Have to do a bio for work, what is the correct way to say: I was

a) awarded
b) earned
c) received

a degree in ... ?

12/27/2010 7:55:25 PM

Go all out...

I mega-ACCOMPLISHED xxx DEGREE!!!!!


I have no idea what the actual convention is for bios, but earned sounds more like you worked for it rather than stumbled across it the way received does. The way I did it for a class-based consulting project was to say to do it in third person saying "Supplanter, B.A., is a second year graduate student in North Carolina State University’s Master of Public Administration program"

That avoids the need for using a term altogether. For you that could read something like (making up a name/degree/place of work for you):

"Mech A. Godzilla, B.S. Computer Science, has been employed with Comp Stuff Inc. since 2007 as a Stuff Specialist. He has worked on these big important projects, and his interests are whatever they happen to be. He has a wife, 2 dogs, and is expecting a 3rd dog any day now." And then go on from there in third person.

12/27/2010 8:14:35 PM

^

12/27/2010 8:16:03 PM

It's more about usage, but think about it: Is a person ever the object of "earn" or "receive" in the context of academic degrees? You should use the active voice where possible anyway, as Strunk & White say, and here is how each verb would be used in such a voice, with "degree" as the direct object in each case:

(University) awarded a degree in (field) to me. (The recipient is the indirect object.)
I earned/received a degree in (field). (The recipient is the subject.)

Although the use of the passive voice to move the indirect object to the position of subject looks odd, it is commonplace; usually the pattern is to move from "A gave B to C" to "B was given to C" or in this case, "A degree in (field) was awarded to me."

[Edited on December 27, 2010 at 8:18 PM. Reason : ^^"I was earned a degree"?

12/27/2010 8:17:29 PM

I was earned a degree.

I was received a degree.

WTF, is this dude for real?

12/27/2010 9:05:03 PM

you forgot endowed and bestowed

12/27/2010 10:51:24 PM

HOTT SHIT!!

12/28/2010 12:16:22 AM

^^^

Everyone else clearly understood I was looking for the correct verb. Not that I was trying to say "was earned" or "was received." Thank you lewisje and Supplanter...

[Edited on December 28, 2010 at 2:50 PM. Reason : ...]

12/28/2010 2:48:22 PM

How about...

I was got a degree in adult GED.

12/28/2010 4:16:21 PM

"What had happened was, I had got..."

12/29/2010 2:45:55 PM

i haz a degreee

12/29/2010 6:04:02 PM

to me it looks like a degree to me

12/29/2010 7:02:29 PM

Strunk & White can rot in hell. Seriously, if you use Elements of Style you are a fucking retard. It has done nothing but inhibited the development and evolution of the English language and has lead to the development of convoluted grammar. Not to mention that the majority of rules are nothing more than the personal preference of the author(s). Seriously, never utilize Elements of Style.

And in this situation, it is best to use the passive voice since you want the focus to be on you. Just another instance in which Strunk & White has created automatons who may be able to repeat rules by rote, but don't understand the underlying grammar behind them.

As for the question, awarded.

[Edited on December 29, 2010 at 8:37 PM. Reason : .]

12/29/2010 8:25:08 PM

The important point is to consider how the sentence would look if cast in active voice, to more easily see where it would make sense for you to be the agent (subject) or the recipient (indirect object) of the action.

also omit needless words

12/29/2010 11:10:38 PM

Omit needless words is such a bullshit statement. It is completely meaningless.

Quote :

"The important point is to consider how the sentence would look if cast in active voice, to more easily see where it would make sense for you to be the agent (subject) or the recipient (indirect object) of the action."

He wants to have the focus placed on him, therefore he wants the passive voice.

[Edited on December 30, 2010 at 8:55 AM. Reason : .]

12/30/2010 8:52:35 AM

Indeed, and it's easiest to ascertain the correct passive voice by seeing how it would look in active voice.

12/30/2010 9:30:44 AM

That is a superfluous step.

Omit needless steps!!!!!

[Edited on December 30, 2010 at 9:49 AM. Reason : .]

12/30/2010 9:49:15 AM