The Dog Ate My Disk and Other Tales of Woe - Essay Example

Contextual research paper In this article “the dog ate my disk and other tales of woe” an individual learns of various excuses that most learners give in order to find an excuse of failing to hand in assignments that were not done in time. Segal gives various examples of excuses that students give to teachers on a daily basis like “family emergency” or a kind of personal problem. "What heartless student would lie, wishing death on a revered family member, just to avoid a deadline?" (Segal, pp.1). Professor Segal explains and analyses reasons as to why learners use death and illness to evade handing in assignments. It can be noted that these excuses are always used many times that teachers no longer accept them as there before. Segal explains that many learners that plan out what to say and makes it a reason to believe in have an extension and excuse to give in assignments at a later date. "Creative students may win extra extensions with a little careful planning and full plot development” (Sega, pp.1). If a learner gives such excuses every time leads to a tendency to cook what to say and expect in case assignments are not done within allocated time. From the article, one can know himself or herself and always that he or she used excuses. I have come to think of where excuses are true and when tutors think they are lies. "A friend of mine in graduate school had a student who claimed that his roommate attacked him with a hammer…… in fact was a true story" (Segal, pp.2). If a person hears the reason why students fail to turn in assignments, it sounds funny although it is an actual occurrence. Many people always fall victims of such circumstances where something happens that makes them fail to do their assignments but it looks to be made up according to other persons. Such situations always even turn worse in learning institutions. Teachers are left with no choice but to exercise their punishment on a student whether the reason given was true or false. This article as fixed the way teachers look at students. The teachers have acquired a perception that students always lie in case they do not finish up their assignments. The reality is that students’ reasons for not doing assignments in time may be either false or true. Segal has negatively influenced teachers as they will always have the idea that students always lie when they do not complete assignments in time. This article has also humor in it as it is very sarcastic. The author talks about what she experiences with learners’ excuses and classify them as evils of dorm life, evils of technology, best friend, and tally bizarre and family excuses. It is funny as people may have used reasons she gives in the article. For instance, “There was an emergency at home, and I had to help my family.” The baseline is many students tend to extend exams, homework, or project deadlines. That is why in some institutions tutors give many unexcused absences prior to punishment. The author’s experiences shape her thinking to be on the radar of her learners as not to fool easily. It also becomes difficult for a teacher to give punishment as it is not easy to justify truth in a student’s reason for not completing an assignment. In the article, she says that some learners in her class gave white lies, which is not sensible. For instance, “She was throwing up blood”. The article has been intended to persons like professors and students. Both professors and learners can associate with the topic in this article and get a lesson from it. The author’s reason for writing the article is to illustrate the extent to which learners reach to create excuses for not completing or handing in assignments. Portraying these excuses in a manner that is humorous show that the author does not take the various excuses seriously and even goes to an extent of laughing. Humor applied in this article compliments the essay’s comical tone. In the article there is also a scornful tone. An individual can notice a comical tone in the article in the second paragraph through a rhetorical question stating "What heartless.......would dare to question a students veracity?"An obvious article’s tone, comical, is evident in the second paragraph which says that the grandmother’s death of all reasons. The author talks of a vital topic, telling lies, in the article in a light tone. She first begins the article with an image that is humorous to the reader. The example states that pinned at her office’s door is s cartoon having a cat making excuses to his teacher that his homework got eaten by the dog. The tone is evident in the throughout the article from the first paragraph. The author makes five classes for reasons she gets from learners. These classes are used to portray the many ways that students’ excuses themselves for not giving in their assignments (Glenn & Gray, pp. 28). The humour tones of professor Segal makes readers know her sarcasm although portray bizarre and creative stories that the learners actually used to evade assignments. Through sarcasm and humour, Segal stratifies the categories. The family category is always used by many students as it looks to be the easiest way to excuse oneself. Some of the used excuses include family emergency which depicts humour by saying the she knows no one that can ever help an irresponsible students in hard times. The other one is an excuse from a best friend where students use their friends as excuses. The “evils of dorm” is predictable to Segal which comprises her leaner being innocent. The evils associated to technology give learners various excuses like blaming their printers or computers for their work. The most entertaining of all excuses is the bizarre excuses that have facts although exaggerated when