As I'm actually finished with my grading, I'm putting together my syllabus for next semester, and I'm trying (as I always do when I do these things) to focus all the course material to put my students on the right track....that is, assuming any of them read my syllabi and related course material to begin with
To this end, I am assembling two lists:
- topics I never want to see (such as papers on abortion, the death penalty, and so forth)
- phrases I never want to read (including "due to the fact that" and "according to Webster's Dictionary,")
C'mon, everyone, do my work for me!
3 comments:
hmm, since I'm teaching something different the papers I don't want to read are about child prostitution, children going to crap as a result of popular culture...
But, my most hated phrases are:
"today's society"
"in conclusion/in summary..."
"olden days"
any time students use "should" because it implies a value judgement/opinion not analysis
I tell my students they drop a grade automatically if they use the phrase "nowadays" or "now a days" or "now adays." It's not a real word!
I agree with Meredith - phrases like "nowadays" or my much-despised "in today's society" are usually followed by some kind of statement that is historically inaccurate or suffers from presentism.... I wonder if history teachers have the same frustrations
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