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Strengths and weaknesses of writing skills
Strengths and weaknesses of writing skills
Strengths and weaknesses of writing skills
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In the essay, “University Days” James Thurber does a sensational job keeping the reader’s interest throughout the entire story. He explains his college experiences in a way that makes the reader both interested and amused at the same time. Thurber portrays the message that the all-star football player was not the brightest bulb on the tree, which is humorous because many people can relate to that because it’s the same at their school. The author uses a creative writing style to try and capture his audience’s attention throughout the entire essay. He uses descriptive wording, humor, and stories that relate to the reader to accomplish his goal of telling his college stories in an exciting and memorable way.
The descriptive wording used in this essay contributes to the enjoyment of the story. Many authors just tell stories without going in-depth and it makes the reader’s mind wander. That’s why Thurber’s style is so effective; he explains every situation very clearly and also backs them up with examples. He recalled the story about his classmate, Bolenciecwcz who was seen as the star of the football team. He was reminiscing on a time in particular that their teacher asked the football player what form of transportation he took to get to school. Bolenciecwcz had a tough time comprehending the question and was beginning to feel some pressure from his classmates to answer the question correctly. He was having so much trouble searching for an answer that the author described the situation by saying, “At this time, Bolenciecwcz was staring at the floor, trying to think,
his great brow furrowed, his huge hands rubbing together, his face red.”(346) His classmates burst out into laughter at this point; in order to help the speechless...
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...rd work really does pay off. This is an example that if a person fails the first try, rather than quitting, they should work even harder to accomplish the task. All of these examples were extremely influential on Thurber’s life and changed him into a more responsible person.
The author’s unique writing style which includes; descriptive wording, humorous quotes, and stories that relate to the reader contribute to making the essay very easy to follow along with and it also helps enhance the excitement of the story. Thurber’s style allows him to express his thoughts in a way that makes the reader laugh and want to continue reading on. This is a sensational short story that I recommend to anyone looking
to read a well-written essay or even anyone just trying to get a laugh. It’s a quick and easy read, and his creative writing styles make the story well worth it!
The writer has used a combination of narrative and descriptive styles of writing. He has used the descriptive style to give a step by step illustration on what a man should do, how he should behave and lastly what he should say from the beginning to the end of the story (Meyer 45). The narrative style comes into play as he adds in his characters, the conflicts they will face or words they will use and the settings and or challenges they will encounter throughout the short story. This
The football players in Odessa were generally a wild party crowd. It was typical that late in the fourth quarter, when the game was in the bag, the players would begin talking on the sidelines about what parties they were going to after the game, what girls they were going to try to pick up, and laughing about how drunk they were going to get. They cared nothing for academics. The senior star running back, Boobie Miles, was taking a math course that most students took as freshmen. Many of the senior players' schedules consisted of nothing but electives. For the Oddesa footbal players, school was nothing more than a social get-to-gether, served up to them as a chance to flirt with girls and hand out with their friends. They knew that their performance in class didn't matter; the teacher would provide the needed grade to stay on the team. It wasn't uncommon for players to receive answer keys for a test or simply to be exempt from taking the test at all. Some didn't know how they would cope without football after the season was over. They ate, drank, and slept it. On the whole, these 16 and 17-year-old boys' identity was wrapped up in a pigskin.
Last but not least, O’Connor confirms that even a short story is a multi-layer compound that on the surface may deter even the most enthusiastic reader, but when handled with more care, it conveys universal truths by means of straightforward or violent situations. She herself wished her message to appeal to the readers who, if careful enough, “(…)will come to see it as something more than an account of a family murdered on the way to Florida.”
