Joking in Essays, Tests.

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I always get mischievous when doing an essay or exam and put in a little joke somewhere. Unless the lecturer is a complete nut. Like today for example I wrote "Adam Smith is the Godfather of economics, which leaves the door open for collaboration with George Clinton or James Brown, other well known godfathers of funk and soul respectively."

I couldnt resist. Do you do this sort of thing?

― Ronan, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I wrote an entire RE exam in white pen.

― Graham, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

heh, in my finals (Practical Criticism) we had to do a crit on various versions of the "Ozymandias" myth/poem, and my sign off line was something like "as far as posterity is concerned, Ozymandias didn't have a leg to stand on." o hohoho, we English Students are a rum bunch, eh?

― katie, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I never had the courage to do so but my friend answered the GCSE Science question "What is a solder used for?" with the answer "They fight in wars".

― Jonnie, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

From the other side of the fence I'd say that the inadvertent mistakes provide more than adequate hilarity.

― Ellie, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Grrr, I had a boyfriend who insisted on sharing his immense wit with examiners in this way and would emerge from exams and regale me for literally hours with tales of how hilarious he had been. The most annoying thing is he got a first at the end of all this. Tosser.

― Emma, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I feel you're keeping something from us, Emma. Why don't you dig deep and tell us how you really felt? ;-)

― Will, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

yes, I do. Cant help it. In phil we get to write subject headers so even when I have to clean up my actual text of snarkiness or too much mockery I get to keep them entertaining.

― Menelaus Darcy, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I made a joke in a history mini-essay in my first year of secondary school. It might have been my first ever bit of homework, actually. It got underlined in red and I never made a joke again.

― Nick, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I love how markers will put a red "?" next to attempts at humor in essays. It just speaks volumes.

― Tim, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I took GCSE drama and remember once having to do a poster for a production of, er, Journey's End I think (that r.c. sheriff (?) trenches play). Since these things always have big press quotes plastered all over them, I put in a quote by one 'A. C. Ritic' and got accused of being facetious. Bah.
In a not too dissimilar vein, during a week or so of A-level history, we took it in turns to try and get bizarre subjects into discussion, the longer the digression by the teacher the better. I managed to get him to waste 5-10 minutes over venezuelan morris dancers, I think. the laffs.

― Bill, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I love how markers will put a red "?" next to attempts at humor in essays. It just speaks volumes.

I think that's how my writing got so bad, I had to be so serious and humorless in all of the essays and papers I wrote that the humor and creativity kind of got pummeled out.

― Nicole, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

In a DT exam paper, there was a picture of a small boy with a mechanical digger, digging up some earth. Being quite bored, and having done all I could on the paper I captioned it with the words 'Fred West as a young boy'. Looking back, this was crass, unacceptable and stupid. My teachers thought so too, and words were had. In response to the 'Why is aluminium unsuitable for children's playgrounds?' I wrote 'because it tend to attack and devour children'. Again, crass and stupid. No more jokes for me. I couldn't understand why they didn't find it funny. Now, even I don't find it funny.

― alix, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I made up pynchon style "rocket limmericks" for my electrical engineering exams. I also made "in-jokes" which I found hilarious but which the examiner would pass over without comment. Also, one or two inspired puns made their way in. In papers rather than exams, I always kept a light and spry tone. Sometimes that got me in trouble, but only with asshole professors who I could give a damn about anyway.

― Sterling Clover, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Alix, far from being crass and stupid, your aluminium answer is the best joke I have read all week. And I've been reading 1001 Jokes For Kids Of All Ages so that's a serious accolade. The Fred West one has a charm all of its own, too. Your teachers were morons.

― Nick, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I assume I got away with jokes in mine, but I can't recall. I can't remember much of my academic writing at all, which is likely for the good.

Favorite moment of critique: a professor writing in large block capitals "I CANNOT PARSE THIS SENTENCE." Neither could I, likely enough.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

going the other way, i was amused by an optional essay title "Compare and contrast the notions of time and space", which was about as much humour as examiners can display.

― Alan Trewartha, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"In a sufficently complex exam some answers can neither be proven true or false unless the exam itself is inconsitent." or something tot hat effect

I failed, it was Linear Algebra not logic.

― Mr Noodles, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

possibly one of the most enjoyable parts of my accademic career? like sterling my general tone was supposed to be quite lighthearted and humerous. although i can't remember most of the horrendous puns involved, they were a massive part of both exam and coursework.

was this to the detriment of my grades?

well it seems not. i'm an archaeologist you see, and the people who write the textbooks and mark the papers fill their publications with similar, or in many cases worse material. got a 2.1 in the end, so humour in accademic work = classic. (take it to the bridge ronan).

― another james, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

On an anthropology exam I came across a name that I had no clue about and put "starting shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers." A bad, bad idea.

― bnw, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm never funny in essays. Too bored and uptight about grades. The closest I came was a couple of months ago in an essay comparing a painting by Durand and a poem by...some poet or other. I let myself get silly and wrote almost half the essay about God (the closest there was to anything religious in either piece was the sky, which is necessary in a landscape painting after all, so I was nervous handing it in) and the teacher took me completely seriously.

