Looking back at all those countless moments, I can only come up with one explanation for why a professor woudl do that.... I compare it a lot to a sprinter running for a finish line. As long as you have something to chase or "run towards" you have that motivation that tends to highten your drive and determination to complete something.... In your case (with your English major)... Your prof is putting you in a situation to learn as much as you can about a specific topic and explain it the best you can in an alotted amount of space that is insufficient... Maybe, just maybe he wants you to show you where you are now (with the feeling that you can't possibly complete the assigment in the amount of words allowed).... so that you'll remember this assignment when you have grown as a writer with the ability to do those tough assigments... Maybe he's just giving you a finishline to run towards?? Who knows with some of those professors.... I had a few that would purposfully make their tests impossible so that everyone would fail.... I remember one particular class that I finished with the best grade in the class with a 62% on my final grade......... good thing he curved it.
I guess the point is: College is about jumping through the hoops. For some people, they don't need the information given to them to succeed in what they desire to suceed in... At the end, all you have is a piece of paper that says you jump through hoops to get what you want... Basically that's what I've found college to be.
