quote:I think Tres as somewhat of a point though, in that the completeness of the complete paper can be achieved in less space if it is properly written.
That's certainly true. But it doesn't support his contention that what I said is "not true" as he claimed it did.
quote:You are simply arguing that a tortoise doesn't beat a hair when they are both paying attention, but in reality, one of them might not be as intelligent as the other.
Actually, I'm arguing that the argument Tres is making is often misused to claim completeness when completeness is not present.
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quote: In my experience, professors rarely base their minimum page length requirements on anything so reasonable as that. Usually the logic behind it seems to be more along the lines of "A student at your level should be able to write a paper X pages long." Either that or the professors I've had don't really know how short a good paper can be - because I've added fluff to papers before to meet page requirements (and received A's on them) when I know I could have said the same thing in a more concise form.
That is merely an example of poor teaching, as I think Dag pointed out.
The idea that the professor thinks it takes a certain level of ability to write more is also either the sign of an idiotic professor, or is simply not true. Tres, you like to claim that you can write more in a more concise form, but I have argued here that if your style is so superior, it should make for a better paper altogether, even if it is longer than you would like.
The fact that you "add fluff" tells me that you don't really know how to write well, or else you don't care enough to re-examine the depth of your focus on a subject and adjust it to the appropriate scale for the assignment. Your contention is most convenient of all, that your words count more because you can use them more effectively. If this is the case though, you should, like anyone, be able to set a scale for yourself that tells who what to include in a 10 page paper.
Keep in mind that your contention that your words are just too good for a longer paper, or that your writing is going to count more than the same length from someone else, is not a part of my point. This will only making your writing BETTER, and the overall product more complete, but my point is that this is the stuff of superior papers. They don't say the SAME thing in less pages, they say MORE in the same number of pages. Or they might even say MUCH more, in even more pages.
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