Choose an abstraction (e.g. love, pain, god, music, success, freedom, goodness,
democracy, death, happiness, heroism, humor, morality, ethics, narcissism, identity, grief, etc.)
and then use the strategies in Adios to argue for an unexpected definition. Below are the
minimum required parts for defining your abstraction.
- Thesauruscoping: Explore the difference between your abstraction and one of its synonyms,
or compare your abstraction to one of its antonyms or an unrelated term, showing overlooked
similarities. Ambitious students might do both. - Cliché-Busting: Identify a cliche idiom (When god closes a door, he opens a window) or
simply a cliche idea (about god, for example, that he is loving, perhaps?), and then deconstruct
the cliché and use your rhetorical momentum to redefine the topic. - Pie Slicing: Divide your abstraction into a minimum of three fine distinctions, labeling each
specific division and providing a parallel amount of contrast between each “slice.” - Contrast Crunching: Expose hidden distinctions by comparing some aspect of your
abstraction to something else. In doing so, you should provide a more nuanced understanding
of your abstraction. Remember that applying a specific metric to guide the comparison will yield
the most effective writing. - Quote Sandwiching: Using our text, integrate at least two quotes from two discrete essays
that provide some insight into your abstractions. Remember that the quotes can be used in
different ways – for support, for refutation, for transition, etc. – so make sure you implement your
sources strategically. Don’t forget lead-ins, follow-ups, or a Works Cited page.
Metric for Success: Your paper will succeed if you expose the nuance of the subject matter in
a new way. The goal is to subvert convention and shatter cliches. Be fresh. Take risks. Make
your audience pay attention!
Style Requirements: Once you have drafted the sections, revise your essay with “Flow” and
“Pause” for an effective style that helps to argue your definition.
The minimum Flow and Pause requirements are as follows: 7 Flowing Sentences; 2 Melted
Together Words; 2 Very Short Sentences; 2 Semi-colons; 2 Colons or Single Dashes or 1 Colon
and 1 Single Dash; 1 Dash Skewer; 2 examples each of simile, metaphor, and extended
metaphor; and, finally, twist-ties for each section
Transitioning: Arrange all five parts into an essay. Any of the strategies can be used for an
introduction or conclusion. Use “Twist Ties” transitions to connect all sections. Do not use your
abstraction or related synonyms/antonyms as the “key word” Twist-Tie.
Subtitles: Each section should be clearly labeled according to its Adios technique. This is not
standard MLA format but merely a requirement for this paper, e.g. Contrast Crunching on Hope,
Cliche-Busting on Hope, etc. Note: you are welcome -- in fact, encouraged -- to integrate
multiple rhetorical strategies, i.e. There’s no reason you can’t mix anecdoting into your
pie-slicing section.
Thesis: Each section should include topic sentences, but one – and only one section (or
paragraph) – should include the thesis statement. You will have to decide which technique is
best-suited for the delivery of this main idea. There is no right answer here – the decision should
be made based on the material and the ideas that are being explored. Note: The five sections
are exactly that -- sections. That said, some of the sections will likely have more than one
paragraph; adjust your topic sentences accordingly.
Redundancy: Most of you will feel like your papers are redundant, especially in the prewriting
stages. The only advice I can offer to this end is to keep brainstorming, and then brainstorm on
your brainstorms. Ask questions. Lots of them. Specificity and curiosity will be the enemy of
redundancy. Also, don’t be afraid to focus. There’s no reason why a pie-slicing section about
god can’t focus solely on the various feminine qualities of god or the spastic qualities of god or
the aesthetic qualities of god, etc.