We all have that one TF… No, not the TF you’re secretly lusting over. The one that will never explicitly call you out for skipping readings, but continues to stare you down in section. It’s the same one who’s been writing snarky comments in menacing red ink (or passive-aggressive purple) on every response paper. In honor of mean marginalia, FM collected some of the worst—or best, depending on how you look at it—TF comments that have been penned this semester.
TF: “This compare/contrast doesn’t necessarily suggest that you’ve read the text. Check− ”
Classic—getting the worst grade of the semester on the first book you’ve cracked open.
Student: “In Descartes’s Third Mediation, the philosopher purports to prove the existence of the divine being he calls God.”
TF: As opposed to the divine being he calls Snoopy?
Pretty much. Doesn’t everyone worship the Peanuts?
Student: “Central to Descartes’s belief in God is his understanding thereof…”
TF: What’s with all the ‘thereof’s? {Might be a sign you could write sentences another way around? – it’s the 21st century}
I dream of a world where students can produce acceptable grammar at 3 a.m. and not have their word choice questioned.
In response to what the writer thought was maybe not a cunningly crafted masterpiece comparable to the works of Emerson & Thoreau, but probably an o.k. essay:
"Not a good paper."
You are the weakest link. Goodbye.
TF, clearly in a state of profound confusion:
“I am getting lost now, [Name]. Where are we in your argument?”
Page 3.
