You're generalizing in a way that probably suits you and people like you. Not everyone though.
The second prompt would have sent me spinning, panic, want to run.
The first prompt, while being 'technical' and not what a future 'writer' would like to do at that point can be somewhat mechanically achieved and while I still wouldn't have liked it, I would begrudgingly do it and it probably helped me overall. It mentions using certain 'techniques' you would've learned about in class. I can apply that. They want a specific number of pages at minimum so that I don't just write 5 sentences to cover the 5 examples, sure, whatever.
Like learning math. You gotta learn the basics, learn the multiplication tables by heart. Do the same "compute (-7^2*13-7)+5/5" style exercises over and over. It teaches attention to detail and memorizing and following simple rules. If you can't do that it is very unlikely that a "closer to reality" question that someone that will later go on to become a mathematician would like working on instead would not send you into panic mode.
The second prompt would have sent me spinning, panic, want to run.
The first prompt, while being 'technical' and not what a future 'writer' would like to do at that point can be somewhat mechanically achieved and while I still wouldn't have liked it, I would begrudgingly do it and it probably helped me overall. It mentions using certain 'techniques' you would've learned about in class. I can apply that. They want a specific number of pages at minimum so that I don't just write 5 sentences to cover the 5 examples, sure, whatever.
Like learning math. You gotta learn the basics, learn the multiplication tables by heart. Do the same "compute (-7^2*13-7)+5/5" style exercises over and over. It teaches attention to detail and memorizing and following simple rules. If you can't do that it is very unlikely that a "closer to reality" question that someone that will later go on to become a mathematician would like working on instead would not send you into panic mode.