Academic Stuff!
Hey look, using my blog for useful commentary on the American college system!
I got my first two essays back recently. They do things differently here. You get given pretty much free reign on what to write about, which is a mixed blessing I reckon. It means you can pick and choose according to what reading you have actually done, but means you also have to come up with a thesis, and they don't actually explain how to do this, and criticise you for it. The comments on both my essays read more like proof-reading notes than actual criticism of the essay. I am writing in exactly the same style as I do in England, yet it appears incomprehensible to an American reader. Am I writing at a much higher level in England? We were given no guides to essay style when we got here. The comments on both my essays suggest major flaws in my style, argument and presentation, yet both have given me Bs. This makes me more worried for the state of American graduates than anything else. These are senior level classes, and they give Bs to people who clearly have no idea what they are doing? Fantastic!