Re: tests/papers

I'd like to offer some advice, make some comments and generally resond to some things I've seen in formal written work. I try not to mindlessley recreate the biases of my professors past, but being in a position where I must read and respond to student work, I can see their points (or have I just been assimilated...) To cut to the chase

Avoid cliches like the plague! Yes I've just used two in a row, but 1) I may be trying to make a point. They can come across lame and don't add meaning 2) this is a blog and not a formal paper for grade. At best they take up space and don't add value to your ideas, and at worst they are interpreted differently than you might intend and give the wrong impression.

Reduce filler (sometimes called bloat). Intensifiers like "very," "really" and such add no meaning and either water down your prose or make you come across less seriously (as in people take you less seriously). At worst you come across like a student padding their work to make a teachers word count/ page length (that strategy has never worked for anyone at any age - but even in college people try it). Likewise, severly limit the times you say "I think," " I believe," "in my humble opinion," etc. At best it comes across like filler, at worst it indicates a lack of conviction or confidence, or maybe a qualification indicating self-deprication. Writing is work. It is more intentional than speaking. If you are taking the time and effort to make a declarative statement in writing, why wouldn't the reader assume you mean or think what you say? This is'nt to say you should never use any of these constructions, but consider your context and your audience and eliminate uneccesary words. Reading is work.

Be careful how you use terms like "proof" "fact" and "reality." In academic contexts these words are used with incredible rarity. Research can generally offer indications or suggestions, and there are few things you can get a room full of the general public to agree on. Fill a room full of academics and I guarantee someone will debate the nature of up and down. When we are dealing with theory, to use words like proof or fact implies resolution to a question that has not been resolved. The position you take has profound political and pedagogical implications.

Likewise saying "some people say" or even "many" or "most" is at best spurious. It's a red flag for a misleading or false proposition. Reliance on authorities to support a position is the weakest form of argument, and to not even name an alleged authority or general person on the street ... what's the point in that - other than to distance one's self from the thing you are saying. Is this a lack of confidence or do you not believe what you are saying?

And finally, avoid putting quotes around a word to indicate you are using it ironically or otherwise in some way other than how it is generally interpreted to mean. If you do that, you got to explain in detail what exactly you mean.

In general - always explain what you mean in greater detail. The most common comment on papers is always "elaborate," "explain," and "go into detail."