Got an F on a college essay for swearing?
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My book report on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe hospitalized 8 people.
excelsiorlef
Member
Well the essay given by excerpts was also poor , written in 90 min while the writer was drunk, so yeah those all combined it's definitely F worthy
But sure the teacher is bad for giving a bad grade to a bad vulgar essay that includes lines like if they died tomorrow I wouldn't give a shit.
CaviarMeths
Member
I somehow missed that OP was drunk and shit this slam poetry out in 2 hours.
Good lord, what were you expecting?
Good lord, what were you expecting?
MrS
Banned
Basically, and you shouldn't really need to be told this.
excelsiorlef
Member
You're allowed... you just won't get a good mark... you're not paying for good marks.
Dynamite Shikoku
Congratulations, you really deserve it!
2 hours is extreme effort for the smartphone generation
CaviarMeths
Member
Yes. It's a Brown thing, you wouldn't understand.
llien
Banned
This is totally out of touch with what I have said and you quite missed on assumptions side of things as well. (misusing opportunity to talk about myself)
My wonderful experience with lit. teachers started when I was a little kid, who wrote grammatically perfect dictation but misheard a word. It fit perfectly, it was more complicated to write, but it was a different word. Yay, that's a mistake! You need better ears kid!
Back then, even my math teacher was an idiot. Finding solutions mattered LESS than writing it down in a tidy manner. And, oh boy, being used to 5s (that's A, I guess) I was spending most of my time on not putting extra comma and prefect distances between letters and numbers. "Oh, that A looks like your original intent was to write down X!" "Yes", "That's a lower mark kid, try harder next time!"
Things changed a lot later on, when I move to school specializing in math and physics. Coming from math or physics class (we had a lot of those, at least 3 hours total per day) where you could ask whatever question you had and voice whatever crazy idea you had, as long as you could explain it logically,with finding correct solution being the only thing that mattered in tests, with your soul singing FREEDOM FREEDOM FREEDOM HEY we were entering lit & lang class. Oh, sure there we could have had our own thoughts, in a way, that is. "You can have any thought, as long as it is in line with what I want to hear". Oh, and today I feel like Chernyshevski was kinda cool. Please tell the class what you think he meant when saying this and that about some masterpiece, and pray that it's the same that my stupid ass that can't comprehend A=>B and B=>C means A=>C thinks the same, since, fuck you and fuck your opinion, I don't really care, in fact, I'm annoyed with slightest deviation...
Thank god, I didn't need to cope with that shit at university, although I had to do lit/lang test (essay?) to enroll. It was one out of 4 exams, and I already got 3 10s by that time so I felt quite relaxed and adventurous. I decided to write on "free subject". "Hey, that's clearly 10", I was told by another expert in lit/lang, (they just switched from "commie system" to "non-commie" system, I guess it meant that number of points had to change from 5 to 10) ...
So, yeah, experts, sure thing, Something about Bill Denbrough tells me that Stephen King has also met "experts" in his life.
The main problem with the field is that it is inherently subjective.
Well, your argument doesn't make sense to me, replacing "all the poor writing and analysis" is in no way analogous to "replacing F word that is used in literature, but is found to be inappropriate and breaking unwritten rules here".
I only objected downgrading marks for misbehaving (you assess someone's ability to do <something>, not whether someone follows (unwritten) rules that have been violated earlier without notice), if replacing swear words with euphemisms is still F, I don't see any issue.
Ouch. Ouch.
OP, you need to learn two important things about writing. They are called 'context' and 'register'.
Also, your writing will always get criticized even if you sell like Stephen King. Gotta deal with it and learn from it. People who get paid to read your stuff should always be brutal.
OP, you need to learn two important things about writing. They are called 'context' and 'register'.
Also, your writing will always get criticized even if you sell like Stephen King. Gotta deal with it and learn from it. People who get paid to read your stuff should always be brutal.
choodi
Banned
Not entirely scientists' fault, but if the lunatic fringe can successfully communicate their message, then intelligent scientists should be able to as well.
