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.

This exalted motive changes one's work from laborious plodding to joyous expression of God's ideas. This motive is based on the realization that God provides both infinite demand and infinite supply. Mrs. Eddy states (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 16), "The Principle of Christianity is infinite: it is indeed God; and this infinite Principle hath infinite claims on man, and these claims are divine, not human; and man's ability to meet them is from God; for, being His likeness and image, man must reflect the full dominion of Spirit—even its supremacy over sin, sickness, and death."

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Poem

"WHEN I CONSIDER THY HEAVENS..."