America, hell yeah brother

By Anonymous - 03/10/2012 23:00 - United States - Tallahassee

Today, my teacher's comments on my essay read, "I know it's college, but you use a lot of unnecessary words with a lot of syllables." He basically scolded me for having a complex vocabulary. I go to an accredited state university. Nothing says "America" like under-achieving professors. FML
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Top comments

Paria12 2

He could have meant you just use them unnecessarily to sound smarter when they don't really make sense to use in the moment...

539 3

Comments

TheMathMajor 26

Wow, how arrogant can you get? Your professor gave real constructive criticism that will make your writing better. Get over yourself.

34 1
catharsis5 9

I have to say that the teacher may have a point. Students tend to use complex words simply because they're complex and not because it relates to the subject at hand. It is better to convey your ideas clearly using simple words than show off using complex words that your ideas doesn't go through.

15 1
junkman6 22

Ain't that the truth making a 30 word sentence with 3 different usage of a single word, when the sentence is saying "I crossed the street to avoid a puddle." I see it all the time and laugh, because people like that bitch and moan having to keep under a max page limit.

5 2
rebanne 5

Asshole. Complain and report to the provost.

0 23
alexNEX 7

OP is the guy who corrects everyone's grammar on forums and social sites.

12 3
annie_nk 22

Wouldn't be surprised if he took the job for the money, not the sculpting of young minds.

0 21
torbey 23

So, you're basically saying that teachers don't deserve to be paid. Is 'the sculpting of young minds' reward enough? Not sure if stupid comment, or bad troll.

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annie_nk 22

Neither. I meant people tend to care more about getting paid than what their job is about. Can't tell if trying to be clever or couldn't think of something original to say.

0 14
TheMathMajor 26

Teachers don't exactly get into teaching for the money...

9 0
IconicSupersonic 4

In fact this is rather common, nothing worse than reading an essay/paper/article etc. with the 'swallowed a dictionary' effect. The best writing is often the simplest.

20 1
ideasrule 13

I have to agree with the professor. Grandiose words don't make for good writing; they often indicate a lack of good ideas or incompetence in expressing them. If you're able to express complex ideas using complex vocabulary, that isn't terribly impressive. If you can express complex ideas using language that a 10-year-old would easily understand, that means your writing is clear and effective, which all writing should aim to be.

13 1
ilovefall10 21

I think I might understand why. Did you use really long words and such? Like, every word was more than 6 letters long? Next time, why not just use normal words that everyone can understand. I'm not saying to dumb down everything, just make it easier to grasp.

4 1
FaraPjJammaz 13

Screw using big words and making long sentences and paragraphs to make yourself seem intelligent. My favorite English told me its all about the material you right not how long or how fluffy you make it. Sometimes simple is best.

4 7
FalconWhitaker 20

I think it would be a good idea to meet up with your teacher and ask them to clarify their meaning. As others have said, it could be that they want you to write in a simple and direct fashion rather than to dumb down your vocabulary, even if the latter is how it sounds. I sympathise, though: I'm one of those people who never uses three words where ten would do :)

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