next »

[concordancia]

Thesis: [Author] uses literary terms to manage what he wants the reader to see.

First example: At the beginning, the author gives a character to the sky. "The night wind spins in the sky and sings" (citation). It is important to see this literary term because with these characters the poem becomes more realistic. By thinking about what is going on outside, the reader can imagine himself in this place.

I really, don't need to read the rest of this paper to know that I am going to fail this student.

On rereading, I think I finally understand that the student wants to say that the author uses certain rhetorical tropes. So, it is the personification that we are supposed to see in this example...too bad the line quoted personifies the wind, not the sky.

[perfect_peeyotch]

Anyone know of a nice way to tell a non native speaker who admits to not feeling entirely comfortable with the language that perhaps she is not the most qualified to decided that the syntax and lexicon of a novel are difficult for many readers?

If you mean that the student wrote this in a paper, I tell my students that this is one of the five "no, don't go there" rules from writing college essays.  It's okay to tell a professor that you find a novel difficult or boring, but it's not usually relevant to a formal assignment.  On the other hand, if the problem is the breadth of her comment, then you make your response about unsupported generalizations and leave the content alone.

I'm actually curious what the other four "don't go there" rules are.

[concordancia]

X is represented in this book by Y. Y represents X.

At least the student is being consistent!

[mirandaf]

Student wrote: "The interviews with the prisoners lasted for 20 minuets."

Professor comment: "Really? They did French dancing while doing the interviews? How fascinating."

Snark, snark, snark.

[der_gadfly]

In a discussion about 'language':

"A dialect and a pigeon are not the sane, but are very dissimilar".

yup......

[mirandaf]

"The subject of Recidivism has always been a Favorite interest of Mine since working in the Prison System last Year. My research Question is..."

Like, what's with the oddball CAPitTALiZATioN? Do we need a lesson on proper nouns?

[conjugate]

In a discussion about 'language':

"A dialect and a pigeon are not the sane, but are very dissimilar".

yup......

I can almost understand this.  Did the student mean "pidgin"?  Clearly the student meant "similar but different" or something like this, in which case it's an oversimplification of "pidgin," (though my understanding of this is limited) but not as bizarre as it sounds at first reading.

[marigolds]

"The subject of Recidivism has always been a Favorite interest of Mine since working in the Prison System last Year. My research Question is..."

Like, what's with the oddball CAPitTALiZATioN? Do we need a lesson on proper nouns?

I've noticed this lately too (except not quite so Manifold and Incomprehensible as in your example.)  I do teach 19th century lit, so perhaps it's rubbing off on them. 

[present_mirth]

He goes on with a metaphor, "My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires and more slow..." I sense that he is using the vegetable metaphor to indicate that he will nurture their love and it will grow more and more. I also think he is using the comparison to vampires because they are immortal. This comparison indicates that he will love her forever even after death.

I think this student may have been reading too much Twilight.

[peppergal]

He goes on with a metaphor, "My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires and more slow..." I sense that he is using the vegetable metaphor to indicate that he will nurture their love and it will grow more and more. I also think he is using the comparison to vampires because they are immortal. This comparison indicates that he will love her forever even after death.

I think this student may have been reading too much Twilight.

Also, wasn't that story written by a woman?  If I recall correctly (and I have a hazy memory of reading it as an undergrad) it's by Ursula K. LeGuin.  But I could be wrong.

[present_mirth]

He goes on with a metaphor, "My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires and more slow..." I sense that he is using the vegetable metaphor to indicate that he will nurture their love and it will grow more and more. I also think he is using the comparison to vampires because they are immortal. This comparison indicates that he will love her forever even after death.

I think this student may have been reading too much Twilight.

Also, wasn't that story written by a woman?  If I recall correctly (and I have a hazy memory of reading it as an undergrad) it's by Ursula K. LeGuin.  But I could be wrong.

LeGuin may well have used this quotation as an epigraph or something, but the poem the student is writing about is "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell (who was definitely a man, last time I looked).

[peppergal]

He goes on with a metaphor, "My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires and more slow..." I sense that he is using the vegetable metaphor to indicate that he will nurture their love and it will grow more and more. I also think he is using the comparison to vampires because they are immortal. This comparison indicates that he will love her forever even after death.

