Sex.

Hi guys. I don't remember the last time I wrote a blog outside of the hollenbeck lab. I'm in my dorm right now. We'll see how this goes.

Seeing as I come from an academic environment where the importance of a thesis was drilled into my head, I was digging the acronym today: FAST (focused, arguable, sexy, thesis). But on my way back to New Hall, I was thinking about the concept of a thesis. Is it possible to have a really well-written essay that doesn't have a thesis? I can't imagine every attempting such a thing, but what if the intro paragraph layed out the paper and set up an argument but didn't have a specific thesis presented at the end of the first paragraph?

Just a thought. Because I know we kind of have the concept of a five paragraph essay drilled into our heads in American. Hook, thesis, topic sentences, transitions, conclusion... why? This brings me back to that video we watched about ESL students and how other cultures tackle writing differently. In American academia, inconclusive, circular writing is frowned upon. A straight-forward argument is expected.

Returning to my first rhetorical question, I just realised: the definition of a "well-written" paper is so completly subjective. It depends on what country you're in and a whole host of other things. Regardless, it might be interesting to attempt an essay without a thesis. I don't think I could do it.

I like theses, like most of us. I believe in the power of a sexy thesis, and the "turn-off" created from the lack of a thesis. When there isn't a thesis in an essay, I'm immediately sceptical and nervous. I hate not knowing what the paper is going to be about by the time I've read through the introduction paragraph. A paper without a thesis leaves me disappointed, confused, and generally uninterested before I've even reached the second paragraph. That's a big deal.

So yay for sexy theses! Today's class redefined my relationship with theses and took it to a whole new level...

I'm gonna make some posters about this, I swear.

Sarah