I love reading student papers.

Gary Blanchard

Gary Blanchard

beloved, local musician
It seems as though whenever alcoholism or alcoholics are the topic, it brings forth negative attitudes and comments. These views range from the idea of them conjugating outside a liquor store with the stench of liquor seeping through their pores to people of a low economic status, and sometimes that of someone who suffers from a mental disorder.
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I suggested that, while there are undoubtedly alcoholic English majors, it was more likely they were congregating. :tongue:


I wasn't going to address the other possible definition. :eek:
 
They must have taken Spanish classes in Texas public schools where you learn to congregate verbs while conjugating in the halls. :rolleyes:
 
"It seems as though whenever alcoholism or alcoholics are the topics..."

Somebody is milking the word count there and practicing "English usage for bureaucrats."

Then there's the whole conjugation thing.

Wow. I'm glad I never went back for my English teaching certificate. I woulda flunked everybody.
 
"These views range from the idea of themconjugating outside a liquor store with the stench of liquor seeping through their pores to people of a low economic status"

"Them" who?
"Stench of liquor seeping through their (again, who? Let's review pronoun usage, folks!) pores."
Now we move from newspeak to creative writing class?

Wow. Mojo for grading that one.
 
I must say that this is an outlier. For the most part, they are well written with just an occasional mistake. Since I am not teaching English, I don't take off too many points for grammar and spelling, but I do remind students that they will be judged by their writing in the "real world." Like on the internet. :grin:
 
Gary Blanchard said:
I must say that this is an outlier. For the most part, they are well written with just an occasional mistake. Since I am not teaching English, I don't take off too many points for grammar and spelling, but I do remind students that they will be judged by their writing in the "real world." Like on the internet. :grin:
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That's good to know.
My son, the high skool freshman, knows how to build better sentences. Wow.

I don't get worked up over poor usage or grammar in informal situations, like posting at MWGL, but if you're going to turn in a paper for a grade, my standards change a bit.
 
With all that liquor stench seeping out of their pores, the finer points of English kinda get lost... OOOH LOOK A BODY DROPPED I SAW A BODY DROP
 
Is that even possible to have liquor stench coming out if your pores?
Sounds like one of mom's temperance tirades if you ask me.
 
It is quite possible, trust me. I have smelled it. A person who has consumed large amounts of alcohol will sweat it out. Quaite a nasty smell, at that.
 
All I can add to this thread is that the student was apparently doing some field research for his paper, and I can only say that good field research is where it's at.

So, did I pass the good grammar on the internet test? Huh, did I? (I like to think that properly crafting a sentence, is the stuff which legends are made of). :grin:
 
You think that's bad.

I mark national History exam papers and the only time I'm allowed to punish bad writing is if it's literally so messy I can't read it. Everything else has to be read and can't be deducted marks no matter how nonsensical or poorly written it might be.

And we wonder why these kids can't write a good covering letter or uni application.
 
jbj said:
You think that's bad.

I mark national History exam papers and the only time I'm allowed to punish bad writing is if it's literally so messy I can't read it. Everything else has to be read and can't be deducted marks no matter how nonsensical or poorly written it might be.

And we wonder why these kids can't write a good covering letter or uni application.
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Several years ago when I worked at the university of Oklahoma, a therapist asked me to edit a paper she was submitting for publication.
I broke out the old red pen and, this being a college instructor, went nuts correcting things.
Mostly issues with punctuation and passive voice (all too common in academia) but I went through the thing with a pretty critical eye. Made my marks and notes explaining how she could improve it. I was quite proud of myself for the job I did.
She came back to me a bit later, livid.
Failing to understand her outrage and babbling, I pressed. She finally gets out that she's pissed, not because of what I wrote, but that I used red ink.
WTF? Seriously?
I had to ask why.
Red ink, it seems, is stigmatizing. It has connotations of "you fucked up" in it and it hurts the little ones' feelings.
I scratched my head, looking for an answer.
First, I reminded her, when something is incorrect and I am asked to judge that, red ink stands out so the writer can distinguish the editor's marks from their own writing.
Second, I informed her she was all grown up and not a student.
That didn't go over too well.
That was also about the time I dropped out of the education department. There wasn't a day went by in those classes that I didn't have a healthy :facepalm: over something.
 
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