To the anonymous Simon Fraser University English 205 student who complained about my sister’s marking on RateMyProfessors.com: deal with it. If you got lousy marks from her, it’s because your essays were that lousy. You’re writing three thousand words in order to make a compelling argument, not just to fill a quota. You learned how to write five paragraph essays in English 12 for a reason. Did your paragraphs have an identifiable topic sentence? Were they at all related to the essay question? Did you have a semblance of an original thought in your head in response to that question before you started vomiting words onto the page? Did you even attempt to demonstrate that you did the course reading?
Or did you think that an essay without spelling errors was guaranteed to get you a B? Welcome to university. Swallow your pride and find my sister during her office hours and get some pointers on how to write, because you certainly didn’t learn how to do so in high school. Can’t understand her because you think she talks too fast? Then ask for remedial assistance elsewhere. Consider yourself a “very experienced English student”? Get over yourself: you’re taking a second year English course. Be glad I wasn’t your marker. And believe me, just because I’m a lowly CS grad doesn’t mean I’m not qualified to judge. Readers of your writing don’t need an English degree to see just how far below the bell curve you fell.
