about appreciation

•    Might save families money on gadgetry for their children / reduce envy

•    Parents should just stop spoiling their children

•    Children are under pressure to fit in / not necessarily unappreciative

•    Not appropriate to teach poor children to appreciate the little they have

•    Classroom methods unsuitable / better to volunteer / see what others don’t have

 

 

The discriminator is the evaluation of the arguments, which requires candidates to draw inferences and make judgements about whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Perceptive responses may compare relative usefulness for different year groups and adopt a more balanced approach taking into account the perspective and responsibilities of the writer. Ideas and opinions must be derived from the passage, developing its claims and assessing their implications with clear and persuasive arguments.

 

Marks given based on:

 

·         Consistent sense of audience; authoritative and appropriate style.

·         Fluent, varied sentences

·         wide range of vocabulary.

·         Strong sense of structure, paragraphing and sequence.

·         Spelling, punctuation and grammar almost always accurate.

·         Gives a thorough, perceptive, convincing response.

·         Reads effectively between the lines.

·         Shows understanding by developing much of the reading material and assimilating it into a response to the task.