Rarely does a paper make me reassess my undergraduate career and blog but this one takes the cake. Over my undergraduate career I’ve written maybe seventy papers (ish) and the biggest lesson I learnt is the following: I don’t know anything.
1. There is no answer to any question that doesn’t require some amount of fence-sitting.
2. Everything is relative.
3. If answers to essay questions were colours I’d have 70 different shades of grey.
Have I said the same thing three times? Excellent. It’s the mark of a paper that does well. In light of this, I can’t answer a question. I’ve long stopped trying to argue with my family about politics because they hate the way I qualify everything (they think it makes my argument weaker…if only they knew). I never suggest changes that can be made to improve policy although I will criticize it vehemently (suggesting changes is like essay suicide…want a C? tell your prof how it should be done)–another quality that makes normal people hate arguing with me.
So after all of this, three months away from graduation I get a paper like this:
Democracies make better policies. Agree or Disagree.
Crap…I don’t know. Unfortunately this time my prof wants a real answer.
7 responses so far ↓
yaser // February 20, 2009 at 10:43 am |
do what i do — just say what they’re looking for, you can always say what you’re really thinking in the real world
Sherine // February 20, 2009 at 1:19 pm |
I take complete and total credit for that title. It’s AWESOME.
And my actual comment will follow as soon as I think of one!
Zain // February 22, 2009 at 11:42 pm |
So, do they? Let’s hear it !
takemetotheriot // February 23, 2009 at 9:25 am |
it’s done…le sigh.
and of course the political scientist actually wants to hear me answer the question
Zain // February 23, 2009 at 1:35 pm |
Soooooooooooooo?
Send me your essay !
takemetotheriot // February 23, 2009 at 3:08 pm |
write me an introduction?
hahaha
THE TEACHER // April 7, 2009 at 1:08 am |
lolzrotflcopter
ha