This is a short blog, just to rant about something that has been bugging me quite a bit. Upon receiving my final paper prompt from one of my classes, the Professor decided to express his opinion on the use of citations in undergraduate work. He did not care if we did, or did not, use quotations from our reading and furthermore he did not care which citation method we used if we chose to quote. I am conditioned to use strict citation policies at UEA, and so this statement shocked me! The one statement that also bothered me was that the Professor openly spoke out that he didn't think it was necessary for undergraduates to use formal citations in essays as that was only required of post-graduates or PHD students who were writing to publishing standards. Well where do these post graduate students hail from? Where do they learn to formally cite references? I thought university was about preparing a student for a masters degree if they wished to pursue it? At UEA I feel that the staff mark our work to the standard of work published in journals as that should be our aspiration should it not? This is yet another illustration of how I believe the academic work in the U.S. is sometimes seen as an extension of high school rather than a whole other level of academics. I want to iterate that I am not trying to offend the students in this system; this is one class and one professor, not the shared belief of the university. I was just stunned by the opposition to a system that leads to professional standards of work that I believe every student should be given the opportunity to reach for.
On a lighter note, due to my intolerance to certain spirits on Friday I found myself to be undeniably unconscious whilst taco bell was gloriously shared around the house by a very generous person. I also missed out on epic times on the roof which only makes the situation even more upsetting. Why do you evade me Taco Bell? I have only had a taste of your horrifyingly calorific produce and yet it was as though my tastebuds had melted with pleasure. Please do not continue to hide from me and bless me with your delightful taco goodness once more!
Have a great day
Sarah
The juxtapositions involved in this post exploded my mind. I agree with your first argument about college being a mere extension of the bullshit of high school. Taco Bell, on the other hand...just stay away.
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