I recently finished a project at work where I looked through old Great Works response papers and found the best ones to use for examples and got rid of bad examples.
Let me just say, there were a few papers that left me wondering, "Really? This was in the pile as a good example? How did it sneak in here?"
Like this one.
[The student* is writing about Electra and about the inevitability of fate which factors into the play.]
"This point is illustrated by the grotesque murder of Clytemnestra being justified as fulfillment of a fate granted by Apollo. This reminds me of my high school days . . ."
What, wait?! Hold the phone. This reminds you of your high school days? What, are you confessing a murder to us in your Great Works paper? Did you grow up in inner-city Los Angeles? Did you kill your own mother? Do I need to call the FBI?
". . . this reminds me of my high school days where I would procrastinate assignments instead of giving in to the inevitable reality that I had to complete the assignment."
Um, no, sir. That is not a good comparison. Matricide vs. homework procrastination. Hmm. Let me think. Yep, still a no-go.
Ah, the joys of editing. You never know when you'll strike comedy gold.
*I have no idea who wrote this paper--his name wasn't on it. So if you come across this blog post and realize that it's your paper, I'm terribly sorry if I offended you.
. . . but thanks for the laugh, anyway.
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