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	gaisce 2004-07-31 09:16 am UTC (link)
	"I've never been proud of anything I've written...I am a great writer. I have never gotten less than a B on a paper." Maybe she sucks at writing because she can't even stay consistent enough in her own comments to properly write a thesis. (Reply to this)

	pokecheck 2004-07-31 09:16 am UTC (link)
	Thank you for making the tears flow. I cry. Oh, how I cry. Because, you know, people hire English majors every day due to their ability to read. "Gee, thanks! I couldn't have managed that toaster manual without you and your phat reading skillz!" And people wonder why the undergraduate degree has depreciated over the years. (Reply to this)

	nevadafighter 2004-07-31 10:25 am UTC (link)
	Dear freaking God. FIVE PAGE PAPERS ARE NOTHING, DUMBASS!!! Try three twenty-pagers in one semester. She'll pop like a tick. *goes off, growling about damn kids* (Reply to this)(Thread)

Bitch, Please beccastareyes 2004-07-31 02:37 pm UTC (link)

I know.. I've written five page papers for Physics and Math classes. Okay, so some of that is diagrams and graphs, but it was still five pages wihtout them. Hell, and I'm not a major and I once turned ina 20 page fiction piece to a college class, plus an 8 page paper for a class on Shakespeare. And a 10 page paper for high school English. I've known Enlgihs teachers to require longer-than-5-page papers of classes for nonmajors. Good grief. Like saying "I want to get my BS in physics, but I don't want to do any calculus. Can you help?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Bitch, Please alpheratz 2004-07-31 06:28 pm UTC (link)
	I've known Enlgihs teachers to require longer-than-5-page papers of classes for nonmajors. Oh, word. In my university all undergraduates have to take a writing class where everyone wrote four 8 to 10 page papers. In conclusion: bitch, please. *wanders off to finish a three-pager on Confucianism* (Reply to this)(Parent)

	bubosquared 2004-07-31 09:31 pm UTC (link)
	I wrote a five-page essay for a class that was ... I think the equivalent of Home ec in terms of importance, in my last year of secondary scool. And a 35-page (25-page minimum) essay/paper for history in fifth year of secondary school. WTF is she shinging about, anyway? (Reply to this)(Parent)

	ladylisse 2004-07-31 02:57 pm UTC (link)
	Gyargh. No kidding. I'm not even an English major (history, yo) and I still wrote almost ninety pages last semester. This coming semester it'll probably top one-twenty, because it's thesis time! *gets out beatin' spork* (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

thewashinator 2004-08-07 02:31 am UTC (link)

When I turned in the rough draft of my thesis for my History BA, my professor gave me a profoundly dirty look because it was *gasp* *shock* only forty-five pages! Properly cowed, I returned to my cave, I mean room, and added another thirty, at which point I was informed, "eh, you could have done more, and I really shouldn't accept this, but I guess this will do". Again, FOR MY BA. I truly shudder to envision what a masters or phd program would have looked like under this man. In high school, five pages was the standard length for English papers. In my BA program, I'd say the standard was somewhere between ten and twenty, depending on level/subject/teacher, that sort of thing. If you're going to a liberal arts school, you're not going to get out without writing a whole lotta papers. Even the engineers and bio-chem people at my school had to take the freshman seminar, where everyone wrote one 7 page paper a week for the entire semester. Didn't kill any of them, and later on in our collegiate careers, several mentioned how much the disciplined writing had helped them in their ostensibly English-lite majors. (Reply to this)(Parent)

muzivitch 2004-07-31 03:48 pm UTC (link)

Exactly. I mean, hell, I only took one English class in my time in college (and it was very much a non-English major class. I don't think I wrote anything longer than five pages in there) but I was a history minor, and I never wrote a paper less than ten pages for any history class. And while I only wrote one paper for Economics, it was thirty pages. You can't get a degree in the liberal arts or the social sciences without writing a lot. Any psychology or sociology majors correct me if I'm wrong. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

nevadafighter 2004-07-31 07:42 pm UTC (link)

Lower level classes, like 1- and 200 level classes usually have papers of less than ten pages. Not always, but usually. Once you get to the 3- and 400 level classes that you have to take to get a BA, you'll be writing 10-15 page papers. Standard. What gets me is this chick has the NERVE to get offended when people respond to her DUMB question. I mean really—if she's that stupid she shouldn't be in college in the first place. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

limyaael 2004-08-01 01:49 am UTC (link)

I teach freshman English at my university (101 and 102), and we just changed from a system where the longest length for a paper was five pages to one where the students have to produce a 10-page final paper, heavy on the research. They also have to write three five-page papers in the same semester, not to mention do reading and do brainstorming and produce drafts. Even if she's in a college that has less than five-pagers in the lower levels, they can always change their requirements. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nevadafighter 2004-08-01 02:45 am UTC (link)
	I'm going to be assisting this fall and teaching my own freshman comp class in the spring, and 5-6 page papers are the usual, plus a portfolio at the end of the semester with revised essays. I didn't get into the heavy research papers until later, but if this girl thinks she can get a degree without ever encountering a paper longer than five pages is fooling herself. (Reply to this)(Parent)

quinctia 2004-07-31 04:36 pm UTC (link)

