Three Thoughts On Communication

1) I'm not sure if I should pick the paper that engages with recent secondary sources or the paper that's on a topic I care about and which is relevant to my proposed area of study, when it comes to grad school writing samples to revise. Given the amount of revision ahead, I should pick soon.

2) I'm struggling to work out the nuances of "got Xed" vs. "was Xed" in casual uses of the passive voice. It's not just about formality: at least in my dialect, it sounds more natural with some verbs than others. ("He got indicted" and "He got arrested" both sound fine, but "He got executed" or "He got requested" sound weird and weirder.) And it's not the same as the use with the reflexive, which indicates culpability. ("I was scratched by the cat" and "I got scratched by the cat" mean slightly different things, but I can't figure out what; "I got myself scratched by the cat" implies I was doing something that annoyed the cat. More middle voice instead of passive.) Anyway. If anyone has a good explanation of it, or can point me to one, I'd appreciate it.

3) ...wait, that fanfic exchange assignment is due tomorrow? Shit. Okay. Time to start writing.