To include, or not to include

[Eaquae Legit]

So I'm writing a paper, and I hate it. I'm lying through my teeth about my professional motivations, I hate the class, I hate the material, and I really, really hate this paper. I got a bit snarky when writing today. I'm sorely tempted to leave a certain line in.

In lines 18-27, Walter describes the Amazon custom of dress and self-mutilation. He writes: “The left teat is preserved until adulthood / to nurse their infants of the female sex.” He completely omits the fate of any male children born to the Amazons. Talestris’ [the Amazon Queen] proposal to Alexander [the Great] neatly solves her problem**, but sheds little light on the fate of the rest of the Amazon boys. Alexander, predictably, is happy with the proposed arrangement, since it could earn him an heir and he doesn’t need to worry over the fate of a girl-child. (And either way, he gets thirteen nights of sex with a hot Amazon chick.)


Do I leave the line in?


** She proposes they have sex and if the child is female, it will inherit the Amazon throne, and if it's male she gets to ship it back to Alexander who then gets an heir out of it.

[Rei]

Totally leave it in! Academic papers need snark and amusement or they're boring.

[VelvetElvis]

do it.

[neo-dragon]

Leave it in! One time in high school I inserted some random humorous remarks throughout a dull assignment just to see if the teacher even read the work closely enough to notice. She actually gave me bonus points for making her laugh in the midst of hours of boring marking! That was only high school though, but I don't see why grad students shouldn't be allowed to have a sense of humour too.

[Jayelle]

It's a bit of a judgement call based on the prof, but I generally would say leave it in! If it gets him to remember your paper and, by extension, you, all the better. Be the person who cracks him/her up after a long day of marking!

[Jayelle]

Paul's two cents from over my shoulder: maybe as a footnote?

[mr_thebrain]

well, if you're letting us choose for you, then you've already decided to keep it in. because you know that we would all vote to keep it in. so i voted leave it in.

[Seiryu]

I say keep it in, but if you do, let us know if there are any notes about it from your teacher.

[Rei]

Who voted against?

[Young Val]

i always put snarky things into my papers, and the comments were nearly always appreciated. assuming that the comment actually has an intellectual base, which it seems as though it does, i say leave it.

[jotabe]

Is it a paper for your prof. or for a peer-reviewed journal? Who will be the first author?
If it is for your prof., leave it.
If it is for a journal, and your prof. is the first author, leave it.
If it is for a journal, and you are the first author, don't put it! after all, you have to keep an appearance of intellectual neutrality and all

[Eaquae Legit]

Just a short paper for my prof. I think I'm going to leave it, out of sheer hatred for this course and a desire to express it.

[Rei]

Good show.

[Dr. Mobius]

Who voted against?

Well, someone once said you should never have a unanimous vote in a democracy (and I think that person almost got lynched for voting against going to war after the attack on Pearl Harbor), but in any case it wasn't me.

[starlooker]

The only time I ever got in trouble was my opening paragraph for my quals essay on theories, and I must admit, it was a bit over the top:

the offending paragraph

I believe that at the heart of my own theoretical approach is a genuine concern for understanding people and promoting their welfare. Therefore, the answer to this question is to state that Rebirthing as practiced by Connell Watkins (Lowe & Crowder, 2000) has least in common with my own theory of human growth, development, and change. I am firmly and immovably opposed to berating and suffocating troubled children. In my theory, people are not to be berated or physically abused, and are allowed unlimited access to oxygen at all times. This is key to developing a trusting relationship and working alliance. Killing clients stunts their development as actualized persons, and may in fact exacerbate such problems as detachment from others.

Right before I submitted it, I debated it really hard but then realized the entire paper was crap and that was the only paragraph I actually liked. So it stayed. And I got in trouble -- but still passed quals

(Generally, most of the professors I know well and they like me and get my humor.)

[Mahatma]

I love being snarky in papers (within reason, of course). I feel it makes it less 'blah-blah-blah' and more me.

[VelvetElvis]

I once used the phrase "Grow a pair!" in a paper. It got me 2 bonus points.

[Claire]

Once my brother wrote "are you reading this" in the middle of a paper. The teacher didn't notice.

[Sibyl]

I did vote to "Leave it in", but I don't have anything at stake. It would depend too much on the individual teacher and his sense of humor and whatever paper guidelines might have been passed out or otherwise published, and you're the only one who knows those things.

[Rei]

zona, you are now my heroine. That was beautiful.

[Miguel Ardevaas]

Who voted against?

Well, someone once said you should never have a unanimous vote in a democracy (and I think that person almost got lynched for voting against going to war after the attack on Pearl Harbor), but in any case it wasn't me.

Well, maybe if she hadn't voted against World War I too...

[Eaquae Legit]

I remember that paragraph, Kirsten. I still love it.