This is also how you tell a good teacher from a bad one, where grading essays is concerned, btw. If you have a good teacher who can be honest and fair regardless of like/dislike of the work, who can then give details on their opinion...you have a rare gem indeed. I've been lucky enough to have three, one of which I irregularly keep in touch with, and I can go back and see visibly how my writing improved from being in their classes. I was willing to accept criticism. I didn't argue with a 56 [yes, a fiddy-six] on one essay because the teacher was right on the money: not only had I slipped into old/bad habits, I'd turned the bull-shit dial up and used filler. The next paper, I worked my ass off and got rewarded with a 92. This kind of honest critique and the ability to take it are the most important aspects of improving your writing. I freely admit, I hated my bad reviews. Hated them. But I knew that I wasn't angry at the critiquer for the critique...I was angry at myself for doing a slop job, or at least something below my best.
Of course, that realization is also from someone with extensive experience with anger )_)...(_(...anger is a tool. Use it to motivate yourself properly, and you can go far. Like with ambition. Use it too often, or incorrectly, and you find out why sometimes 'any tool' is worse than 'no tool' for a 'best tool' situation.
