my professor said any source is valid as long as I cite it properly. so I cited him.
this was junior year, research methods class. our professor, I'll call him Dr. K, had this thing where he would make bold claims during lectures without citing anything and then get annoyed if students pushed back on it. classic "I have a PhD so my word is the source" energy. at some point he made a sweeping statement about consumer behavior that directly contradicted something I had read in two separate peer reviewed papers, I raised my hand and mentioned this, and he said, and I quote, "in this class, any source is valid as long as you cite it correctly. the quality of your argument is what matters."
okay.
I wrote my next paper arguing the opposite of his claim. my primary source for the counter-argument was a transcript I had made of his own lecture from three weeks earlier where he had said something that, read carefully, actually undermined his newer position. I cited it as: [Last name, First initial. Class lecture, Course number, University name, Date.] formatted exactly according to the citation guide he gave us on day one.
he handed back papers with written comments. mine said "interesting argument, strong structure" and then at the bottom: "this citation is not acceptable, please see me."
I went to see him. I brought the citation guide. I showed him the format. I showed him his own quote. I asked which part of the citation requirements I had failed to meet. there was a long pause. he changed my grade from a B+ to an A- and told me the citation was "technically valid but in poor taste."
I have never felt more seen by a grade in my life.