In "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words," Roberts convincingly argues that writing has many guidelines, which should be followed when one is writing in order to construct a system for students to assist them in their writing. Roberts uses imagery, an anecdote of college football player’s daily rituals, a confident tone, hyperbole, and the removal of euphemisms to argue that his writing guidelines are correct. Roberts’ strong writing helps him make a good case that a writer should follow his guidelines; while, some people may not agree with his guidelines. I think they are simply brilliant because the article is trying to help one comprehend a way of writing that helps the reader understand better and helps the writers write a more organized, clear, better sounding paper.
Professor Roberts displays imagery in his article to assist the reader in understanding his point. The paper is mainly based on college football in the 1950s, which already can paint a picture for the reader. In the beginning of his article Roberts immediately uses a series of images to help the reader acquire a mental picture of his topic. He discusses a college student who gets assigned a paper to do for the weekend about the abolition of college football. He adopts the student’s perspective and writes, “after dinner you get out the portable typewriter that you got for high school graduation” (Roberts 1). In addition Roberts writes, “it’s ten o’clock Sunday night before you get out the typewriter again. You make a pot of coffee and start to fill out your views on college football. Put a little meat on the bones” (Roberts 1). Roberts is helping the reader visualize the setting through his imagery. When Roberts writes, “On Monday you turn it in, moderately hopeful,...
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...g all these minor, ticky-tacky examples to prove his point, Roberts is using a literary term known as a hyperbole due to the excessive examples. I agree with Roberts that euphemisms are not necessary and could easily be evaded. I also think that Roberts’s use of the hyperbole to get his point across helps the reader genuinely apprehend Roberts’ concentrated passion for the dislike of euphemisms.
Professor Roberts’ article “How to Say Nothing in 500 Words” in my opinion is a phenomenal guideline to follow for a college student’s writing or even an author’s or a journalist’s writing. Roberts makes valid points about imagery, tone, and euphemism throughout his paper. I would make the argument that Roberts’ guidelines assist a writer in helping the reader understand the writer’s overall article by employing literary techniques to harness the reader’s attention.
An article that uses a lot of rhetorical devices is Shitty First Drafts by Anne Lamott. The speaker of this article is obviously Anne Lamott; the reader gets to understand her more after she shares some personal experiences. Lamott wants people to know that their first drafts are supposed to be shitty. This article is meant for college students who just finished their first draft and is looking for improvement. The purpose of this whole article is to inform you that your first draft is supposed to be horrible because no one can just pull an amazing paper from no where, not even the people who write for a living. The whole subject is telling you that your first drafts are going to be bad, so make sure to write multiple drafts before you
In this article written by David Bartholomae, the author discusses problems basic writers make and about how they must use the discourse (communication style) of the academic community they are writing to, to be an effective writer. Bartholomae believes that “Inventing the University," is being able to assemble and mimic the universities language(5). Which means, if a student wants to be an efficient writer, he or she must be able to speak the language of his or her audience. Bartholomae writes that a common mistake of basic writers is that they don’t use an authoritative voice, and tend to switch into a more passive voice. This could be due to the fact that students have difficulty establishing their mindset or attitude for an audience
However, though John Warner’s argument is strong, Kerri smith’s argument is stronger. In Kerri Smith’s article “In Defense of the Five-Paragraph Essay,” She claims that the five-paragraph essay should stay taught in schools as a guideline for a well-structured essay. She explains the five-paragraph essay as an “introduce-develop-conclude structure” that even great expository writing follows this structure (Smith 16). She purposefully communicates to her audience this idea to show that this structure gives students the knowledge and capability to write a professional essay. The five-paragraph essay includes the three key points to have a well-structured and organized essay. By mentioning that other great writers use this form of structure, she creates a stronger argument as to why the five-paragraph essay is important to education. She continues her article by explaining her early stages of writing and how she was taught; over time, her teachers would show her new ways to improve her writing which, in the end, she was told to think “of those five paragraphs simply as a mode of organization” (Smith
Having such an image before our eyes, often we fail to recognize the message it is trying to display from a certain point of view. Through Clark’s statement, it is evident that a photograph holds a graphic message, which mirrors the representation of our way of thinking with the world sights, which therefore engages other
Longaker, Mark Garrett, and Jeffrey Walker. Rhetorical Analysis: A Brief Guide for Writers. Glenview: Longman, 2011. Print.
