McGuirkR

Favorite Writing Assignment:

There is something incredibly gratifying about being told, for once, in your writing, to take a chance. Sadly, I was only told this once, but the impression it left was indelible. In my sophomore year of college, my Lit. Theory professor—a man of incredible knowledge, as well as wit and humor—offered us a choice of seven or so essay topics (with the provision that we could always devise our own as well), and rather than place a bevy of requirements as to page length, font size, and so on, his instructions simply said, "Impress me." Now, because this man had taught for over twenty years, and because I do not consider myself to be of extraordinary intelligence—especially not in Literary Theory—writing a 'standard' essay was, for me, out of the question. If I was going to fulfill the requirement and impress my professor, risks had to be taken. And, they were.

After an antagonizing writing process in which each word was weighed heavily and each thought scrutinized, I managed to produce an essay that was wholly different from any I had produced until then. It was, in a word, humorous. In addition to discussing whether a computer could create art using the ideas of Tolstoy, Propp, and a few other theorists, I also included a running side commentary using footnotes that created sort of dual narrative to the essay. The side commentary was, of course, completely irrelevant to the information of the essay, but it did add a substantial amount to the tone and style of the paper, as well as its readability. More importantly, though, it enabled me to enjoy the process of writing what was otherwise an essay dealing with topics with which I did not feel entirely comfortable.