Absolutely, Carol. This is an issue of formality or linguistic register. Interjections carry more weight when with friends; I think it is Deborah Tannen who says that interjections have a primarily social function, expressing more of a shared, group feeling/affirmation. When used in isolation, especially in formal writing, it comes off as assumptive and self-centered. Why assume that the reader will be able to partake in the emotive force of the interjection? More importantly, why assume that the reader agrees with you? Without that agreement, interjections are useless in my opinion; other forms are necessary to make a point accessible to all readers.

John

On Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 8:12 PM, Carol Morrison <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Somewhat related to but not quite in the same vein of Scott's "Bad English" thread, is the questionable use of interjections in academic writing. Is it safe to tell students that interjections are typically not found in academic or formal writing? I have a student who had a continuous string of interjections in his response paper he wrote to one of the essays in the text on marriage. "Yikes!"  "Not this guy!" "Wow!" were some of the responses he would write following a summary of what the author stated. He also began many of his sentences with "Yes, I agree that..." or "No thanks,..." How can I explain that this is not an appropriate style for a college essay? On the informal to formal scale I explained in class, this is what I would consider too informal. Do you agree?
 
Thanks.
 
Carol
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