― Maria, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

On my flxous paper i wrote millions of art history students blame yoko for breaking up the floxous. i wrote whole essyas on shit and piss in art. i think those are the two miost egregious examples.

― anthonyeaston, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

without time how can we define space?

― Paul Barclay, Thursday, 6 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think that some of the answers in my law school and bar exams were probably funny. Though not intentionally ... ergo, no Law Review.

― Tadeusz Suchodolski, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i'm more inclined to include HILARIOUS figures of rocket cars or robot bartenders.

― Paul Barclay, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

In all my exams, I've said the direct opposite to what I thought! In order to get better marks! That's quite funny, eh?

― maryann, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think sometimes the problem is that the jokes you think of in exams are actually pretty poor (your example Ronan is unfortunately a good example - now if yoy went on to compare a follower of Smith to Michael Corleone - you might have been on the money).

I once started an essay on Principia Mathematica: '"What's it all about, Alfie?" was almost definately uttered Sixties years before Cilla Black had a hit with theme to to popular Michael Caine movie. However in this case it was uttered by Bertrand Russell, and the subject was not the intricate complexities of relationships but instead the formalisation of mathematics into a single, logical foundation. However like the Liverpudlian chantuse - both Russell and Whitehead were not to find a satisfactory answer to their question.'

When I worked for the London Exam Board we once got a fantastic exam paper in Politcs & Governement which somone compared Churchill's wartime record with that of Sir Alex Fergusson. It showed a very deep understanding of Churchill so the examiner passed it - despite its idiosyncracy. The comment at the end said it would be a crime to make someone that bored to do resits.

― Pete, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The closest I came to this is writing "a day that will live in infamy" next to the date on a college English test. The date, coincidently, was Dec 7 (Pearl Harbor day, for the non-Yanks).

― nickn, Friday, 7 December 2001 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

two months pass...

what i do to get A's is a very sly, yet successful way. I try to chat up the examiner by writing love poems and sex positions on the paper. Unluckily, one of the teachers who marked it was a man. Not the homosexual type, he gave me a D

― spaztik who needs a joke, Sunday, 17 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

did you smack him in the face with an eraser, chase him with a stapler, and staple his nuts to a stack of papers?

― ethan, Sunday, 17 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Q: What is courage?

A: This is.

― Prude, Sunday, 17 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I used to do fairly slick 'covers' for the papers I submitted, where I would (f'rinstance) photocopy a very unflattering caricature of Mrs. Thatcher hunkered down like a vagrant with a bottle of MD 20/20. The tutor who received these papers liked this a lot. I would also do mixed tapes for another tutor to listen to while she read my literature essays.

People can always get away with jokes in their papers if it is relevant to the work. If not, teachers know a bullshitter or wordcount beefer when they see one. And if you're considering journalism, rest assured that if you've made a joke in the article and you really think it's amusing, without even being privy to this information, your editor will snip it out. It's a homing instinct we have. You could have other jokes in the piece but we always go for the one that makes you feel *really* chuffed.

― suzy, Monday, 18 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one month passes...

In a Philosophy entrance exam for university the question of the essay was "WHY?" As everyone around me was furiously scribbling, in answer to this question I simply put, "WHY NOT?" and walked out.

― Jon D, Wednesday, 20 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Wow, you're the one who created that urban legend which has been circulating for sixty years now! I'd shake your hand, but in your weakened state I might break some bones.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 20 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yes, but did you pass the exam? And what kind of pension do you have now?

― Ally C, Wednesday, 20 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I have just thought of a terrific performance art project: acting out all these urban myths so they become real. It would be multi-layered, and fun!

― N., Thursday, 21 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Seeing Jon D's post earlier reminds me of Aki Riihilati's website (which is cool). He invites his fans to send him questions and one of the questions was "Is this a question?" His response was "I don't care, this is an answer." Not many footballers would do that I suspect.

― Jonnie, Thursday, 21 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Okay! I will!

― Sarah, Thursday, 21 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-three years ago)

one year passes...

is it ok to write 'no less than T! S! Eliot! has said...'?

― cozen (Cozen), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 15:25 (twenty-one years ago)

yes. or TS Eliot, anagram toilets, has said..

― pete s, Wednesday, 3 March 2004 16:03 (twenty-one years ago)

In high school my friend would have fun by sneaking in moronic statements when he suspected that the teacher wouldnt even read the paper. My favorite was "Like Lenin said, 'Communism is good'." This was in a paper on rap music or something. The teacher either didnt notice, or just didnt feel like bringing it up.

― Elliot (Elliot), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 20:55 (twenty-one years ago)

that fred west stuff is classic.

― dean! (deangulberry), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 21:05 (twenty-one years ago)

I think that's how my writing got so bad, I had to be so serious and humorless in all of the essays and papers I wrote that the humor and creativity kind of got pummeled out.

-- Nicole (ndwillet...) (webmail), December 6th, 2001.

Same here. Years of academic writing did nothing for my prose. It became pale and starved. Humourless. I'm still recovering.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Wednesday, 3 March 2004 21:17 (twenty-one years ago)

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