Academic Selves Mary Pipher Summary

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Academic Selves by Mary Pipher Academic Selves by Mary Pipher is an incredibly interesting, well-thought out essay that uses statistics, anecdotes, and examples to prove the author’s points and ideas. Specifically, this support can be found within the use of a comparison and contrast model. Pipher uses this technique to compare the academic life of girls and boys, describing both situations eloquently and thoroughly. This gives the reader the chance to really see the difference between the two situations, and to receive a greater understanding of the issues at hand. Specific examples, such as how boys are told that they’re “smart, if they’d just settle down and do their work”, while girls are told “perhaps you’re just not good at this”, or …show more content…

The issues her essay deals with, off the negative effects on females in school systems, is a very “hot” topic, that is often ignored by many people. Many males take issues of female equality as a direct attack against themselves, and some females are against any idea that females struggle with or can not do something. Therefore, in attempting to explain the issue and information she has found, Pipher has to be almost casual and impartial with her presentation of knowledge. She does this by, unlike most essays, not having a conclusion. Nowhere is a “wrapping up” paragraph concluding her ideas, leading a call to arms, or directing the reader as to their next action, opinion, or feeling. This leaves the essay open-ended to the reader, a helpful aspect no matter whom the reader is. By presenting her knowledge and then stopping, Pipher gives the reader a chance to come to their own conclusions, create their own ideas, and discover the truth of what she has said in their own way at their own pace. In many cases this could be an interesting and successful technique, but with Pipher’s topic it is especially skillful, and almost a

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