evading assignments. Segal’s classifying the lies does not shock her as the excuses have been used by many students for a very long time and they repeat themselves every time. Learners always have excuses for evading work or missing class but the problem with such is that a teacher is always uncertain of the truth in these excuses. This makes every teacher to have guidelines on excuses students give. The guidelines bring clarity if learners try to make excuses to extend their papers. This was Segal’s main intention for posting the cartoon reminder and in the syllabus but it failed. To Segal, the excuses continue and students whose excuses are creative grow every year. This article has a great potential in depicting on how to apply classification in writing. The entire article talks of excuses learners give to avoid deadlines of assignments. On the other hand, life is always imperfect and no one can predict the future. Learners have problems like family tragedy or technology problems as stated in the article. Teachers always find it hard to establish fairness in deciding on whether or not to accept excuses. The unfairness comes in when a learner who turns in his assignment on time scores lower compared to the ones who turn in late. Nevertheless, it is unfair for a performing student to be pardoned when in a problem. The article passes a message to learners to be rank while giving excuses. Student should abuse a teacher’s kindness. In addition, learners should take responsibility for what they do, and should be heard out if they give reasonable excuses. Segal writes this article with a strong intention. She views the excuses student give to be a habit they have conformed to for not turning in assignments. She wants the habit to come to a stop or to be reduced to some extent. Segal tries to make teachers be aware of all kinds of excuses students use. She distinguishes the excuses by grouping them. From researches that have been carried out there are excuses that are used often. Segal depicts the obvious excuses that students should not use. The article itself has both negative and positive impacts on learners and teachers. To the teacher, it creates awareness on how students use excuses to evade turning in assignments. It also helps teachers to know obvious lies. However, the article negatively impacts teachers as they are left to decide for truth in an excuse. Some excuses may sound false but in the real sense they are true. Others may also look real but have been made up. Therefore, it is up on each teacher to lay down guidelines on how to handles his assignments. To learners, the article makes them aware of common excuses that students and therefore, gives them a chance to create more convincing excuses. Learners can also take advantage from excuses that are uncertain. The only disadvantage of article to learner is that due to tough decision that teachers have to make, they may decide not to hear out any excuse but give learners more than enough time to complete assignments. The writer’s intention was not a bad idea as it tries to eliminate the vice that is evidenced in all schools today. The excuses used by student are widely spread across the globe and encourage laziness amongst students. The article, therefore eradicates this tradition by students for not turning in assignments. To stop such vices, teacher should be not tolerant to any student who does not turn in their assignments by deadline. No excuse should be heard at all. All students should go through set punishment if they do not turn in assignments in time. Alternatively, assignments can be allocated more than enough time to cover for all technicalities and excuses that may arise. If this is done, a student can have no otherwise but to take punishment in case assignments are not turned in by the set date. Good students should also be considered as per the article. Segal was right on this as there students that have a good track with assignment but at one time or another he or she fails to turn in the assignment. A teacher should investigate the reason for failing to hand in assignments as it may be genuine. For instance, in some schools some students steal other student’s assignments and present them to be their own while on the other end, one is suffering. Therefore, as this issue is dealt with all factors should be assessed before implementing any rule. The author uses humor in this article to introduce a light touch on the accused. As most readers are students and at one time such excuses have been used by them, Segal tries to pass the message in a lighter tone that no one can feel offended. With sarcasm and humor used, the reader gets attached to the essay and hence gets the information intended. This essay captures the reader’s attention as at one time he or she must have used one of the excuses. The essay by Segal has a point as it tries to show both the learner and teachers on how excuses have been used to extent assignments deadline. It warns the teacher of excuses students apply to extend deadlines and it also warns students to desist from using faked excuses to have their assignments turned in later. The essay to learning environment is important has it in some way tries to make students responsible and sharpen their creativity skills. Segal expects both learners and teachers to adhere to the information passed in the essay. As much as the essay may be funny, they should take it seriously. Works cited Laurie G. K. & Stephen R. M. Patterns for college Writing (A Rhetorical Reader and Guide), 12th Edition Cheryl Glenn, Loretta S. Gray. The Writers Harbrace Handbook, Brief Edition. 2007, Cengage Learning Segal F. C. The chronicle review. From the issue dated August 11, 2000 http://chronicle.com/weekly/v46/i49/49a06401.htm Read More