A Note from the English Professor

                While your essay meets my requirements of 500 words and stays with the topic though out the essay, you have received a D for the lack of interest and depth your paper so desperately needs. Your arguments are not bad ones, but yet they are the obvious ones. Yes, college football can be for the players. Yes, it is at times too commercial. But are there not any other problems? Writing from a different angle, I think you’ll find, will not only be more enjoyable to write, but much more enjoyable to read. Take, for example, magazine articles. You pick up a magazine and flip instantly to the story you find most interesting, yes? Imagine if every front cover looked the same, though. How many stories do you think you would find interesting, then? The same goes for your student essay. You want to stand out in your paper, especially when every student is writing about the same topic, and most likely using the same obvious arguments that you are.  

                Now, once you find an interesting topic, you must work on your delivery. A topic can only seem so interesting if you make it sound so. Generalities and colorless words can actually harm your attempts at writing a good essay. While you don’t want to use lots of four-lettered or simple words, you also need to be aware of padding. Adding a few extra words to meet the goal length of an essay is understandable, but make sure that the added words add to the quality of your paper.

Lastly, you should be careful about how you voice your opinion. There is a difference between stating your opinion, and working it into your essay. Instead of “in my opinion” or “here is why I agree”, you should present strong support for your opinion and try to persuade the reader that way. People don’t like to be told what to think; they like to think for themselves.