Article August 28, 1965 ISSUE

Motivation for College Writing

RITA RIGGIN SWAN

Each step of the work on a college research paper can be joyously inspired by right motives. The selfish desire for adulation or for an A and, going to the other extreme, working merely to fulfill the letter of an assignment are both erroneous, because these motives assume that man is mortal, that the value of one's work must be determined by another mortal mind, or that one's mental limitations prevent one from fulfilling mortal standards of excellence. Neither the false faith in one's personal ability to excel according to these standards nor the opposite lack of faith in this ability can guarantee outstanding work, for mere human judgments are always fallible and limited.

Good work can be assured by the understanding gained in Christian Science that man receives every aspect of his being from God by reflection and that therefore one's work on a research paper actually represents one's manifestation of God's qualities—the activity of Spirit, the perception of Soul, the comprehension and dominion of Mind. This understanding gives the student his pure motive to express faithfully God's perfect qualities.

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