Question

Say, I use a new word in my essay. And the teacher, an old lady, marked it as wrong. Am I really wrong?

Answer 1

What is the word and how did you use it?

Answer 2

Well, it didn't really happen. I was mulling over the what-ifs since, you know, exams coming and all. Paranoid, yeah.

Answer 3

Don't fret over it. Just spend a little time on studying per day and you'll do fine.

Answer 4

Well, what is the word and in what context are you thinking about using it? We'll tell you if you would be wrong or not. Quit being elusive. :)

Answer 5

I guess it depends. There's nothing wrong with using a new word, but at the same time, you don't want to force it into something where it makes little sense to your audience or in the context of what is being said.

Words are like tools - use only the best ones for the job. Don't do it if you're only doing it to make an essay sound "smart" or impress a teacher. You can always use a different word if you feel that concerned about it, or try and work it out with the teacher beforehand if you're unsure as to what context it should be used in. You've got options. Good luck!

Answer 6

Good point Captain.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge put it this way:
"Words in prose ought to express the intended meaning; if they attract attention to themselves, it is a fault; in the very best styles you read page after page without noticing the medium.
Works of imagination should be written in very plain language; the more purely imaginative they are, the more necessary it is to be plain."