Bissinger creates empathy in the reader by narrating the lives of once Permian heros. Charlie Billingsley, a Permian football player, “was somewhere at the top” while he was playing. It was hard for the football town of Odessa to forget “how that son of a bitch played the game in the late sixties”(80). While in Odessa, Permian players receive praise unmatched by even professional football. This unmatchable praise becomes something Permian players like Billingsley become accustomed to, and when he “found out that...you were a lot more expendable in college(80). This lack of appreciation that is equivalent to the one that they have received their whole life makes them go from “a hero one day to a broken down nobody the next”(81). With the realization of this reality, Billingsley becomes one of the many to spend life as a wastrel, living in his memory of playing for the Permian Panthers. The reader becomes empathetic towards how the once likely to succeed Billingsley, becomes another Odessan wastrel due to the over emphasis and extreme praise the Odessan football team receives. Bissinger does not stop with a classic riches to rags story to spur the reader’s empathy but talks about the effect the Odessan attitude toward football has on the health of its players. Just like in many parts of the world, in Odessa, sports equates to manliness and manliness equates to not showing signs of pain. Philip, an eighth grade boy aspiring to one day be a Permian Panther is lauded by his stepfather as he “broke his arm during the first demonstrative series of a game ...[but] managed to set it back in” and continued playing for the rest of the game. It is noted that Philip’s arm “swelled considerably, to the point the forearm pads...had to be cut off”(43). By adding details such as these, Bissinger
"Unit 2: Reading & Writing About Short Fiction." ENGL200: Composition and Literature. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 49-219. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
In Patricia Limerick’s article “Dancing with Professors”, she argues the problems that college students must face in the present regarding writing. Essays are daunting to most college students, and given the typical lengths of college papers, students are not motivated to write the assigned essays. One of the major arguments in Limerick’s article is how “It is, in truth, difficult to persuade students to write well when they find so few good examples in their assigned reading.” To college students, this argument is true with most of their ...
They write of a story about a successful PH.D. graduate struggling to find his way, and they introduce Philip Isard, as an accomplished history graduate, who has straight A 's and great references. They effect the readers by describing Philip 's disheartening search for an ' 'entry level job, ' ' and his return to Toronto ' 'with an empty bank account and no real prospects. ' ' This story illustrates the intense struggle that many university graduates encounter and it appeal 's to the audience because the story touches many who have experienced the same
The right and privilege to higher education in today’s society teeters like the scales of justice. In reading Andrew Delbanco’s, “College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be, it is apparent that Delbanco believes that the main role of college is to accommodate that needs of all students in providing opportunities to discover individual passions and dreams while furthering and enhancing the economic strength of the nation. Additionally, Delbanco also views college as more than just a time to prepare for a job in the future but a way in which students and young adults can prepare for their future lives so they are meaningful and purposeful. Even more important is the role that college will play in helping and guiding students to learn how to accept alternate point of views and the importance that differing views play in a democratic society. With that said, the issue is not the importance that higher education plays in society, but exactly who should pay the costly price tag of higher education is a raging debate in all social classes, cultures, socioeconomic groups and races.
Pappano, Laura. “How Big-Time Sports Ate College Life” Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition, 8th ed. Pages 591-600. 2013.
Wilson, M. & Clark, R. (n.d.). Analyzing the Short Story. [online] Retrieved from: https://www.limcollege.edu/Analyzing_the_Short_Story.pdf [Accessed: 12 Apr 2014].
“It’s Harder Now to Change Student’s Lives, but No Less Important” isn’t just an average writing piece, it is a writing piece that truly catches the eye; Stephen R. Herr does this by not only portraying a strong, academic message throughout his words, he also eloquently places his words in such a way which significantly affects the piece as a whole. However, this was all not luck of the draw; Herr knew what he was doing from the beginning by knowing certain writing techniques such as focusing on a specific audience, knowing his own position, using rhetorical moves, and much more.
Lee A. Jacobus. A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. 5th edition. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1998.
I 'm going to tell you a story. Kind of. It 's actually more of just a vague analyses about what I think about a couple of quotes and then my personal experiences that I 've had with college. Or, that is what my rough draft was. I 'm going to try to add a little more content to it this time around. Time for take two of the second formal writing assignment! I 'm going to maintain that my thesis is that Pratt 's speech is possibly correct for the time, but too old to be entirely relevant to modern times, and that the Los Rios quote is nothing but pointless fluff that has no impact on how the school or staff actually operate.
... well to portray how life actually was in those times. Most of his elements are true and add to the validity of the story and personality of the characters in it. He gives his readers a look into the world of a Southern style of life in the given time period.
Frey, Darcy. “The Last Shot.” Reading and Writing the College Experience. Huron Valley Publishing: Ypsilanti, 2003. 171 – 192.