Struggling In English Class

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Hey there you all. I'm a college student who is currently struggling in English class. It's English 101, and my teacher requires us to present an argumentative response to an essay that we wrote in class. The problem I'm having is that she isn't allowing us to use any outside sources that would actually help us with the assignment. Only the one that we read in class.

I am struggling to piece this essay together, but I am managing to get it done and completed.

Have any of you ever struggled in a college English class? If yes, how about we talk about them, and offer solutions here.

Thanks for allowing me to share.

What's the topic of that essay?

When you say "we wrote in class", was it a collaborative paper?

Or do you mean that everyone wrote their own and you are now responding to your own paper / someone's else's?

How long does the response need to be?

I almost failed my first college English assignment. I went on to average almost an "A" in my English major.

I understand how overwhelming it can be at first. I sense you will do fine, though.

I dropped freshman English comp a number of times because I kept getting instructors using materials that I couldn't relate to well enough to write about. I also didn't do well with having peer reviews of my papers that... weren't helpful. I'm really not sure how these kids tested into regular freshman comp.

It took taking it online via community college to get thru it. They didn't require us to read a course assigned book (not the textbook) and have all our papers refer to it. The uni was trying to get us to relate somehow. The community college just wanted us to get thru it.

I also see people suggest using the college/uni's writing center/tutors, but that was always a bust too. I was told they were there to help with organizing thoughts, not to help with grammar issues or such. I'd come in with a complete paper & they'd just look at me, read it, & say they can't help because it's already organized well & cited correctly. *shrug*

If money & time aren't issues, I'd say drop & take it with another instructor. It might even be worth emailing various instructors ahead of time to ask about how they conduct the course (or ask for their syllabus & calendar). Sometimes the attempts at "engagement" with students just don't work for some of us.

Eta: Yes, some of this is/was a me problem. Some of this is how they've redone the course to appeal to more first gen students and those who come from less rigorous high schools.

It might be worth popping to office hours or shooting off a (properly written) email to the instructor to discuss the issues you're running into. There could be advice or a direction you could go in that you're unaware of or have dismissed.