Should/how i correct my english professor? (person, narcissistic, definition)
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god you people are so dense! i emailed her confronting the situation. Guess what? being an english professor doesn't mean you have the right to butcher the language, much less require others to. It's not what you say; it's how you say it. I sent her a sweet toned email that praised her for teaching me another definition of the word and she said "good for you for looking the word up!" and ended the email with a smiley face.
Heh. I hate to break it to you, but that reply means almost exactly the opposite of what you think it means.
English Professor here. I've had students like you in class before. Here's my take, but it sounds like you've already made your decision:
The teacher is your audience for this piece of writing. Your teacher is also your evaluator for this piece of writing. The question I would ask all students to consider is this: What do you get from this exchange? Is there some pleasure in feeling correct, even if you're not certain that you are? Your prof has a reason for preferring the term "word choice" over "diction." She's probably taught this class before. She's probably answered this question before. She probably has a reason for preferring what she prefers. Your experience isn't unique or special. You are one student with a grumbly question. Your type is so common as to be a type.
Without seeing the usage in context, I can't comment on which term would be better. Diction, however, is much more broadly conceived than word choice. Diction includes elements like tone and syntax. Diction influences word choice. (Aristotle, not an internet search, should be your source for understanding diction.)
And BTW, if I sent a student an email response that said, "Good for you for looking the word up!" followed with a smiley face, it should most certainly be read as sarcasm. She was not, in fact, congratulating you for looking it up.
god you people are so dense! i emailed her confronting the situation. Guess what? being an english professor doesn't mean you have the right to butcher the language, much less require others to. It's not what you say; it's how you say it. I sent her a sweet toned email that praised her for teaching me another definition of the word and she said "good for you for looking the word up!" and ended the email with a smiley face. It's not what you say; it's how you say it. i prefer to have my say but without offending the person who has authority over me, and it can be done, unless your professor is a narcissistic ego-maniac, but i think even Trump wouldn't be offended by this situation!
She also said that i should pick another word, since the fact we are discussing the word so much means that it is prone to cause confusion, so i won't use the word "diction", but at least when i accidentally when i forget that she doesn't like the word, she would know that it isn't wrong and mark me against it.
Duuuuuuuude-She politely conceded your easily proven technical point and still told you that you are wrong in your usage. The point of a communication is not to be technically correct. It is to get your message across to the receiver. Let it goooooo...
i sure can rectify with the dean. She could be critical with my papers, sure, but if she gives me a grade that is not according to the the grades she has given me and to the percentages on the syllabus, i could provide proof to the dean.
while editing my essay, my business writing professor (emphasis is in business, as writing is not her bread and butter - quantitative analysis is) corrected my use of the word "diction". She said "i think what you mean is 'word choice'. The word 'diction' means style of enunciation in speaking or singing.", which is correct, but "diction" also means " word choice". She wants me to write a second draft, so should i tell her that she was incorrect so i can use the word "diction" in my essays in her class from now on?
Hand her this:
Diction:
noun
1.
style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words:
good diction.
2.
the accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability; enunciation.
noun
1.
style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words:
good diction.
2.
the accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability; enunciation.
You've missed out on most of the discussion. It is definition #2 that is, by far, the most common usage. Even definition #1 is not strictly about word choice, but rather how the choice of words affects the overall quality of the writing in question.
And, personally, the minute a student hands a profession a set of dictionary definitions is the minute that student's class grade magically begins to plummet like a paralyzed falcon.
This is forum on relationships. Not how to screw them up.
while editing my essay, my business writing professor (emphasis is in business, as writing is not her bread and butter - quantitative analysis is) corrected my use of the word "diction". She said "i think what you mean is 'word choice'. The word 'diction' means style of enunciation in speaking or singing.", which is correct, but "diction" also means " word choice". She wants me to write a second draft, so should i tell her that she was incorrect so i can use the word "diction" in my essays in her class from now on?
Tell her to come over and help you straighten out your "Longfellow"....if she gets it, you will know where you stand moments later. If not? Well, then maybe she shouldn't be a professor of much....
Tell her to come over and help you straighten out your "Longfellow"....if she gets it, you will know where you stand moments later. If not? Well, then maybe she shouldn't be a professor of much....
That would extend the circle of love for sure.
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