A Freshman Paper

[jillian]

My daughter's ninth grade English teacher said they are to write their papers without using contractions or the words: am, is , are , was, were, be , got, and pronouns.


I'm like WTH?


Is this the new trend? Or is she

I was never allowed to use contractions in any of my papers.... only when writing prose.

 

[jillian]

You should ask the teacher why.

It sounds very odd but I have to assume there is some reason.

Because they want you to learn all the rules of grammar before you relax or break them.

 

[random3434]

My daughter's ninth grade English teacher said they are to write their papers without using contractions or the words: am, is , are , was, were, be , got, and pronouns.


I'm like WTH?


Is this the new trend? Or is she

I was never allowed to use contractions in any of my papers.... only when writing prose.

Thank you! This is what I was trying to get a feel for, if it's something used by certain teachers. What about pronouns?

 

[jillian]

My daughter's ninth grade English teacher said they are to write their papers without using contractions or the words: am, is , are , was, were, be , got, and pronouns.


I'm like WTH?


Is this the new trend? Or is she

I was never allowed to use contractions in any of my papers.... only when writing prose.

Thank you! This is what I was trying to get a feel for, if it's something used by certain teachers. What about pronouns?

I just noticed that. We didn't ever have to do anything like that unless it was for a special project. Otherwise, we'd have all ended up talking about ourselves in the third person and sounded like nuts. lol...

 

[elvis]

My daughter's ninth grade English teacher said they are to write their papers without using contractions or the words: am, is , are , was, were, be , got, and pronouns.


I'm like WTH?


Is this the new trend? Or is she

I was never allowed to use contractions in any of my papers.... only when writing prose.

Thank you! This is what I was trying to get a feel for, if it's something used by certain teachers. What about pronouns?

Here's a quick answer about I. When you write an essay, you do not want to say "I think" . That is a no-no. Is that where she is coming from?

 

[JakeStarkey]

EZ, my apologies: a long day. OK, persons, places, or things (no pronouns) plus active verbs. Hmmm? Good luck to your daughter.

 

[elvis]

no helping verbs and no pronouns?

 

[random3434]

I was never allowed to use contractions in any of my papers.... only when writing prose.

Thank you! This is what I was trying to get a feel for, if it's something used by certain teachers. What about pronouns?

Here's a quick answer about I. When you write an essay, you do not want to say "I think" . That is a no-no. Is that where she is coming from?

I'm sure that's part of it. But "everybody" , "some" "before" "people" and of course all contractions and pronouns were highlighted by the teacher {meaning a big no-no on the paper for the mini echo}

I told her to find out EXACTLY WTH the teacher wants when she goes back to class Thursday, and to see if it's just for THIS paper, or the entire year!

 

[elvis]

Thank you! This is what I was trying to get a feel for, if it's something used by certain teachers. What about pronouns?

Here's a quick answer about I. When you write an essay, you do not want to say "I think" . That is a no-no. Is that where she is coming from?

I'm sure that's part of it. But "everybody" , "some" "before" "people" and of course all contractions and pronouns were highlighted by the teacher {meaning a big no-no on the paper for the mini echo}

I told her to find out EXACTLY WTH the teacher wants when she goes back to class Thursday, and to see if it's just for THIS paper, or the entire year!

instead of before, she could say "prior to". Instead of some she could say "many". Is "people" not allowed at all or just in that context?

 

[random3434]

Here's a quick answer about I. When you write an essay, you do not want to say "I think" . That is a no-no. Is that where she is coming from?

I'm sure that's part of it. But "everybody" , "some" "before" "people" and of course all contractions and pronouns were highlighted by the teacher {meaning a big no-no on the paper for the mini echo}

I told her to find out EXACTLY WTH the teacher wants when she goes back to class Thursday, and to see if it's just for THIS paper, or the entire year!

instead of before, she could say "prior to". Instead of some she could say "many". Is "people" not allowed at all or just in that context?

I'll let you know on Thursday!

It's funny, mini echo is a gifted writer, and is going to major in journalism. When she wrote this paper she's like, "Mom, the teacher only wants a 500 word essay! That's kid stuff, too easy!"


Well,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,me thinks little ms. smarty pants didn't listen to the FULL instructions of this 500 word essay, and now when she rewrites it she'll have to think before she types!

 

[elvis]

I'm sure that's part of it. But "everybody" , "some" "before" "people" and of course all contractions and pronouns were highlighted by the teacher {meaning a big no-no on the paper for the mini echo}

I told her to find out EXACTLY WTH the teacher wants when she goes back to class Thursday, and to see if it's just for THIS paper, or the entire year!

instead of before, she could say "prior to". Instead of some she could say "many". Is "people" not allowed at all or just in that context?

