This one's for the Grubbers! Extra Credit to you if you read it!*

*Not really. You can't get Extra Credit if you're not in my class--and if you ARE In my class, you don't get any Extra Credit for reading this.

--ahem, sorry, I mean high-achieving students. Yesterday several people I admire and trust suggested I offer periodic advice to a demographic that is actually much more likely to search out said advice: students who want to earn that "A," or else they will lose their scholarship/not get into med school/spontaneously combust. Because the only thing more annoying than cheating is blatant grade-grubbing by students who haven't earned an "A" and yet somehow demand one via extortion, guilt-tripping or sheer unadulterated shameless persistence, I'm all too happy to oblige and give high-achieving students some advice that will save time, contribute to greatness (and learning!), and frontload the achievement process (i.e., earn you a better grade before you feel the need to grub).

So, today, I give you: GrA+de Grubberz Korner I: Three Traits of Highly-Successful Papers.

Disclaimer: Not all "A/A+" papers have these characteristics (there are many untold ways to be excellent, after all), and not all papers that have these characteristics will necessarily get an A/A+ because every prof is different, but in my personal experience, every paper I have ever read that earned an "A" or an "A+" had at least two out of these three characteristics. And, bonus, writing papers with these will make you smarter, cooler, more attractive, and less likely to end up miserable and alone with nothing but your rarely-viewed YouTube channel to keep you company. Wait, what? Well, the first thing at least!

1. A great paper has something to say. The only paper I have ever gotten an A+ on was in graduate school, and the reason for this A+ was: "This paper really has something to say." My prof was right--I did have something to say, a very weird idea that connected 1970s/80s feminist theory with 1770s German drama. The idea was so weird that it ended up being published in an academic journal! Those of you familiar with the Hail-Mary Pass tutorial will remember that my advice to the truly desperate is eerily similar to my advice to the high-achieving: have an interesting idea. Have something to say. Find something about the work assigned that truly sings to you, that really fascinates you--or, if you can't find it, apply a super weirdpants, unexpected theoretical approach and make something. If you really, truly believe in your thesis (the argumentative statement you're trying to prove), then your paper, if well-written and well-organized, will transcend competence into greatness.
2. A great paper is a synthesis of the following three things: a careful, diligent reading of the text at hand that takes its literary, historical and cultural context into consideration (i.e. that also includes a modicum of background knowledge about the author and the time s/he wrote in!); thoughtful acknowledgement (even if it is disagreement!) of the discussions in class about this text that proves that you were present and accounted for and learned something; an interesting thought/idea/approach that was NOT mentioned in class that you thought of yourself (again, see #1 and the Hail-Mary Pass).
3. A great paper contains self-awareness that someone is going to have to read it carefully. That is, a great paper is written in a way that is welcoming to the reader, that reads clearly and concisely, that isn't written in a vacuum, that is written with care, interest, and--if you can do this, you're already 900 steps ahead of the competition--fun. If your paper looks like you didn't hate writing it and you actually, really want me to read it, provided that it's also coherently written, it again transcends competence and veers into greatness.

I hope you notice what is MISSING from this list: perfection, a narrowly-defined thesis that conforms to such-and-such parameters, any harping on spelling, commas, whatevs. This is the heart of my approach. Although I believe that mechanically correct and elegant writing are important, I believe they can be learned by rote, and that messily-written papers can be rewritten if the circumstances are dire enough. What is harder to teach, and what seems to be missing from so many papers these days, is a soul, is YOU, is any reason for you to care about writing papers in the first place. If I can help even one person return some heart and soul to the paper-writing process, I'll consider my time on Earth worth something.

As always, if you have any suggestions for future Interventions, any specific questions or requests, any adulation or chastisement, please don't hesitate to email me or comment on the Facebook wall or here on the blog. In the meantime, get back to work and let me know how it goes!