Out of the assigned articles due for class this week, “A Kind Word for Bullshit: The Problem of Academic Writing” by Philip Eubanks and John D.Schaeffer was on by far of the best and veritable articles I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. This article (turned book) describes the paradoxical phenomena that is collegiate writing and everything beyond. From my experience when fellow classmates of mine write they begin with solid facts and as the papers/ assignments progress less becomes educated and more becomes fabricated. Most often this occurs when professors impose guidelines such as page lengths (7-9 pgs.) or word counts (500 words). Students start with what they know but if they run out of ammo and haven’t hit the target, then they begin to bullshit their way to the end. I myself have done this many times in order to please professors and teachers alike throughout my academic career. And with my impending English major I will probably continue to do so. A poignant parts of the article that arrested my attention was the idea that, “professors write prolix books and articles, students imitate their professor’s style, and professors rewards them for it- because professors often think that abstruse academic writing “sounds just right; it sounds professional.” (382) Students learn the system and how their professors operate. Once a student realizes what his professors wants he then gives it to him in order to receive a better grade.
To sum it all up “when a student can write intelligibly and intelligently about a book the student has not read, that is bull. (William Perry “Examsmanship and the Liberal Arts”)
And come on is that not the goal of most students especially on pop quiz days in Core? (r.i.p)
