The Accidental Term Paper

Part I: Why this and why now?

In troduction: Now that I don't live by the semester, I miss those end of term papers that nicely sum up a semester's worth of learning. In fact, it wasn't until the end of my samplings that I realized just how much original research I had done. Why not get credit for this work and write a paper about my findings? By "credit" I mean justify my fall bakery wanderings.

Method: I didn't intend to sample as many cupcakes as I did this fall, but when fate put me in the vicinity of multiple cupcake shops over the course of mere weeks, how could I not? The best kind of taste test is done by comparing things side by side, but without FedEx, it just wasn't possible in my case.

Thesis: Every paper needs a thesis statement. I learned that much in school. "In this (paperless) paper I shall discuss my likes and dislikes about the cupcake shops that I visited in no particular order other than happenstance, where I sampled a variety of cakes chosen on whim. This study is important because I must find some meaning in spending nearly $4 each time I purchased a cupcake."

Tomorrow: Too much celebrity gossip...