I think this student may have been reading too much Twilight.

Also, wasn't that story written by a woman?  If I recall correctly (and I have a hazy memory of reading it as an undergrad) it's by Ursula K. LeGuin.  But I could be wrong.

LeGuin may well have used this quotation as an epigraph or something, but the poem the student is writing about is "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell (who was definitely a man, last time I looked).

Ah, yes, I found the LeGuin story, and it is indeed a quote within the story (properly cited, too).  Strange that after all these years, the one part of the story that stays with me is the quotation.

[conjugate]

I tried to post this earlier and it disappeared.  So I am trying it again.

He goes on with a metaphor, "My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires and more slow..." I sense that he is using the vegetable metaphor to indicate that he will nurture their love and it will grow more and more. I also think he is using the comparison to vampires because they are immortal. This comparison indicates that he will love her forever even after death.

I think this student may have been reading too much Twilight.

So the student doesn't know the difference between an empire and a vampire.  That's gotta be disturbing. 

I mean, the student will read a reference to The Ottoman Empire and think of a giant blood-sucking footstool.  He or she might think that the Holy Roman Empire was some fanged Saint of the night¹.  And as for the Roman Empire, well, it's no wonder that Cassius had the "lean and hungry look," and wanted Caesar's blood.  If "the sun never sets on the British empire," then how come it didn't turn to dust for a long time?  Questions no doubt abound.

¹ "Thou art Vlad, and upon this rock...Hey!  Stop trying to bite my neck and pay attention, here!  I said, thou art Vlad, and upon this rock I shall build my...What did I just tell you?  Never mind, then.  Hey, Peter, come here.  I was going to give this job to St. Vlad, but he won't stop growing fangs and turning into a bat.  Besides, your name works better anyway.  Um, anybody got any garlic?"

I apologize to all who were offended by this post.  I'm in a rare mood tonight, it seems.  Probably has to do with not wanting to grade papers.

[der_gadfly]

In a discussion about 'language':

"A dialect and a pigeon are not the sane, but are very dissimilar".

yup......

I can almost understand this.  Did the student mean "pidgin"?  Clearly the student meant "similar but different" or something like this, in which case it's an oversimplification of "pidgin," (though my understanding of this is limited) but not as bizarre as it sounds at first reading.

Yes, of COURSE, however, another part of the test was a case study on urban planning urban basketweaving that involved overhead power lines with a plethora of pigeons flying rats, which I suppose is what caused the error. Of COURSE the snowflake meant 'pidgin', and I was so pleased that it was a sane argument, but then the use of the double negative rally confounded the bejesus outa moi.

[biomancer]

I tried to post this earlier and it disappeared.  So I am trying it again.

He goes on with a metaphor, "My vegetable love should grow / Vaster than empires and more slow..." I sense that he is using the vegetable metaphor to indicate that he will nurture their love and it will grow more and more. I also think he is using the comparison to vampires because they are immortal. This comparison indicates that he will love her forever even after death.

I think this student may have been reading too much Twilight.

So the student doesn't know the difference between an empire and a vampire.  That's gotta be disturbing. 

I mean, the student will read a reference to The Ottoman Empire and think of a giant blood-sucking footstool.  He or she might think that the Holy Roman Empire was some fanged Saint of the night¹.  And as for the Roman Empire, well, it's no wonder that Cassius had the "lean and hungry look," and wanted Caesar's blood.  If "the sun never sets on the British empire," then how come it didn't turn to dust for a long time?  Questions no doubt abound.

¹ "Thou art Vlad, and upon this rock...Hey!  Stop trying to bite my neck and pay attention, here!  I said, thou art Vlad, and upon this rock I shall build my...What did I just tell you?  Never mind, then.  Hey, Peter, come here.  I was going to give this job to St. Vlad, but he won't stop growing fangs and turning into a bat.  Besides, your name works better anyway.  Um, anybody got any garlic?"

I apologize to all who were offended by this post.  I'm in a rare mood tonight, it seems.  Probably has to do with not wanting to grade papers.

I, for one, am not only not offended but am laughing pretty hard.  And wouldn't Vlad have felt awful for being excluded from the Last Supper?