Frazz by Jef Mallett for October 10, 2013

100 words is barely a paragraph Claufield.

If Caulfield is writing 100 words, and the topic is one he could easily expound upon, I would expect his essay to contain no fewer than 300 syllables.

He’s already used 21 words questioning the assignment. Another 79 would be simple for him. And with his vocabulary, they could all be polysyllabic. However, I’m sure he feels that questioning is essential, but the essay is not.

Caulfield has an education beyond his years. Not just things to memorize, but how to think and question dogma.

Peter Rabbit is a stupid book about a stupid rabbit who steals vegetables from other people’s gardens! One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, TEN. Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, SEVENTEEN. (Sigh.) Eighty-three to go.

- You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown

The 100 word limit could be presented as a challenge. Perhaps with extra credit for turning in the rough drafts, showing the evolution of the piece. No offense to intelligent design fans. ;-)

How about an essay on writing a 100 word essay?

He has expended a thousandfold the time & effort in trying to evade this task as would’ve been required to simply perform it.

Caulfield is lucky to have such a definitive assignment. One hundred words isn’t much, and at least the expectations are clear. Would he be happy with no expectations, and getting the same grade for a 200-word essay as another student got for 10? When he gets a job, he will find that expectations are often unstated, or if stated, unclear, and that they may constantly change based on the whim of a boss.

Assign him to write a haiku.

Folks, 100 words may seem like nothing to us, but in elementary school, it was actually something of a chore. I don’t know if kids who’ve been texting a while find it less so or more.

No, 100 words is not arbitrary…it is particularly important writing skill.

Is there a certain number of morphemes that are required?