I'll let you know on Thursday!

It's funny, mini echo is a gifted writer, and is going to major in journalism. When she wrote this paper she's like, "Mom, the teacher only wants a 500 word essay! That's kid stuff, too easy!"


Well,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,me thinks little ms. smarty pants didn't listen to the FULL instructions of this 500 word essay, and now when she rewrites it she'll have to think before she types!

Yeah, I've been there. Sorry, I wasn't trying to give you all the answers. This thing just really caught my interest.

 

[Jon]

This teacher is a dumb bitch. All the things mentioned that are not allowed on this paper are 100% proper grammar, as long as they are used correctly.

 

[Barb]

My daughter's ninth grade English teacher said they are to write their papers without using contractions or the words: am, is , are , was, were, be , got, and pronouns.


I'm like WTH?


Is this the new trend? Or is she

If you have Word, set the grammar check to "formal," and the program will help with those issues. The purpose is to avoid passive phrases and substitute them with active ones, to get the kids away from the lazy "I," and contractions are not proper for formal writing. The teachers are doing their kids a favor by getting them used to writing this way. College papers will be much easier when the time comes. I have written angry little ditties to English majors, but as much as they are a pain in the ass, they've helped me.

 

[Valerie]

My daughter's ninth grade English teacher said they are to write their papers without using contractions or the words: am, is , are , was, were, be , got, and pronouns.


I'm like WTH?


Is this the new trend? Or is she

Naaah...I think....umm...it seems to me...umm...apparently the teacher is...ummm..trying to challenge the students to THINK about the way they write...umm..apparently the teacher has posed an effective challenge to the students to write in such a manner as...umm to reconsider their writing style...which can't be a bad thing, IMHO.

 

[xotoxi]

My daughter's ninth grade English teacher said they are to write their papers without using contractions or the words: am, is , are , was, were, be , got, and pronouns.


I'm like WTH?


Is this the new trend? Or is she

Can she use the words "fucking" and "bitch", cuz I think she should.

 

[Gudrid]

Yay, an English question! I'm one-sided as can be, and you just found the one side.

Sounds a bit like overkill, but the teacher is trying to get them to avoid writing in passive voice. I was a double concentration lit./creative writing major, and that's one of the big things they pound into you during the lower level comp classes. And it still doesn't work. In formal writing, it's odd how often people write entire papers with "was" and similar verbs - like there's an instinct to write in passive voice. So you end up with whole papers of "The fence was painted white by Huck Finn" instead of "Huck Finn painted the fence white." Essentially, what they try to do is first break kids of the passive voice habit completely, then ease them back into using passive voice when it's effective to do so.

The "before" thing probably has to do with the organization of the paper (guessing on that one). "Before" gets used in essays at times when it would be better to re-arrange the order of discussion, sort of as a copout rather than re-writing when a new idea pops up. That's about all I can think of for that one. Words like "everyone" or "people" sometimes fill in for better language as an easy conversion from first person and ends up sounding awkward.

She may be overstating the points she's trying to get across, but I think the goal is to get kids in the habit of writing in a manner that's acceptable in college level classes. In college, she'll get marked down for papers full of passive voice - they'll want it used sparingly. If she's in the habit of writing in passive voice, then that's what she'll automatically do while writing those last-minute papers that barely get done because of all the partying. On the other hand, if she's in the habit of avoiding passive voice to the point that it's second nature to her, the partying will have less of an effect on her grades. Not that I speak from experience or anything, because I would never write a 20 page paper the night before it was due.

 

[Valerie]

My advice would be to have your daughter write the essay expressing whatever it is she means to express first...Write however she is naturally inclined to write FIRST...And then scan the essay for whatever the teacher is asking you to omit and reconstruct each sentence so the end result complies with the request of the teacher.

 

[random3434]

My advice would be to have your daughter write the essay expressing whatever it is she means to express first...Write however she is naturally inclined to write FIRST...And then scan the essay for whatever the teacher is asking you to omit and reconstruct each sentence so the end result complies with the request of the teacher.

She did already, thus all the words highlighted in yellow on her paper she needs to "fix."

 

[strollingbones]

This teacher is a dumb bitch. All the things mentioned that are not allowed on this paper are 100% proper grammar, as long as they are used correctly.

you are a fucking idiot due to that statement...she is trying to expand the horizons....

is that wrong....or do you simply want kids spoon fed and never challenged?????

*kicks dirt on ya*

 

[Skull Pilot]

My daughter's ninth grade English teacher said they are to write their papers without using contractions or the words: am, is , are , was, were, be , got, and pronouns.


I'm like WTH?


Is this the new trend? Or is she

Sounds like a Dick and Jane Book

See Spot run.

See Jane suck Dick.