I know there is a very big difference and that the crazies don't have to make sure they have any actual evidence, but science is notoriously poorly communicated.
I actually have a great deal of sympathy for them, but in the modern world, good communication skills are an essential skill for almost all professions.
Permanently A
Junior Member
OP just tell her that you are inexperienced with academic writing and did not realize that swearing is frowned upon. Commit to seeking out more productive language for future papers, and ask if you can have the opportunity to resubmit a better effort for this assignment.
Some suggestions OP.
"Watching the film was really sad, quite morbid, fucked up, and too close to home"
Instead of using fucked up here, say something like outrageous, shocking, or absurd.
"It went from "I don't care about you" to "fuck you" and I still feel that
way to this day"
Instead of saying "fuck you", say you felt revulsion or your feelings changed from apathy to abhorrence.
"They're awful, sickening, fucked realities"
"Fucked" is kind of redundant here no? You don't need that many adjectives. Just say they're vile realities.
"The emotional problems my REDACTED still suffers from REDACTED, I've came to the point
where if REDACTED REDACTED died today, right now, I wouldn't give a shit"
"I don't give a shit" -> "It wouldn't affect me."
"Apologizes that are all bullshit and
emotions that end up with the person hurting more and more"
Apologizes -> Apologies
Bullshit -> Hollow
"Watching the film was really sad, quite morbid, fucked up, and too close to home"
Instead of using fucked up here, say something like outrageous, shocking, or absurd.
"It went from "I don't care about you" to "fuck you" and I still feel that
way to this day"
Instead of saying "fuck you", say you felt revulsion or your feelings changed from apathy to abhorrence.
"They're awful, sickening, fucked realities"
"Fucked" is kind of redundant here no? You don't need that many adjectives. Just say they're vile realities.
"The emotional problems my REDACTED still suffers from REDACTED, I've came to the point
where if REDACTED REDACTED died today, right now, I wouldn't give a shit"
"I don't give a shit" -> "It wouldn't affect me."
"Apologizes that are all bullshit and
emotions that end up with the person hurting more and more"
Apologizes -> Apologies
Bullshit -> Hollow
Finale Fireworker
Member
I wish I had time to read all fifteen pages of this thread.
I wonder what other lazy vocabulary people have tried to pass off in essays. Hella? Dank? Where does it end?
The whole point of words like these is that they're flexible. Their meanings are largely contextual and they can be used basically anywhere. This sort of casual shorthand serves a conversational purpose, but they have zero professional place or application. It's tragic OP reached college before they learned this lesson. But hey, at least they learned something in school.
I wonder what other lazy vocabulary people have tried to pass off in essays. Hella? Dank? Where does it end?
The whole point of words like these is that they're flexible. Their meanings are largely contextual and they can be used basically anywhere. This sort of casual shorthand serves a conversational purpose, but they have zero professional place or application. It's tragic OP reached college before they learned this lesson. But hey, at least they learned something in school.
To be honest, the swearing is bad, but it's also just bad formal writing because those terms are abstract cliches. If you actually get good writing advice, that's something you're supposed to avoid because it makes you sound unimaginative and like you're talking in code metaphors in some cases, when your goal is to be accurate and clear above all else.
OmegaTreeFish
Banned
This thread is great. It basically equates to us older people going "oh, young people" and rolling our eyes.
OP you are young. We were pretty much all bad at what we thought we were good at when we were young. If I looked back at the graphic design I was doing at your age I would laugh at how aweful it was now. Try to remember that you need to realise your mistake and correct them next time. Thus with each project you will improve. Then you get into the work world and realise you still have soooo much to learn. It's why experience means so much in many fields.
Things to take away from this:
- Don't sware in essays of this kind
- Read your work
- Have someone else read your work
- Plan what you are going to write before hand.
- 2 hours (which includes watching the 45 minute film) is not a decent amount of time for a project of this kind.
- Don't write an essay drunk.
- Don't write an essay at the last minute and expect it to be gold.
