I could guess that isn't uncommon if the critic isn't aware of the student's nationality. I have had the same issue, where having a vocabulary that exceeds the

I could guess that isn't uncommon if the critic isn't aware of the student's nationality. I have had the same issue, where having a vocabulary that exceeds the average English-as-a-2nd-language student makes your writing appear difficult to another non-native speaker. University lecturers seem to have little patience for students who are better at something than they are, even if they could easily turn it on its head and say, "but I'm better at my native Spanish!"