Swearing in short story (2 Viewers)

[six demon bag]

We won;t get marked down if there's swear words in out story, will we? I probably should've asked this ages ago. Should I take out just to be safe? That's damn stupid if we do!

 

[Michaelmoo]

I wouldn't. I remember reading the HSC marking guidelines (cant remember which year). They said a lot of people swore and it was innapropriate and they pretty much suggested don't do it.

O yer. And even if you could swear, still don't do it. You might get a marker that gets offended and you wouldn't want that now, would you?

 

[Top Secret]

It's not explicitly stated that you will loose marks, but it may put a bad impression on the marker.

Avoid it.

 

[annabackwards]

i wouldn't. I remember reading the hsc marking guidelines (cant remember which year). They said a lot of people swore and it was innapropriate and they pretty much suggested don't do it.

O yer. and even if you could swear, still don't do it. You might get a marker that gets offended and you wouldn't want that now would you?

+1

 

[Aquawhite]

I wouldn't recommend it at all. Unless it's very light and moderated throughout (maybe once) I wouldn't do it.

 

[astroe]

Our teacher told us to use it appropriately, if it's legitimate colloquial register then go for it, as opposed to random bouts of "fuck!".
If it aids the setting/characterisation, I don't see why not.

 

[cassieagill]

if it adds to your characters personality and is appropriate language for that said character to use, then i don't see why not (as long as your not just swearing for the sake of swearing)

 

[jet]

As others have said, if it legitimately contributes to the overall characterisation of the character, then it should be fine. Whenever I quote Roy from Blade Runner, I keep the swear word in - it's legitimate evidence of his anger. (If you don't know Blade Runner, I've probably lost you by now.)

 

[astroe]

Whenever I quote Roy from Blade Runner, I keep the swear word in - it's legitimate evidence of his anger. (If you don't know Blade Runner, I've probably lost you by now.)

"I want more life... fucker."


Unless there are others I have skated over?

 

[six demon bag]

Thanks guys. It just says fuck once: "Fuck it. I'm drinking." but I probably change to "Screw it. I'm drinking." or "Curse it. Perhaps I might wet my whistle." thank y'all!

 

[Michaelmoo]

As others have said, if it legitimately contributes to the overall characterisation of the character, then it should be fine. Whenever I quote Roy from Blade Runner, I keep the swear word in - it's legitimate evidence of his anger. (If you don't know Blade Runner, I've probably lost you by now.)

Really? We were explicitly told to leave that out for the reasons I said above. But you've got a point, it shows his emotion and reinforces his standings as "more human than human". I don't know if I should ever keep the word in. That quote never came to me in an essay before...

 

[Yaziyo]

Thanks guys. It just says fuck once: "Fuck it. I'm drinking." but I probably change to "Screw it. I'm drinking." or "Curse it. Perhaps I might wet my whistle." thank y'all!

Without knowing your character, "Fuck it" is much more realistic than "Screw it" or "Curse it" both of which sound like you're self-censoring yourself.

I only swear if it works in the context, not for effect or anything but for realistic dialogue. For me "Curse it" is something they would say in a Disney movie or neighbours or something where they need to keep G/PG. A marker won't get offended if you have the occasional swear in dialogue, or even if it's a first person narrator it could work, but keep it reasonable. As with everything in english, a lot of it is common sense for what does and what doesn't work.

tl;dr: Above these "rules", sound realistic. Noone says "curse it". Ever.

 

[alex.leon]

Without knowing your character, "Fuck it" is much more realistic than "Screw it" or "Curse it" both of which sound like you're self-censoring yourself.

I only swear if it works in the context, not for effect or anything but for realistic dialogue. For me "Curse it" is something they would say in a Disney movie or neighbours or something where they need to keep G/PG. A marker won't get offended if you have the occasional swear in dialogue, or even if it's a first person narrator it could work, but keep it reasonable. As with everything in english, a lot of it is common sense for what does and what doesn't work.

tl;dr: Above these "rules", sound realistic. Noone says "curse it". Ever.

Curse it!

 

[six demon bag]

I was being sarcastic about "curse it!" - i wish sooooo badly that i could get away with "curse it" though haha. Yeah I changed it to "screw it" but it doesn't flow quite as naturally so i might just leave it or change the line or i don't know. thank you all heaps though!

 

[Apex]

I said 'fuck you' in an a test once (in story). Teacher circled it and just wrote 'lol
next to it.

 

[six demon bag]

i said 'fuck you' in an a test once (in story). Teacher circled it and just wrote 'lol
next to it.

yes.

 

[astroe]

I'm surprised your teacher knows what "LOL" means. :S

 

[iRuler]

From what 3 english teachers teachers have told our classes over the past 2 years is that the average english marker is an old female, so avoid using swear words, even if it is relevant they might get offended, and write something to impress an older audience (lol)

 

[Yaziyo]

If you're adamant about not swearing, you could use "Stuff it" which still sounds better than screw it IMO (I dunno, screw it for me sounds like something a year 7 kid would say).

I'd still go with the original, uncensored version, despite the people's warnings.

Sort of off topic: For a 3unit english story I swore 'til my heart's content as it was a light "crime fiction" story about a pair of idiots whose crappy car is stolen and I got 19/20, so it's all relative. But remember, in that I didn't just swear for the sake of swearing, it worked in the context of the dialogue.

“God fucking damn!” Randy yelled, throwing his kebab at a parked car. “Some bitch stole my car!”

It was fun to write, and I'm guessing from the mark it was fun to read to

 

[mackiavell]

I have a fair few "fuck"'s and I think one or two "shit"'s. I might go back and remove a few, though none of the ones from character dialogue.