- Work on your sentance structure
- Work on your content (giving what equates to a wiki plot synopsis is not suitable. The person marking the essay knows what happens in the story)
- Don't be so defensive about critisism. (as someone with 15 years graphic design experience I can tell you this is vital. After all, my work is for the client and not myself.)
- Never post your work on GAF and not expect to get destroyed
That is a hell of a lot to take away from one project gone bad. Take that as a good thing. Next time you have to write an essay look at this list and learn from it. You will instantly be better off for it.
OP you are young. We were pretty much all bad at what we thought we were good at when we were young. If I looked back at the graphic design I was doing at your age I would laugh at how aweful it was now. Try to remember that you need to realise your mistake and correct them next time. Thus with each project you will improve. Then you get into the work world and realise you still have soooo much to learn. It's why experience means so much in many fields.
Things to take away from this:
- Don't sware in essays of this kind
- Read your work
- Have someone else read your work
- Plan what you are going to write before hand.
- 2 hours (which includes watching the 45 minute film) is not a decent amount of time for a project of this kind.
- Don't write an essay drunk.
- Don't write an essay at the last minute and expect it to be gold.
- Work on your sentance structure
- Work on your content (giving what equates to a wiki plot synopsis is not suitable. The person marking the essay knows what happens in the story)
- Don't be so defensive about critisism. (as someone with 15 years graphic design experience I can tell you this is vital. After all, my work is for the client and not myself.)
- Never post your work on GAF and not expect to get destroyed
That is a hell of a lot to take away from one project gone bad. Take that as a good thing. Next time you have to write an essay look at this list and learn from it. You will instantly be better off for it.
Impeccable
Member
Holy actual shit, that was funny.
TheRealCanadianBros.
Banned
^ This right here.
Profanity doesn't belong in professional writing, bro.
The only exception is when you're quoting someone. Even in that case, if you're unsure, the safest bet is to not write the full word.
Brock Reiher
Banned
Fuckin sweet
OP, saying shit like 'fucked up' is for the basest conversational talk. I love swearing but you never ever use that shit in writing. I was a film minor, there are lots of words you can use instead. Like I think you could have used something like "hollowing" in those examples, and saying "quite depressing" is kind of pointless and you should just say "depressing".
OP, saying shit like 'fucked up' is for the basest conversational talk. I love swearing but you never ever use that shit in writing. I was a film minor, there are lots of words you can use instead. Like I think you could have used something like "hollowing" in those examples, and saying "quite depressing" is kind of pointless and you should just say "depressing".
Mammoth Jones
Member
Christ. You're right. Gen Z the worst confirmed.
Dear College Professor
I wish to apologize for the inappropriate tone of my essay and hope for your understanding and clemency as I ask for the opportunity to repeat the assignment.
This subject is one that is intensely emotional for me and due to the subject matter being something that has effected me on a deeply personal level it is hard for me to retain a level of objectivity and professionalism when discussing it.
That being said I fully recognize how utterly inappropriate the essay I delivered was and I apologize unreservedly for it. I will ask the university for any help and support they can give in writing in a formal, academic way and will in the future ensure that my writings achieve and maintain a high level of professionalism and academic standard that this institution expects of me.
I would like the chance to redo this assignment and prove to you and myself that I am more than capable of writing in a mature, balanced and professional way.
Thank you
Send your professor something like that OP, whether you get the chance to redo the assignment or not, the professor might soften up on you a little bit.
I wish to apologize for the inappropriate tone of my essay and hope for your understanding and clemency as I ask for the opportunity to repeat the assignment.
This subject is one that is intensely emotional for me and due to the subject matter being something that has effected me on a deeply personal level it is hard for me to retain a level of objectivity and professionalism when discussing it.
That being said I fully recognize how utterly inappropriate the essay I delivered was and I apologize unreservedly for it. I will ask the university for any help and support they can give in writing in a formal, academic way and will in the future ensure that my writings achieve and maintain a high level of professionalism and academic standard that this institution expects of me.
I would like the chance to redo this assignment and prove to you and myself that I am more than capable of writing in a mature, balanced and professional way.
