I really enjoyed the "Writing into the Day" on January 23, where we responded to the Calvin and Hobbes comic. The way Calvin uses jargon to effect seems to me to be the point and punchline here, albeit a sad one. The reality is that a lot of really bad writers are never identified as such because they camouflage bad ideas and theories beneath the cover of advanced vocabulary and stuffy academic concepts. Fancy words can only go so far to cover up a poorly supported argument, yet it isn't always easy to distinguish the academic treasure from the trash. I think it's better that we teach students to develop a strong writing voice and flesh out their argument clearly and concisely, rather than trying to redeem a BS paper by dusting it liberally with SAT-caliber vocabulary. I love reading and I love to learn and use new words, but I think few things make you seem like a bigger idiot than when you misuse a fancy term in print.
Also, I kept reading past the part Megan asked us to read in "My 54 Year Old Love Affair with the SAT" and developing vocabulary is mentioned at length towards the end of the piece. Stanley Kaplan goes on about how to make words "yours" and I feel that his method for developing your word power is sound. Though I must say I used to do a lot of really verbose writing while I was studying for the SAT and I am definitely guilty of using jargon a bit in my more immature moments. Truth is, some teachers gave more credit for a good word choice than a good thesis, but luckily I had better teachers later on. Thankfully, they saw fit to show me that the real use of words is to give life to my ideas. Guess those English teachers were the Hobbes to my Calvin after all...
My vocabulary is not the largest by far but I still feel it is more developed then many of my peers. I will say words all the time when I am talking and people will ask me what they mean. I think vocabulary is important to writing and speech if you use it correctly. I agree when you say people try to cover up their own writing skills with big words. I am guilty of this sometimes. If people can combine the two it can end up as a masterpiece, such as Shakespeare. I would like to learn how to do this effectively.
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