Paper writing time also means that the glorious word count competitions between classmates are back. I’ve always been a little slow to pick up on the social networking platforms: facebook, msn, etc. But I have come to learn that they can be put to excellent use. I’ve even come around to using Twitter, despite the fact that I initially found the name irritating and impossible to take seriously (six months ago I would have run from the room, fingers plugged in my ears, humming as loudly as I could if someone said “tweet,” couldn’t stand the term—unless in reference to the sound that birds make, in which case it’s awesome).
Here is one fabulous reason why these platforms are kinda cool: essay word count competitions. Sure they’re petty, the mark of procrastinators, and the time spent changing the status should be spent on the paper, right? All of the above is certainly correct, but these little competitions can also provide much needed motivation to crank out that word count.* If my classmates are hovering around the 950/1500 mark, and I’m at 250 words, then I know that I should probably put down that extra-curricular novel and get cracking. Especially if it’s the night before the due date.
Not that I’m saying that it always is that last minute, but certainly sometimes.
Another wonderful reason for these competitions is that those who witness the competition, but don’t have the assignment, can sit back with their popcorn and savour the feeling of laziness while friends are torturing themselves hunting down online sources or trying to make sense of the baffling thing that is citation formatting. Very satisfying indeed.
Lastly, the winner gets the satisfaction of gloating until everyone else is done as well as the benefits of a proper night’s sleep. Not that I know what that feels like; I’m still waiting to win the bragging rights.
Have fun with those papers,
Kaitlyn Till
*Disclaimer: this does not mean that the papers produced will be of quality. In fact, they may down right suck. On the other hand, they could be awesome. What do I know?
These little competitions can def be helpful. In one of my classes, I have a handing-stuff-in competition. There's three of us in on it, and one of us always collects our assignments and walks them to the front. Each time we do this we get a point (which we tally on the desktop).
ReplyDeleteLooks like I won!
Yay competitions! I totally failed at winning the last one. Finished that paper 45 min before it was due. Never. Again.
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