Thank you
Send your professor something like that OP, whether you get the chance to redo the assignment or not, the professor might soften up on you a little bit.
pirateluigi
Member
My crowning achievement in undergrad was a linguistic anthropology paper about societal acceptance and discrimination based on the usage of the word fuck. Basically, I was a senior and really wanted to see how many times I could cram the word fuck into an academic paper.
75
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
I'm crying 😂
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
Youth Crew
Member
Seems a bit unprofessional to swear in an essay like that, no?
Lol. I used shit in a poem in 12th grade English class and it wasn't a problem. Got an A on that.
Of course I also had the common sense to inquire as to the appropriateness before I turned that project in (poem was part of a larger body of work for a single grade) but she said it was fine as long as it read appropriately and not as laziness or for shock value.
Of course I also had the common sense to inquire as to the appropriateness before I turned that project in (poem was part of a larger body of work for a single grade) but she said it was fine as long as it read appropriately and not as laziness or for shock value.
Well also it was a poem and not a report about abuse of the elderly
entremet
Member
Don't feel bad, OP. Most college students are shitty writers. You'll get better. But take the advice here seriously. Does your college have a writing center? Those are usually helpful.
Get some good books too. I'm a big fan of Strunk and White's Elements of Style. And read a lot from good publications and writers. Very easy today with the internet.
Also, let your first drafts cool down. Wait a day before revising them. You'll see things differently since you're more detached from the work.
Get some good books too. I'm a big fan of Strunk and White's Elements of Style. And read a lot from good publications and writers. Very easy today with the internet.
Also, let your first drafts cool down. Wait a day before revising them. You'll see things differently since you're more detached from the work.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
Quite relevant.
Harothewanderer
Member
Why would you swear in a college essay? How anyone could think this would be good idea is beyond me.
The poem part is more relevant.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
Based on my experience with a mother and sister who are lifelong anti-vaxxers, I disagree with your view that scientific myths thrive because they are communicated in a clearer way. The supporting evidence for the myths is often cloaked in its own set of scientific jargon, both to make it seem more professional and to obfuscate the facts. It is intentionally unclear, and this is exploited in the rhetorical tactics of the people propagating the myths, which focus on sowing doubt and making it difficult to see the big picture by excessively focusing on minutiae.
Conspiracy theories thrive because there seems to be some part of human nature that causes people to feel good when they think that they are part of a small group that has an answer that broader society is missing. This is just one of many social dynamics that tap into that tribal feeling. Communicating the counter evidence in a clearer way is not going to change that.
excelsiorlef
Member
I'll be blunt the level of incoherence in your argument against academic standards just proves the value of academic standards.
This was an essay not a novel (so why you invoked Stephen King is beyond me). You keep defaulting to what would be acceptable in creative writing.... this was not creative writing.
Would be a problem if not.
In a creative writing class, at any level of education, you can swear away.
OP, how did you graduate high school? Did you never have to write a paper for high school? Because the cursing doesn't look like your only problem from the excerpts quoted.
I would probably not only have given you an F, but recommended you be moved into a remedial English course to learn how to properly write a paper.
I would probably not only have given you an F, but recommended you be moved into a remedial English course to learn how to properly write a paper.
It would certainly be easier to defend than it is in this particular piece of writing OP handed in.
Brock Reiher
Banned
I suppose another way of looking at it is that anyone in the world can look at that movie and say "shit's fucked", so why would anyone bother reading your take if that's all you have to say?
Grizzlyjin
Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Yeah, you just gotta eat this one. Or ask to do it again. I don't know how you made it this far thinking that would slide. Might want to examine what writing you take in, cause it seems to have colored your expectations.
I've snuck rap lyrics or references into papers, but that was Poli sci and most of my profs were 100 years old and wouldn't notice. I don't think I've ever just informally had "fuck" in a paper though lol
I've snuck rap lyrics or references into papers, but that was Poli sci and most of my profs were 100 years old and wouldn't notice. I don't think I've ever just informally had "fuck" in a paper though lol
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