Five (or more) pages in a science paper are hell though. Just because of the citations, and then making sure your 8,000 pages of charts, tables, and graphs are marked properly. I was a Biology major who avoided English classes like the plague (I love to read and write; hate being forced to), and I've rarely had a paper for any class that wasn't a five page minimum. Maybe like reading reflection assignments in an education class, or a paper I had to do for a psych class with 300 people in it. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	bunny 2004-07-31 01:56 pm UTC (link)
	Use lube. That's no fun. Lube is for wusses. (Reply to this)

	limyaael 2004-07-31 04:58 pm UTC (link)
	Whiner. I'm currently pursuing a Ph.D. in English, but due to the very weird way my department is set up, the last three classes I took were all allied with other departments (Geography, Environmental Science, and Women's Studies). So I was reading about Walter Benjamin, environmentalist literature, and feminist theory. I still wrote 25 pages in every class. Whiner. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	nevadafighter 2004-07-31 07:44 pm UTC (link)
	I'm a master's student in English and had no papers shorter than 15 pages last semester. Five pages is nothing. Thank God she said somewhere in that thread that she's not planning on grad school. >.< (Reply to this)(Parent)

janegraddell 2004-07-31 07:24 pm UTC (link)

Wow. I can understand not being passionately devoted to a BA major, especially if one doesn't have a vocation in mind, but posting about one's apathy for said major to a group of people who *do* care about it...not so bright. I do have to say, though, that lots of reputable institutions don't have a thesis requirement for a BA. Just sayin'. In my upper-level undergrad classes, and in most of my grad school classes, the usual paper length was 8-10 pages, because that was the standard length for a conference paper. If one's heading into academia, that's a very good length to be experienced in writing. Some of the assignments were longer, of course, 20-30 pages, but none were shorter than 8-10. Probably a good thing she's not going to pursue her English degree any further. (Reply to this)(Thread)

(Reply from suspended user)

	dunc 2004-07-31 09:21 pm UTC (link)
	Hell, I was a Fine Arts major and I had to write several papers with more than 5 pages. Whiner. (Reply to this)

	red_eft 2004-07-31 10:59 pm UTC (link)
	Bah. I had to write 10-20 page papers in high school. In class! Barefoot and in the snow! *shakes stick* children these days... -red eft (Reply to this)(Thread)

	(Anonymous) 2004-08-04 02:49 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, seriously. I wound up doing a twelve-pager sophomore year, fourteen pages in a week for government, and sixteen pages (not including abstract) for my IB diploma senior year. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	(Anonymous) 2004-08-07 12:53 pm UTC (link)
	I'm probably masochistic, but I wish I went to your high school. (Reply to this)(Parent)

criticalcricket 2004-07-31 11:23 pm UTC (link)

I don't care what grades you get on papers, that in no way reflects writing talent. I work in a Writing Center. People come in with papers sobbing because in High School they made straight As on their compositions and then the professor tore it to shreds with their red pen of doom. I see students who say "At my last college they told me I didn't need writing courses!" and then they show me their third grade quality book report. Teachers vary. Some are good, and then there are people like her, who move on to be teachers give out grades like that to shitty work. It's one of those great cycles and it just never ends. She whines about 3 page papers? That's grade school material there. She must be going to the Pittsville Community College or something. 3 Pages eh? I write three page essays for fun! Heck people over here on Fandom_Wank write hundreds of pages of comments in fine essay form, for fun! What does that say about us? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	ladysorka 2004-08-01 12:28 am UTC (link)
	This is the part where I randomly went and checked out your userinfo, because I grew up 15 miles from a town named "Pittsville". Though I doubt they had a community college, as they had a population of about 860. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kijikun 2004-08-01 12:34 am UTC (link)
	There are time when 3 page papers are quite acceptable for college students. In class essays for one. Community college does not equally crappy eduction. You can find idiots in ivy leagueschools. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	beccastareyes 2004-08-01 04:07 am UTC (link)
	True. I am friends with an English teacher in a community college, and she makes her students do 5-10 page research papers. Okay, one paper like that, but still. (Reply to this)(Parent)

criticalcricket 2004-08-01 04:46 am UTC (link)

Of course, class essays and other small projects get three pages or less no problem, but someone who expects to get a degree in English with less than three pages of writing makes me question the quality of their education. Idiots are everywhere, sad but true. No matter what their little degree says. You can get geniuses out of community college and presidential dunces out of ivy leagues. How that happens, well go ask the tootsie pop owl. :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

kijikun 2004-08-01 12:29 am UTC (link)

