----- Original Message ----- 

From: MAX MORENBERG <[log in to unmask]>

To: <[log in to unmask]>

Sent: Sunday, May 28, 2000 5:02 AM

Subject: Re: Horrors before a long weekend.





> Like William McCleary and David Neyhart, I suspect there's been some

> mistranslation on the student's part.  The advanced comp teacher could have

> been railing against the overuse of "of" phrases in, for instance, academic

> and business writing.  And he/she also could have pointed out that such

> writing often misuses passives and that writers should be careful about

> both-cludgy, overnominalized sentences and weak passives.  It wouldn't take

> much for a student to confuse the issues.

> 

> A colleague, who was in the middle of  a lit crit article, the other day

> stopped me in the hall and said in desperation, "there should be a law

> against more than two 'of' phrases in any sentence."  Anyone who reads

> academic prose should sympathize with that statement.

> 

> I'd give your student's advanced comp teacher the benefit of the doubt.

> The only way you'll find out what the professor really said is to ask

> him/her.  Max

> 

> Max Morenberg

> English Department

> Miami University

> Oxford, OH 45056