Thursday, December 20, 2007

Really bad writing

From Dan Drezner's blog, a roundup of howlers being read in student essays of late. A few of my favorites:

"…it showed how long people were willing to fight for their belief and freedom. Nine years is a very long time for a war. Especially since it was the French and Indians fighting, two of the most savage peoples of that era.”

"Russia stayed out of the First World War because Stalin was in Africa fighting."

"The United States used carrot sticks to encourage the military leaders of Haiti to back down during this crisis."

Read the whole selection here! Of course, faculty are themselves masters of prose.