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  • #1

    paper help...

    SO most of you know I'm back in college this year....I'm handling it great, making new friends, and apparently becoming a "mother" figure to half my English class >.>

    So my next major essay assignment is a compare/contrast essay. Don't have details yet on length, but I was thinking of something to do with customers and customer service...or something along those lines...any suggestions? or ways to think this out?
    It is by snark alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire 'tude, the lips acquire mouthiness, the glares become a warning.
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  • #2
    Take two stores with different policies (like, return policies maybe) and look at how this affects their business?
    https://www.facebook.com/authorpatriciacorrell/

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    • #3
      You could compare the general behavior of customers who have never worked in customer service (retail, food service, call centers, etc) with those of us who do have that experience. The contrast being that the former is much more likely to have the attitude that "the customer is always right!" while the latter is much more likely to use strange phrases like, "please," and "thank you!"
      Thank you for calling Card Services, how may I take your abuse today? ~Headset Hellion

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      • #4
        To start with, assume the essay is going to have to be a manageable length to both yourself and your teacher: figure out how long other essays of similar grade-percentage are, and assume it'll be around that length.

        The length dictates the detail you can go into, and the complexity of the topic you can handle. You want to be able to make each distinct point into a full paragraph or two, but (for an essay-length piece), not need to stretch it out into three or more.

        (Even for a thesis or a book, you want the reader's investment in time to match the value of the information you're imparting: don't stretch points out to longer than they're worth.)

        So. How do you know how complex a topic is?

        Experience.

        But until you have that experience: dot points.

        Butcher's paper, whiteboard, empty Word document, back of dud printed pages - whatever helps you think. This is a compare/contrast piece, so draw a line down the centre and write one side's dot points on the left, the other side's on the right.

        Pick a topic, and start writing down dot points. Keep writing them down until you can't think of any more.

        Now cross out your weakest ones, and highlight your strongest.

        Take your essay length. You'll want to allow a paragraph each for opening and conclusion, and a paragraph for each dot point. Divide your minimum length by the average length of a paragraph that you write; subtract two: that's how many dot points you can have.

        If you have roughly the same number of highlighted points as that calculation allows, you've picked a topic of perfect complexity. If you're a little bit over - write the article anyway, then have a friend or mentor help you eliminate the weakest points or tighten up your writer until you're under maximum length.
        If you're a little bit under, write the article anyway and allow yourself to use two paragraphs each for the very strongest of points, and for the introduction and conclusion. Or to use the strongest of the non-highlighted points.

        If you're way over, and you can't bear to cut the highlighted points, your topic is too complex. Maybe some of the highlighted points can help you narrow your focus?
        If you're way under, your topic is not broad enough. Examine your highlighted points - they're your main interest in this field, maybe there's a commonality there that you can use to pull your view 'back' a bit, and find a more complex aspect to show.
        Seshat's self-help guide:
        1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
        2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
        3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
        4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

        "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

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        • #5
          seshat....that is GREAT advice....may I have your permission to send that to my teacher to see if he'd like to use it?
          It is by snark alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire 'tude, the lips acquire mouthiness, the glares become a warning.

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          • #6
            Quoth Sarlon View Post
            SO most of you know I'm back in college this year....I'm handling it great, making new friends, and apparently becoming a "mother" figure to half my English class >.>

            So my next major essay assignment is a compare/contrast essay. Don't have details yet on length, but I was thinking of something to do with customers and customer service...or something along those lines...any suggestions? or ways to think this out?
            It has potential. What you'll need to do is compare and contrast the VIEWS of customers and CSR's on what good customer service means in order for it to make any sense.

            Should be right up the alley of any CS member
            They say that God only gives us what we can handle. Apparently, God thinks I'm a bad ass.

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