Circumstance: Class after the class when we got our papers back.
Dialogue: Student - "The TA told me to include more information about this topic in my paper, but I couldn't! The limit was five pages, there was absolutely no way to have more information! I deserve a higher grade - this is ridiculous!"
Dialogue: Student - "The TA told me to include more information about this topic in my paper, but I couldn't! The limit was five pages, there was absolutely no way to have more information! I deserve a higher grade - this is ridiculous!"
No, that wasn't me, but it was a fellow classmate. The case for me is typically, "Crystal, you were very inclusive of all the topics but I wish your writing was longer...surely you could have added something else."
At least that was the case in high school. Thankfully, I no longer receive such remarks in the university setting.
Before I entered college, my teachers (not to say all of them) had always grilled me because my essays or any writing-related work was never lengthy enough. I had to make attempts at dumbing down my responses so that I could incorporate more words and more sentences into a paper. I never really saw the point of that but I assumed that it was how the world worked because that's what I was told to do by a person with higher authority.
Turns out, I was training my brain for a lower level of education than I was at.
Now, my professors are stressing to be short, concise, and to-the-point without extra "fluff" or "cushioning" in attempts to seem more intelligent by making a paper longer. I'm glad to say that as I was retrogressively training my brain, I never lost touch with my ability to communicate complete ideas with few words (I received a 96 on that paper well under the 5-page limit, thank you).
Teachers in primary and secondary education should definitely emphasize length in writing because it does include more information and content, especially in youth. However, it should not be priority for it is most certainly not always the case. Teachers, I urge you, if a student has the capability to summarize thoroughly without many words, allow them to. It's unfair to the student if that skill he or she possesses is not fostered and appreciated. It's terribly and very unfortunately misleading and does not contribute to higher education. The above exclamation of my classmate is something I often hear - and it's just sad.
Like Frederich Nietzsche once said, "It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book."
With all do respect I must ask how do you know your teachers didn't think other wise on your "capability to summarize thoroughly without many words." Maybe your teachers felt that you weren't able to completely summarize in few words. Even though I understand where you are coming from I just feel your claim is a little boastful and ignorant. You probably never experienced a classroom setting which is "on grade level." If you did then maybe your post would say other wise.
ReplyDeleteI have discussed my papers with my teachers in high school - I feel if they didn't think I was doing a good job of covering an essay prompt or whatnot, then they should tell me for the purpose of doing their jobs to educate me. And if they don't address that problem, then I can only assume I did cover all the necessary content. This was not meant to sound boastful, I am trying to prove a point - and maybe the language I used was a little too aggressive but that's life. I will, however, take that criticism and put it to use on my future posts, so thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I have experienced, what we called, "OGL" (on grade level) classes; not every class in high school is an Honors or AP course. But I don't think that matters because I am referring to an individual student - not the class as a collective whole.