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Jacko Posted 23 years ago
Grammar

What Should I Do?

My teacher accused of "thesaurizing" my papers when in fact I did not. She admits that I used the so-called big words correctly, but she couldn't take the fact that I use 'em not to impress, but because these words will actually condense my sentences by not using using two or three-word adjective if it can be just one. I will not lie that I use these words to make my paper sound a little smart, but that is not the whole points of using these words. If I use "ordinary" words, then readers would say that my paper is not very competent. What should I do!? I
  

Top answer

Why don't you tell me a big word and see if we can simplify it. I was always told that I could easily make difficult things look simple.

— Maj

  • Why don't you tell me a big word and see if we can simplify it.
  • I was always told that I could easily make difficult things look simple.
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22 Answers
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Why don't you tell me a big word and see if we can simplify it. I was always told that I could easily make difficult things look simple.
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I am not talking about one or two big words; I am talking about the ubiquity of it throughout the essay.
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You mean the body of your essay?
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No, I meant that "big" words were scattered throughout my whole essay. My problem is if I used them correctly, why would my teacher make such a big deal out of it?
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If you know that you are using them correctly. Why should you bother about what your teacher has to say?. I would say it's a matter of style more than anything ... and in your case your style is quite impressive...
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Hi Jacko, could you tell us more about your papers, e.g. what are you writing or maybe studying? In my opinion, the most important thing in every piece of writing is the thoughts behind them. Language is only the means of putting your ideas across. Therefore, what you have to use is the language that can best convey your ideas, not the one that will impress people who read your paper.
But if
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Well said Orpheus! I you ook back at some of the earlier posts, some teachers posted what they thought were the most important 'tools' for letter wriring. Orpheus, you've hit the nail on the head.
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Basically,I agree with you Orpheus. However, I think the learner of a foreign language should also have some autonomy to choose the language that suits most his/her personality and if he/she wants to sound pompous, as long as what he/she say is correct, we should respect his/her choice.
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I guess it may be because English is not my first language that I have developed a style that does not go with the contemporary style. I've posted sections of some of my writings here, and to me they don't sound like weird, arbitrary combinations of words. Be honest, does the paragraph below read or sound (when read aloud) vague or weird? Overly sentimental maybe?

“We are
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Oh I forgot to clarify in my first message, when I said teacher, I was being sarcastic, I meant my aunt who is a so-called good writer.
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