What is Conceptual Thinking

This chapter reports on a study of the content of extremely short stories (ESS) written by freshman undergraduates in the language and literature department of a university in Jordan. It looks at the origins and benefits of extremely short stories, with particular reference to the extensive work of Peter Hassall who established the first Extremely Short Story Competition (ESSC) for non-native English speakers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study is the first in an Arab country outside the UAE. Students' most popular themes included problems and problem-solving, travel, student life, family, and friends. Stories contained features of academic writing as well as many literary elements, including character, plot, metaphor, simile, and more. The chapter concludes by suggesting that the ESS can successfully serve as a bridge to academic writing and bring writer and reader closer together by generating interesting texts for audiences other than the instructors.