I couldn't have written this

Okay -- the last few weeks are a big blur -- between midterms and mind-altering drugs, I remember only pieces of time.

I got a paper back on Thursday night that I had turned in before this stuff started. My instructor wrote "original and provocative ... artful ... unique" on my answer to the second essay question. I'm a bit surprised because it was the first question that I thought I really nailed. The second one made me nervous because it focused on the term "rhetoric." I have to look "rhetoric" up any time I am forced to deal with the term or its definition.

I wrote this:

In The Souls of Black Folk, DuBois cites an increase of nearly 400% in the numbers of Black college graduates from 1875 to 1900 (73-74). It is this group of educated men he identifies as the “Talented Tenth” and the audience to whom he appeals throughout The Souls of Black Folk. DuBois’ rhetorical strategies were designed to appeal to those who remained immobilized against the urge to fight racial inequality. In essence, DuBois carefully chose his words in hopes of catalyzing revolutionary ideas in otherwise dormant Souls.

Where the hell did I get a verb like "catalyzing?" And what the fuck -- I sounded like I knew what I was talking about -- I used "rhetorical strategies" right.

Maybe I'm supposed to be in grad school after all.