X is for XXX – Why adult content is like a good research paper (though not like a great one).

Here's one way porn is like a good research paper: it gets to the point right away.
Lots of writers like to work up to things. Offer a compelling anecdote. Set up a metaphor. Share touching childhood memories. And most of the best films are like that too. We might witness a dozen vignettes of family life, get swept into the crazy romance of a beautiful couple, and cheer for a homeless guy whose wins the Mega Millions-all before we realize that this is 2087 and alien overlords have taken control of Earth.
Not so with sexually explicit material. My guess is that if everyone's pants (and skirts) aren't on the floor within the first five minutes of a X-rated flick, the director's name goes on a secret watchlist and no one in the adult industry ever works with him again.
You need to get down to business fast in a research paper too:
- 1st paragraph: what's the research question, why is it important
- 2nd paragraph: how did you go about answering it
- 3rd paragraph: what's the most important thing you found
Good. Intro done. Onto the body of the paper.
The other big way adult content is like a good research paper?
It's never a mystery which part of the story we're in, or about how long it will take. Like-now we're in the touching part, 5 min tops. Now we're in the he gives oral part, maybe 7. Now we're in the she gives oral part, 10-20, depending on what kind of flick this is. Now we're...
You get the picture.
There's no mixing up parts of the story, and transitions (aka changes in position) are brief.
Same with a good research paper. The sections will vary by discipline (sociology, medicine, etc.), but basically you've got:
- Intro
- Literature Review (overview of previous work on the topic)
- Methodology (how did you go about finding out what you found out)
- Results (just the dry facts-what did you find out)
- Discussion (what does it mean?)
- Conclusion
Use subtitles, so we always know where we are. And no need for long, fussy transitions.