The author, Natalie Wexler is a one of the founders of the board of trustees for the Writing Revolution. In her article, Why Americans Can 't Write, with the advent of email, writing ability has become more important than ever, and writing deficiencies have become increasingly apparent. The writing skills have been lacking in America, and the reason is because schools have only 24% of the students in eighth and 12th grades were proficient in writing and just 3% were advanced. The exercise doesn 't provide kids with the tools they need to write analytically. The standards in middle and in high schools teachers expect students to know things.
Barry Alford, the author of Freirean Voices, Student Choices is an English professor at Mid Michigan Community College. In this specific piece of writing, he states that “particularly when they find themselves following some formula organizing the topic instead of the trail of their own thinking” (P. 280). Meaning that students just do exactly what they are told to do instead of venturing out and making it their own writing. Alford talks about how students need to have more in depth and creative forms of writing rather than being boring. A major thing he believes is that students need to hear themselves and their other classmates before they start writing.
In Los Angeles, there is a well known stormed called the Santa Ana that often occurs during the colder months. Joan Didion writes an essay that discusses what the storm is and how it affects the Los Angelenos. Although primarily writing for everyone’s knowledge, being she is a fellow citizen, she directs her thoughts towards Los Angeles’ people She gains a connection with her audience and their emotions. After doing this she selects specific words to help enhance the intensity of the storm. She also uses long sentences to further describe the intensity of the storm through her writing techniques, but towards the end of the essay she uses short sentences to provide information and to show she is knowledgeable to the audience .
By using I and the constant use of his own personal stories and thoughts it makes it feel like we can identify with not only the author as a person, but his emotions and
This exchange of ideas helps the writer to engage the reader in a
As I was reading Melissa Duffy’s “Inspiration, and Craig Vetter’s “Bonehead Writing,” I found myself connecting with Vetter’s paper more than Duffy’s. I found that the presentation in “Bonehead Writing” to capture my attention, and that Vetter’s feelings about writing was similar to my opinion on writing. Through his wording and humor, I think Craig Vetter wrote the best essay. I find that the wording and presentation of an article or essay influences my opinion of the writer, and it affects how I receive the idea they are trying to present to me. Craig Vetter uses a blunt approach to convey his idea that writing is nearly impossible to teach, and describes writing as “A blood sport, a walk in the garden of agony every time out.”
Lastly, she reflects how physical writing gave the “at risk” students a voice for the first time. Analysis The apparent audience for Anna Quindlen’s essay is those interested in the movie “Freedom Writers,” and those interested in how writing impacts our lives.
Many writers seem to write just to write, but isn’t there a meaning in all writing. Rather to persuade, to teach, or to argue a topic. There is no such writing that is just writing. Most writing is to make the reader feel connected and to be a part of the story. Writers want the reader to feel connected to the story because if there no connection then there is no story.
In her essay "Does Texting Affect Writing?", Michaela Cullington presents her argument that texting does not impact formal writing written by students. She discusses the concerns presented by many people about how texting language can transfer into writing, but through the use of personal experiences and credible sources she discusses how this is not true. Her use of multiple different studies and situations help boost her argument and allow the reader to truly see how students actually do formal writing. She presents a strong argument as to why those who believe students don't have the control and knowledge to write formally, instead of with text speak, are wrong.
The 19th century expression “White Man’s Burden” reflects the conviction European imperialists had to develop nations they felt were inferior to them. Armed with the belief it was their moral obligation to spread Western ideals, and civilize people they believed to be uncivilized, they succeeded in robbing countries of their culture and natural resources. The ideology was used to justify dishonorable acts as noble doings. European colonizers might have been convinced, exploiting and occupying someone else's country is only ethically just, when in turn, you provide the indigenous people with Western education and culture. If we all know morality as the comprehension of what is right and wrong, how were the majority of imperialists in the
Williams’s article is written in a subjective viewpoint. His audience for this particular journal entry is towards other educators, as he himself is also a writing professor at a university. Because of the author’s educational background, he can use his own experiences to address issues with teaching methodology in writing. Williams begins his article with a quote from an unidentified individual whom he met at a conference: “I’m not so sure that an academic journal should be focusing so much on identity when what we’re supposed to be doing is teaching academic literacy” (710). With this introduction, Williams is able to address the common stigma he has come across throughout his career as a writing educator.
“Learning to Read and Write” and “Freewriting” both accomplish the act of trying to express freedom of thought. With free expression, people are able to express themselves through writing. Not only does expressing the self through writing empower a person, but it also acts as motivation. Learning new things and trying to express them through writing down thoughts helps individuals understand themselves. Writing is what makes each individual different.
1. In “What Writing Is”, King creates a genuine personal connection to the reader by incorporating various details about his life, thus establishing a less formal tone. By discussing his need to go out Christmas shopping, his son's surprise visit form college, and his preferred blue chair for reading, King becomes more relatable to the reader, who likely has had similar experiences in their life and therefore understands King's concerns. This causes the relationship between renowned author and common reader to transform into a simple conversation between two individuals and allows King to help the reader better understand the point of the essay. 2.
In Joan Didion essay "On Keeping a Notebook," Joan Didion discusses the need of having a notebook to record one's thoughts, ideas, and experiences. According to Didion, a notebook can be used to understand the world around us as well as a tool for personal growth and development. She employs a variety of rhetorical methods to convey her views and convince the reader of the value of keeping a notebook. One of the primary key concepts of rhetorical strategies Didion used is Repetition.
Written works tells us about our past, present, and future. Literature painted the image of the past of our ancestors, how they lived and what they’ve done. Literature teaches us about ourselves, and the universe surrounding us in the present. Literature predicts the upcoming events and gives us wings to fly into the unknown future. These are the powers written words can give the writer and provide the
