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![\"It](\"http:\/\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/71\/212146300_bdece31790.jpg\")
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\u201cOpinions are like cilantro. Add a little and it\u2019ll taste awesome, but give me a bowl full of cilantro and tell me it\u2019s a meal? I\u2019m not eating it.\u201d Another, more technical way to put it, \u201cOpinion is great in addition to<\/strong> empirically supported thought, but it\u2019s not a replacement for<\/strong> empirically supported thought.1<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n Another food metaphor I use answers the ever present, \u201cHow long should I make this essay?\u201d question. On essay tests and papers, students typically ask this question but what they are really asking is, \u201cHow many words do I have to write to get an A?\u201d I used to always give students a wishy washy answer that some long papers are full of fluff and some short papers are able to get right to the point. Students seemed wholly unsatisfied by these answers. So now I say, \u201cI want your writing to be like French food: small, dense, and rich. Jam a short essay chalk full of concepts, data, and critical thinking and you can be brief.\u201d Being succinct is a valuable skill and when students deliver an essay worthy of the French food metaphor it\u2019s a delicious thing to grade. Bon appétit!<\/p>\n Footnotes:<\/p>\n 1.<\/a> Both of the food metaphors I use were taken from the musings of one Merlin Mann<\/a>. I repurposed them for the classroom, but he said them first. Props to him and I\u2019m a huge fan of all of his work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cCan I add my opinion into this paper?\u201d is a common question in all of my classes. Opinion, as defined as a student\u2019s perspective on a social issue that is informed by empirical social research is always welcome. However, sometimes students just want to tell you what they think and skip that whole backing-it-up part. I always tell my students they, \u201ccan have any opinion they can back up with evidence.\u201d But sometimes students just want to tell the reader what they think to add some flavor to the piece they\u2019re writing. Opinion has it\u2019s place in academic writing, but how do you get students to go easy on opinions in their writing? I use cilantro.<\/p>\n
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