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I’m pretty sure 240 pages written for an undergrad survey course essay is kind of over the top. Please re-think your assignment options. Even an honours thesis is usually under 100 pages! Thanks in advance!—In desperate need of sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppppp
This article appears in Apr 1-7, 2010.
26 Comments
Wow—I’m really big on writing, but 240 pages is a BOOK, not an essay.
It does seem a little excessive. Are you SURE he really expects you to write 240 pages?
Could he not have made a typo and instead have meant 24 pages?
What class is this for, anyway?
Wow, even scientific journals aren’t that long per study.
Perhpas this prof needs a 16 point font???
I’d clarify with your prof, OP. You definitely got the number of pages wrong.
Seriously, what professor has the time to mark a stack of 240 page essays?
Maybe it was assigned on April Fools Day?
yeah, but see booby, the prof likes you,or maybe he hates you. have you been a good little study bug all term,if not, there is your answer. when i was at dal, we had a bunch of slackers there then, too. they got fixed right up,two days before finals, and a shitload of stuff to study and a lot of sleepless hours to do it all in. if you can’t handle what you get there, what are you going to do in the real world kiddies.
Darn, I thought kay was dead.
OP here — and no, I’m not joking and there were no typos. When I passed in my paper today it was 120 pages, single spaced in 12 pt font. With the basic requirements we were talking at least 36,000 words (as per the prof’s instructions). Mine was just over 40,000 and a few people had papers even longer.
I haven’t slept in days, my friends. DAYS (since like saturday or sunday morning…I think I’ve lost track :|
The prof himself is a doll, but his assignment was just…WAY over the top. And it wasn’t even for an arts course: it was a survey level HR course! *sigh*
At least it’s done now….but still.
Kitty, I feel for you. I hope you can find a warm sunbeam to snooze in for a week. You must have been writing all semester.
Pity the poor saps that waited too long to start.
FWIW, I was happy to know that the word count was “only” 36k. When I was doing my degrees, 240 pages would have equaled 60k words (4 pages = 1000 words was the calculation my profs used).
What was your topic, or is that too revealing to classmates?
Single spaced? I’ve written dozens of papers in university and double spacing is always a requirement to make marking easier for the prof… your prof is really really odd.
This bitch is so kay.
Single freakin’ spaced?! Fuck that, double spaced makes it easier to read and better to edit. The most I ever did in my 2 years in university was about 10 pages. It was a paper on George Bernard Shaw… YYYYYYAAAAAWWWNNN.
But that’s an English degree for ya.
I’ve heard English students say that ‘maybe they’ll be a (big-time) magazine editor after graduation’.
Yeah, most of the people in my classes were musing about how they would get these awesome writing jobs. I’m sure they’re still waiting for them.
English students are some of the worst writers I’ve seen, met, reviewed. But don’t tell them that though.
Not all English students are bad writers; indeed, it seems that only the lazy ones who pull in low B’s and C’s are bad writers. And, there are equally-as-bad or worse writers in other disciplines. A number of my English degree friends have gone on to edit for the New York Times, Random House, and The Walrus.
Like I say all the time, you get out of university what you put into it.
I still find this story hard to believe.
me too
Just curious, how many people are in your class, and how the heck is your prof ever going to have time to read all of those papers to mark? Even if he has TAs to help with marking, that’s an awful lot of reading. I think the longest paper I ever wrote in my undergrad was 24 pages, and there were only 14 people in my class. Yikes.
Shit, I still find it hard to believe myself, Yorkke and Fizz. If I could post a file I’d post my assignment 😛
There are 47 people in my class and I have no idea how he’s going to read all that stuff either. He also insisted on single spacing with no spaces in between the sections so we couldn’t slack off with the word count.
He asked us yesterday if anyone preferred test and an exam and i sure as hell put my hand up for that.
However, now I’m officially done university forever — convocation next month and my 11 year higher education journey has finally come to an end. I suppose this was a good way to end it — when I think to myself “gee, I should go get another degree” I’ll remember the horror of this assignment and snap some sense back into myself 🙂
Also: fwiw, just on the point of english degrees and writing — you learn academic writing in arts disciplines that focus on writing. If you want to go into publishing or any sort of work that requires working for the public it’s best to combine a writing degree with some studies in communications because communications will teach you how to write for the public. BAs teach you how to write academic journal articles, not magazine articles.
Some people are just good writers, some people can play basketball, some people can argue, some people can dance, etc. etc.
Some skills can be taught, but learned skills PLUS natural talent, apitude, and determination spell success.
Congratulations, Pretty Kitty!
That is an accomplishment to be proud of.
11 years??? Are you sure you’re not a doctor? Better check that diploma just in case 🙂
Oh I wish, fizz. A good friend of mine actually *is* a doctor and spent less time in school. *sigh*
I just made some bad choices academically, I suppose. 20/20 is hindsight. But, I have two.5 degrees so I suppose that’s nothing to sneeze at.
Education will never let you down, PK. It is the best investment you can make.
Everyone takes more than a few twists and turns on the path, and maybe even has a false start here or there, but the important thing is what you learn along the way.
It’s never easy, and sometimes it can take longer than you like to see the payoff, but education—knowledge, experience—is never a waste.
I’m actually moving into a new job (finally, after applying for it 6 months ago) and it asked specifically for the oddball combination of credentials that I have spent more than a few years trying to pull together. (Bizarre specialization.)
Be proud of what you have accomplished!