I hate freshman comp.

[tsukikage]

I am really starting to wish I had dropped freshman comp. instead of historical. I have to submit a thesis for a 750 word page paper on the definition of a multiculturally-themed word and aimed at a specific audience by midnight tonight. So far I've been working with the definition of Mormon with an audience of non-Mormon Christians, but it's not really going anywhere. Our pre-approved options are:

Culture - Christian - Jewish - Transsexual - Literature - Gay - Working class - Asian - Woman/female - European - Lower class - Yuppie - Old - Mainstream - Fat/thin - Over-educated - Christian Scientist - Rich - Multicultural - Bisexual - Mormon - Hindu - White - the Americas - American - Alternative lifestyle - Pagan - Modern/postmodern - Nuclear family - Dominant culture - Pacifist - Native American - Middle Eastern - Gen-X - Illiterate - Broken home - Luddite - Witch - Quaker - Immediate family - Lutheran - African - Handicapped - Radical - Feminist - Caribbean - Korean - Native inhabitant - Blue collar - Moslem - Latino/a - Baptist - Special needs - Buddhist - Hasidic - [Race/Culture]-American - Young - Handicapped - Marxist - Transgender - Lesbian - Hispanic - B'hai - Socialist/materialist - Hippie - Man/male - Broken home - Left wing/right wing - Black - Middle-aged - Politically conservative - Heterosexual - Chicano/a - Mentally ill - Politically liberal - Fundamentalist - Single parent - Able-bodied - Communist - Baby Boomer - Catholic - Environmentalist - Human rights - Foreigner

I can use another word if I get permission beforehand, though.

Ugh. Writing = t3h suck.

[EDIT: The working thesis I submitted was "Mormon in a nickname for a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which is a Christian religion that believes in religious texts in addition to the New and Old Testaments, and in revelations from God in all ages." I think I'm going to change it this weekend, probably using a different term. I wonder if any of them would actually be significantly easier for me, though I doubt any would be easy. "Witch" might give me a lot to write about in terms of etymology.]

Comments

Ugh ... dry writing

[idkrash.livejournal.com]

This is the kind of assignment that doesn't really require that you have any vested interest in the topic its like running laps. If you were expected to have a lot of personal investment in the piece you would have been encourage to write about something you know about like Anime, 2D crush, Non Otaku. Just pick a topic and start jogging.

When I write I begin with stream of conscious blobs. I fill up about a page an half with almost completely random thoughts that vaguely reference the topic. I really don't try to make anything follow the previous statment in any logical way unless it just comes out that way. Usually I'll have just a quick thought then as I'm writing that I get another thought.

Sometime I just quit writing the sentence I was on and start into the new thought, but I leave the old partial sentence on the page. The next day at least one or two of the sentences will stand out as the main theme or at least decent topic sentences for one of my paragraphs.

Then always save the old work as a different file so you can go back and reference it if you need to brainstorm some more. You end up with several versions of paper so I usually just give the file name a number at the end.

Then as you approach a document that is long enough to hand in you have to resist changing it into something you care about. No sense wasting time on something your not going to get paid for. Just keep going down one path and make one paragraph lead to the next, then spell check. When you get close to being finished keep the blinders on and just finish the assignment, this isn't art.

If you get a big idea and want to go into the subject further or in a different direction write some notes about that and do it over your summer break. Then submit it to your hometown paper or some other little publication, you might get paid. O-Yeah gotta love that money.

Re: Ugh ... dry writing

[tsukikage85.livejournal.com]

Good advice - especially the keeping the blinders on part. Of course, given that the nature of the class is to improve ones writing skills, it should be at least vaguely interesting to the grader, if not the writer.