Quizbowlese - Revision history

Joel Miles: surely nobody actually does that... right?

2023-12-30T20:26:46Z

surely nobody actually does that... right?

Kevin Wang at 20:53, 26 October 2021

2021-10-26T20:53:43Z

Kevin Wang at 20:49, 26 October 2021

2021-10-26T20:49:54Z

Kevin Wang at 20:47, 26 October 2021

2021-10-26T20:47:25Z

Matt Weiner: /* Remedial English failure */

2021-02-17T15:37:35Z

Remedial English failure

Matt Weiner: /* Stylistic failure */

2014-12-28T20:01:37Z

Stylistic failure

Matt Weiner: /* Metaquizbowlese */

2014-09-22T16:57:04Z

Metaquizbowlese

Matt Weiner at 16:56, 22 September 2014

2014-09-22T16:56:04Z

Matt Weiner: /* Stupid lingo */

2014-09-22T16:55:26Z

Stupid lingo

Jonah Greenthal at 23:25, 4 March 2014

2014-03-04T23:25:52Z

@@ Line 80: / Line 80: @@
 *use of "protagonist" to mean "character" (also explains the rise of the inane construction "the main protagonist")
 *referring to any piece of writing as a "novel" regardless of length or fictional status
 *use of "one" as an indefinite article instead of "a" or "an"
 **Solution: Use the most direct and accurate wording possible in your questions. Do not use incorrect words just to sound smart or imitate old packets. Use a dictionary to learn what a "wife" and "novel" are. Try to think of whether you have ever read a professionally published book for adults that used "one" as an indefinite article.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 <onlyinclude>
 The pejorative term "'''quizbowlese'''" is used to refer to formulaic phrases or words that occur much more often in quizbowl question [[writing]] than anywhere else. Overuse of quizbowlese makes quizbowl questions harder to read, and makes it more difficult for new players to understand what their moderator is asking them.</onlyinclude>
 ==Examples of quizbowlese, by category==
@@ Line 101: / Line 108: @@
 *use of "was ruled unconstitutional by [Supreme Court case]" as a shorthand for "was in some way I can't be bothered to look up involved in [Supreme Court case]"
 **Solution: Use words that specify the actual relationship that a clue has to other clues and to the answer. Don't treat your questions as a skeleton of list-memorized buzzwords connected with random tendons; consider every word in your question for accuracy and usefulness.
 ==Metaquizbowlese==
-*In discussion of questions, phrases like "this author" and "this country" are often called "pronouns" despite not being [[pronouns]] but rather demonstrative phrases
+*In discussion of questions, phrases like "this author" and "this country" are often called "pronouns" despite not being a [[pronoun]] in the common usage; nevertheless, this is the accepted term
-*Use of "format" to simultaneously mean many independent aspects of a tournament (match rules, question category distribution, tournament structure)
+*Use of "format" to simultaneously mean many independent aspects of a tournament (match rules, question category distribution, tournament structure) - the convergence of quizbowl on a small number of rulesets means that this is not the problem it once was
 [[Category:Quizbowl lingo]]
 [[Category:Question Writing]]

@@ Line 110: / Line 110: @@
 *Adjust your conception of quizbowl questions. Most habitual quizbowlese writers view sentences as an inconvenience that needs to be overcome in order to throw word-association clues at the player. Understand that every word in the question needs to have meaning and the writer is not supposed to cater to [[Protobowl|novice-level memorization techniques]]. Rewrite your questions so that the ideal "super-knowledgeable person who has never played quizbowl before" is able to answer them without being confused.
 *Remind yourself that even if you consider writing questions that make sense to be a waste of time, developing good writing skills that do not make you sound like an illiterate will be a valuable asset in your academic and professional career.
 ==Metaquizbowlese==
-*In discussion of questions, phrases like "this author" and "this country" are often called "pronouns" despite not being pronouns but rather demonstrative phrases.
+*In discussion of questions, phrases like "this author" and "this country" are often called "pronouns" despite not being [[pronouns]] but rather demonstrative phrases
 *Use of "format" to simultaneously mean many independent aspects of a tournament (match rules, question category distribution, tournament structure)

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:47, 26 October 2021
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	The pejorative term "'''quizbowlese'''" is used to refer to formulaic phrases or words that occur much more often in quizbowl question writing than anywhere else. Overuse of quizbowlese makes quizbowl questions harder to read, and makes it more difficult for new players to understand what their moderator is asking them.	+	<onlyinclude>
		+	The pejorative term "'''quizbowlese'''" is used to refer to formulaic phrases or words that occur much more often in quizbowl question [[writing]] than anywhere else. Overuse of quizbowlese makes quizbowl questions harder to read, and makes it more difficult for new players to understand what their moderator is asking them.</onlyinclude>

	==Examples of quizbowlese, by category==		==Examples of quizbowlese, by category==

@@ Line 85: / Line 85: @@
 *confusion about what "regions", "nations", "states", and "countries" are, and as above, misuse of "polity"
 **Solution: Use "country" to mean a political entity which has generally recognized sovereign control over territory. "State" can be confusing when referring to countries that use "state" as the name for their subdivisions. "Nation" can be very ambiguous between political entities and ethnic groups, especially in places such as Belgium, Canada, the U.S., Rwanda, Russia, etc. that are very diverse and/or have political conflict involving the relations of different groups. "Polity" is a word that many people who are not quizbowl insiders may not understand, and is rarely needed--when does a question actually need to obscure what kind of political unit it is discussing?
 ===Navelgazing===

@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
 *compulsive verbal tics that add confusion or superfluous words to phrases ("main protagonist" instead of "protagonist", "centers around" instead of "centers on", "in the novel in which he appears" instead of "the novel" or nothing)
 **Solution: Use the most direct and accurate wording possible in your questions. Do not use more complex grammatical structures just to sound smart or imitate old packets, especially if those structures introduce ambiguity or incorrectness.
 ===Remedial English failure===

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 *overuse of "following" where "after" is both easier to understand and faster to read
 **Solution: Use the most direct and accurate wording possible in your questions. Do not use more complex grammatical structures just to sound smart or imitate old packets, especially if those structures introduce ambiguity or incorrectness.
 ===Stylistic failure===