David Foster Wallace, author of the essay “Authority and American Usage*,” praises and advocates for “good” writers who have a strong rhetorical ability, which he defines as “the persuasive use of language to influence the thoughts and actions of an audience” (Wallace 628). To have a strong rhetorical ability, an author needs to be aware of whom their audience is, in order to present their information in a way that will be influential on their audience. Wallace recognizes that an author who applies a strong rhetorical ability will be able to connect with the audience so that they respond “not just to [their] utterance but also to [them]” (Wallace 641). An author needs to take into consideration not just content, syntax and grammatical structure (their “utterance”) but also how their character will be perceived by their audience. A positive tone will make the author seem more pleasant and relatable, whereas a negative tone connotes arrogance and pretentiousness. That is why it is crucial for an author to recognize that an audience will respond to “them” and not just their “utterance,” as an author’s appearance to their readers can also shape how impactful their writing is.
Several people have trouble writing college level essays and believe that they are unable to improve their writing skills. In “the Inspired Writer vs. The Real Writer,” Sarah Allen argues how no one is born naturally good at writing. Sarah Allen also states how even professional writers have trouble with the task of writing. Others, such as Lennie Irvin, agree. In Irvin’s article “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” states how there are misconceptions about writing. Furthermore, Mike Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer” shows ways on how one can improve their writing skills. Allen, Bunn, and Irvin are correct to say how no one is born naturally good writers. Now that we know this, we should find ways to help improve our writing skills, and
Frahm holds a similar point of view encouraging clear, straightforward writing not one with a “Confusing introduction. Lack of content. Bad transitions. (and) Excessive grammatical errors.” (Frahm 271).
While preparing for one of his college lectures, Dennis Baron, a professor and linguistics at the University of Illinois, began playing with the idea of how writing has changed the world we lived in and materials and tools we use in everyday life. This lecture slowly transitioned into “Should Everybody Write?” An article that has made many wonder if technology has made writing too easy for anyone to use or strengthens a writer's ability to learn and communicate their ideas. Baron uses rhetorical strategies in his article to portray to his audience his positive tone, the contrast and comparison of context and his logical purpose.
Talbot uses powerful diction to get her message across in ways which normal writing and syntax could not achieve. Examples range from “...sneaky way of gaming the system” (223) and “...criticized as palaces of privilege” (229) and “...the contest for valedictorian offers a pleasing image of a purer meritocracy” (231). All of these following examples of powerful language depict to the reader the importance of the topic and to stress the author’s message. The rhetoric adds to stress certain points which are very critical in her message. Without the strong dialect the message could be weakened and even worse in the end it could be depicted wrong. On top of all the syntax and diction along with the rhetorical appeals brings the reader to the author’s overall message of needing to reward the best in a different way than normal but making sure that we still do reward
They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing (2nd ed.). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Birk, Newman. “Selection,Slanting,and Charged Language.” Language Awarness:Reading for College Writers.Ed Paul Escholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. 11th ed. Boston:Bedford, 2013. 223-31. Print
Being back in grad school has been an amazing experience because it has put me back in touch with my own process of writing; I am conscious of how I write in comparison to the way in which I expect my students to write. I find myself using the information that I share with them, although at times I feel the pressure that I must earn all A’s on my papers because if I haven’t mastered the process of writing, then I must be a bit of a fraud to be teaching it. But then I have to remember what I have learned about my own process, and what I continue to learn about my own writing process. I keep in mind the epiphany I experienced in graduate school, and I seek to share this information, for current or later use, with my students in the classroom.
writing” by R. Ramsey, the ability to write competently is a requirement for success in any field.
Writing is an important part of everyone’s life, whether we use it in school, in the workplace, as a hobby or in personal communication. It is important to have this skill because it helps us as writers to express feelings and thoughts to other people in a reasonably permanent form. Formal writing forms like essays, research papers, and articles stimulates critically thinking. This helps the writer to learn how to interpret the world around him/her in a meaningful way. In college, professors motivate students to write in a formal, coherent manner, without losing their own voice in the process. Improving your writing skills is important, in every English class that’s the main teaching point; to help students improve their writing skills. Throughout my college experience I have acknowledge that