If she doesn't want to write over 5 page papers' she definitelyy needs a new major. Not to mention find a better place to vent. However there are times when teachers will assign 2 to three page papers. Like in class essays that are part of tests. Or timed essays. And you also have to factor in the 'line spacing' is it a 20 page paper double spaced with font at 12. Or 5 pages single spaced with font at 10? Plus what is the nature of the paper? Is it part of a bigger presentation? How much time does one have to do the paper? (Reply to this)(Thread)

pokecheck 2004-08-01 08:28 am UTC (link)

Plus what is the nature of the paper? Is it part of a bigger presentation? How much time does one have to do the paper? Totally. Getting through a Liberal Arts program without writing more than five pages really makes me wonder about the variety of projects assigned. Er. Then again, my 15-page French paper has been more or less repressed from memory. The horreur, quel horreur. (That's probably not even correct.) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sarajayechan 2004-08-01 01:10 am UTC (link)
	"Baleeted". That still makes me laugh. hard XD ... *stops being offtopic* (Reply to this)

	blackjackrocket 2004-08-01 04:34 am UTC (link)
	Personally, I've never seen the need for 20+ page requirements. If you can say what you need to, why make it any longer? The only reason I got through high school English was by perfecting the fine art of bullshitting. That's how I made a page and a half stretch to five pages. (Reply to this)(Thread)

littlest_lurker 2004-08-01 04:50 am UTC (link)

Well, some people need to have page requirements, as I found out in honors and AP English. Teacher:...and that's the assignment. Any questions? Student: How many pages do we need to write? Teacher: Oh, as many as you feel you need. Student: in a more anxious voice Yes, but...um, how many pages do *you* want? Me: Finishes doodling and goes on to write the paper the night before it's due. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	blackjackrocket 2004-08-01 04:52 am UTC (link)
	Dude, I would have *loved* to have had a teacher tell me 'as many as you feel you need'. I would have ticked off the succinct paragraphs and handed it in. Actually, I *did* that once, and got an A. But that was when we had to write the essay in class. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	phosfate 2004-08-02 02:56 pm UTC (link)
	You have to write it the night before it's due! That way it stays minty fresh until grading! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kijikun 2004-08-01 05:03 am UTC (link)
	That is the way many of my history teachers feel. If we can't tell them about 3 reasons with 8 examples of factors that led to the french revoultion in less than 3 to 4 pages ,having been allowed to prepare for the essay but having to write it in class, we are using to many words. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	pokecheck 2004-08-01 08:16 am UTC (link)
	Well, bully for you. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	oysteria 2004-08-03 05:50 am UTC (link)
	I think the idea is that sometimes, you're expected to have enough to say that it can't be condensed to a page and a half. And if you don't have that much to say, find a class where you will. If you can't find any classes that interesting, it's time to drop out. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	ymfaery 2004-08-01 05:37 am UTC (link)
	... Wow, I really need to pay attention to that community more often. (Reply to this)

	pokecheck 2004-08-01 08:13 am UTC (link)
	Can I be sad that she has an Audrey Tatou icon. *is sad* (Reply to this)

	big_bad_wolf 2004-08-01 02:09 pm UTC (link)
	ARGH. I feel violent. I feel I should hit this girl over the head with the appendices to my BA final project. all 230 pages of them. (Reply to this)

	(Anonymous) 2004-08-01 02:39 pm UTC (link)
	In my final year of my English Literature undergraduate degree I produced six ten page essays, four twenty minute presentations (complete with handouts), six two hour exams and a nine thousand (fifty page) dissertation. I think it's fairly obvious that you can't get a BA without writing more than five pages. Unless you mug a graduate, of course. (Reply to this)

	visp 2004-08-02 02:59 am UTC (link)
	5 pages? You can't go to High School without writing 5 pages. Stupid bint. (Reply to this)

beandelphiki 2004-08-03 06:02 pm UTC (link)

I feel sad viewing the people who claim you can't get through high school without writing five pages. Why didn't I go to your high school? The best essay I think I ever wrote in high school was for a social studies class, and it was a ten-pager. I wasn't just spitting back out what the textbook said (that would have been a much shorter essay), so I was quite proud of it. I got a zero because it was "too long." I'd been away with the chicken pox when this essay was assigned, and the teacher wasn't clear enough when she assigned my topic; it was only supposed to be five PARAGRAPHS. Count 'em, FIVE paragraphs exactly. Some kids who wrote more than five got their papers torn off below the first five. She didn't even read more than the first few sentences of mine, according to her comment. All I'm saying, really, is that I really want to slap this person. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	vadalia 2004-08-06 12:42 pm UTC (link)
	Ah... I feel your pain. I went from a very good, challenging school to one where half the kids in World Lit. didn't even bother to turn in an assignment that was 5 pages minimum because "it's too much work" (Reply to this)(Parent)

	(Anonymous) 2004-08-07 12:59 pm UTC (link)
	That's the same way my school is. -_- Even in all AP classes, there's no challenge. And people complain about stupid teenagers? Beh. (Reply to this)(Parent)