Number Four: Think Outside the Box

 

When asked "What is the common outlook on slavery?" it is easy to say, "Slavery is commonly viewed as a terrible institution", but wouldn't it be more interesting to write an essay arguing that slavery is a necessary evil that will never completely go away as we are all slaves to our environment? This is not the "normal" argument, and by opening your essay with a thesis that strong, you already have a jump start on everyone else as your idea is original and creative. 

            Now by saying think outside the box, I am not suggesting to go wild and make up an argument that in no way applies to the question asked. What I am saying, is that to write an original and interesting essay it is helpful to consider all possible characteristics of a topic and then pick the one that is most interesting to you. 

The idea of thinking outside the box can be useful in many scenarios. One situation is when developing a thesis or argument for an essay. In class this year, my classmates and I were given an in class timed essay and asked to read a short excerpt, Staying Put: Making a Home in a Restless World by Scott Russell Sanders. As suggested by the title the excerpt was about migration and how individuals constantly migrate to "start over", destroying the world and the environment in the process. We were told to write an essay in which we analyze the strategies Sander's used to develop his perspective about moving. A generic response could have been "Sander's believes moving is bad", however by thinking more in depth about the effects of moving and the points Sander's brought up in his essay I argued, "Sanders believes that moving is the cancer of beneficial development." By proving this more interesting and developed argument I was able to attain a 9 or 100% on the essay, which is due in part to my ability to think outside the box and fully understand the characteristics of the topic presented to me. 

Another situation in which thinking outside the box is useful includes analyzing and determining the purpose of rhetorical devices. In the same essay discussed above, I analyzed the alliteration of the letter V when Sanders says, "But migrants often pack up their visions and values with the rest of their baggage and carry them along." In thinking about these visions and values could represent I concluded that the repetition of the letter V was an attempt by the author to sound out the word vanity, therefore suggesting that these "visions and values are actually vain representations of what the reality of migration really is. Migrants follow a mere, vain appearance of a better life only hurting themselves in the process, as migrants soon discover that this new environment is the same as where they left from." By thinking outside the box in this situation, I was able to create more interesting analysis while proving my point at the same time. Thinking outside the box usually allows "for better insight and understanding" into a piece of writing, or complex topic, therefore meeting one of the main requirements necessary to get a 9 on the AP Exam and on in class timed writings.

http://www.sapdesignguild.org/resources/optical_illusions/foreground_background.html

Think about it this way, when looking at an optical allusion it is expected that there will be more than one image in the overall allusion. Think of those multiple images as the multiple arguments compacted into one topic. It is necessary to "think outside the box" to fully visualize the multiple images in just one allusion, just as it is necessary to "think outside the box" to fully understand and think about the multiple arguments in one topic, or the multiple purposes of a single rhetorical device. Initially the image to the right appears to be just a man's face, but look closer, the outline of his face also spells the word "Liar" in a diagonal line. Although the picture seems relatively straight forward, through further analysis we discovered the deeper argument, the word "Liar". Whether you see the image to the right as a man or a word depends on how you decide to perceive the allusion. However, to reach that conclusion you had to think about and process the picture. You should do the same thing when writing. Have fun with different prompts, argue wacky points, and come up with a crazy thesis now and then. As long as you are on topic, it will only improve your writing.