Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Thesis statements

How to lose respect for your professor in ten seconds:

  1. Go to class
  2. Receive hand-out for the last paper assignment of the semester
  3. Read the organizational requirements and find:
"Skip the introduction and begin the paper with your thesis. Use the following template to construct your thesis:

The [enforcement/structure/enforcement and structure] of OUI laws in Massachusetts [reflects/qualifies/contradicts] [Theorist's name]'s theory of the relationship between law and society because _________[fill in a summary of your argument]______.

Yes, my friends, that is a FILL IN THE BLANK thesis for a college course. A college course. We didn't even use these in middle school. This is, frankly, insulting to anyone who can write a decent paper. College is about making people be better and if students can't write a decent paper, they should be graded as such. Not coddled with a third grade assignment to make sure they "succeed." I am simply flabbergasted.

Oh and if you didn't catch it, that also means the entire introduction is one sentence, because introductions aren't important, right? (the hyperbole is oozing out of that sentence)

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