Thursday, November 4, 2010

Stop! Essay time!

Yes, yes, it's that time of the year again. An event dreaded by some, much anticipated by others. I myself am quite the fan of essay writing. Don't ask me why, I grab every chance I get to write about something that interests me with both hands (and feet, if that were possible). I'm a whore for writing, I confess.

Thank goodness the subject is free of choice, which makes it that much easier to find something that captures (and holds) my attention. At first, I thought about writing something about gaming, which seems like the obvious thing to do, given my new journalism job. I found myself however, unable to find a suitable thesis statement.

Then, all of a sudden, the movie It's a Wonderful Life flashed before my eyes. I immediately began spitballing possible subjects and corresponding thesis statements to match and settled on the following:

"How It's a Wonderful Life replaced post-war atheism with the resurgence of individualism."

It's quite the mouthful, no arguing there, but it offers so much material to work with (which is the point of writing a descriptive essay). In short, I'll be writing about:

- The movie itself
- The post-war context
- Atheism in that context
- Individualism (in George Bailey's character and in society)

I've drawn up a prelimenary plan with several good ideas, but there's still a lot to be done. Luckily, the essay isn't due until the 25th. Sadly, there's also a scientific article awaiting my eager commitment as well as a presentation about my research preceding that article and another text analysis for English Linguistics.

I'll have my work cut out for me, but then again, I'm not alone in this race against deadlines. So to all you fellow essayists, aspiring researchers and linguists: good luck and God's speed!

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