Pretentious writing arises from a lack of confidence, in which authors believe that their ideas aren't powerful enough as they are, therefore they need to beef them up with words or notions that don't serve the tale in order to give the material bulk. Reid set Devon's essay aside and took up Jessica's. She found his remarks on France applicable to her situation, so she adopted some of his ideas and revised her essay accordingly. The word "pretentious" comes from Latin pretensius, meaning "more noble," which makes sense if you think about it: If something is noble, then adding more nobility to it isn't pretentious, it's just respectful. In writing, using big words and concepts that aren't necessary to the story or its characters is called "overwriting." Overwriting shows that the writer has no confidence in their work and tries to impress others with their vocabulary. Using large amounts of unnecessary detail in an effort to make your story more interesting or appealing is called "over-describing." Over-describing can also be used to exaggerate things for comedic effect; for example, saying that someone has blond hair when they actually have brown hair. This shows that the writer has confidence in their ability to describe things accurately but just likes using exaggerated terms because they find it funny or shocking.