no really - i shoulda gone to med school instead
Would it be in poor taste for me to take the two pieces of writing we did for LR&W this semester to the head of the UW legal writing department (who was also my first semester professor) and ask if she can tell me why I dropped two full letter grades from the first semester to the second?Yeah, I know that I'm the world's biggest slacker. And I know that they curved the grades across the entire class (270 people) instead of by individual sections (17-18 people), which is completely unfair for a variety of reasons that I don't feel the need to get into at this late hour.* Maybe I'm just in denial of the fact that the entire first-year class magically improved by leaps and bounds between the fall and the spring, while I regressed due to the bird flu virus that attacked my brain. Maybe I'm full of it when I tell myself that my writing on my worst day is generally better than that of most others.Or maybe I'm just trying to find a way to make a statement about the lack of guidance given to me by the political science professor that taught me LR&W. I don't care if she has a law degree, and I don't care if she was editor of the law review ten years ago, or whenever it was that she went to law school. There's a reason she's not working as a lawyer right now, and ten bucks says it's because she has no clue about what constitutes decent writing (and the fact that she was "correcting" already-proper grammar in students' papers).**I'd send my former professor a thank you note for giving me one more thing to try to justify in job interviews, but let's face it - this bottom feeder isn't getting any interviews any time this century. Unless, of course, those interviews are for positions at Target. And not legal positions - I mean cashier positions. Maybe stock crew, if I'm lucky. Regardless, though, I think most of the credit for the destruction of my faith in my intelligence, my ability to write well, my ability to survive law school, and myself in general are attributable to this woman. Rant over.*** Now back to your regularly scheduled frivolity.*But seriously - there's no justification for curving the grades across the entire class. How can one professor tell me that I'm below average when there is no departmental consensus as to what "average" should look like, and the standard that is given isn't followed by most of the professors? I realize that, in the real world, there is no "standard" for good writing - but in the real world, there isn't a statistical model that demonstrates the competence level of writing samples either. And did I mention that my professor basically graded us by checking off cases and arguments on a list rather than actually reading the papers?**I've probably done more writing for the court in two weeks of my internship than my professor has done in her entire career. ***Okay, so that was a willful exchange of misinformation. So what? I'm mad, and rightly so. Labels: legal writing class is a joke
it's better to be "done" than "good"
Or so I told myself fifteen minutes ago when I printed out my last assignment for the semester. Does it suck? Absolutely. Will I get a grade above a B? Absolutely not. Do I care? Abso...well...sort of. But it's done. And now I can worry about "studying" [cough] for exams. "This final will be completely open iPod." ~Civ Pro professor, on allowing students to listen to music to drown out the clickety-click of keyboards during the exam.Meanwhile, did anyone see "American Idol" tonight? I only saw a bit, because I have to watch the complete destruction of Luke and Lorelai's relationship on "Gilmore Girls". But I will say this:(1) Elliott is awesome, even if he does sound a bit like Clay Aiken. (And I do enjoy the Gaiken.)(2) Who let Paula Abdul off her meds? Yes, Elliott was good. Was he tear-worthy? Not so much. The only time I've ever cried listening to music was when I got to see Bruce perform "Born to Run" live, and that's because it's Bruce and one of the Five Greatest Songs Ever Written. This is "American Idol" - the show that gave us Justin Guarini for christssake. If this week is any indication as to how this season will progress, the producers better keep the horse tranquilizers on hand next week, just in case Paula loses it.Labels: fox network(s), gilmore girls, legal writing class is a joke
it's taken me a long time to get here, but i'm here
Carrie, I understand the point of Legal Research & Writing.It's to attend those ridiculous "this is how you use Lexis" research classes for complete idiots. Then, after you've wasted anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes of your life (depending on how long the crackdealers spend on their pitch...and how long you actually spend listening instead of Facebooking/blogging/e-mailing/looking at porn), you get points. And those points translate into Starbucks gift cards.Because I actually showed up to last Monday's math class lesson in how billing works, I got enough points to not only put me over the required points number for one Starbucks gift card, but two.Twice the StarCrack = Half the Crankiness. Or something like that. I'm not really sure how those proportions work (I'm a law student - I don't do math). All I know is that $20 in gift cards means free coffee for...well...a week.Labels: legal writing class is a joke, starbucks
the only reason to have a roommate
I'm currently skipping Crim class, and not for my usual "I overslept" or "I wanted to watch 'General Hospital instead" reasons. (Yes, I have been known to honestly use both of these excuses for afternoon classes.) No, I have to sit here at home and wait for the UPS guy to come drop off Bridesmaid's Dress #2: Electric Boogaloo. Apparently, they won't leave it at the door even if I leave instructions for them to do so, and I don't have anyone here to sign for it for me. And I need the dress, like, yesterday, so that I can be sure that the alterations are done before I leave for my East Coast Extravaganza in four weeks.The most shocking thing about this whole ordeal? I'm actually sitting here working on the final draft of the memo that's due tomorrow - and not putting it off until 8:30 tonight. Labels: crim pro, legal writing class is a joke, richmond
