The importance of language in the learning process of students has been studied extensively. However, little attention has been paid to the role language plays in the assessment of student writings. Students and instructors at a liberal arts and sciences college were interviewed to reveal their approaches to written assignments. The aim was to learn what writing approaches students use, particularly if they know their knowledge falls short for the task, and conversely, to explore what instructors do to try and make sense of student writings that are sometimes ambiguous with regards to correctness of content. A few detailed examples are provided to illustrate how instructors may sometimes effectively separate language form and disciplinary content when reading ambiguous text fragments. The need to stress the importance of language in teaching is discussed, leading to some practical suggestions to improve written assignments.