Writing Well Chapter 1 response

A detailed Summary of Writing Well Chapter 1 response


Writing Well, by Donald Hall, is an amazingly interesting textbook. I cannot remember reading an instructional manual with such brilliant imagery, flowing style, and amazing concepts. This is what education should be - interesting, provocative, and natural. However, in the first eleven pages of the text, I do not agree with two of the three analyses of Hall's examples.

In the comparison of the college student's two expressions of his first impression of his dorm, Hall disregards the first passage as "sloppy - slangy and fragmentary." He praises the second passage as suspenseful and detailed and suggests that the author has "made great strides" and has "put some thought into creating a scene." I, however, find the second passage to be dull and watered-down, over-edited, and false sounding. Although the first passage could be improved by explaining where he was, what the disaster entailed, and who the funny-looking guy was, its honesty far outweighs the literary correctness of the second passage.

Once again, in Hall's analysis of the narratives of Nina Ch


an, he seems to be putting too much focus on what is correct, and not enough on what makes an interesting work of literature. The impromptu theme does rely heavily on cliches in the first few sentences; however, the narrative uses so much language in avoiding the cliches that the first six paragraphs in the 13-paragraph essay - close to half of the narrative - are utterly boring and colorless. Furthermore, the "What did I see?" arrangement in paragraphs 4-6 attempts to elicit some kind of emotion and utterly fails. Assuming that these three paragraphs could be considered a short story (although it is not fictional), the story then does not meet Edgar Allen Poe's definition of the purpose of a short story: to elicit a single emotional response. Then again, it may elicit a single emotional response: boredom. Fortunately, Chan manages to turn her story around by writing a stellar climax and falling action in paragraphs 7-13. The imagery and raw emotion show the reader the nature of the situation in a way that is unfortunately not demonstrated in the first

Some common words found in the essay are:
Expression Hall, Donald Hall, Fortunately Chan, Nina Chan, Allen Poe's, Donald Hall's, single emotional response, elicit single emotional, elicit single, short story, emotional response, half narrative, single emotional, natural voice,

Approximate Word count = 718
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

join now Save Paper

Related Essays

  • Major Problems In US to 18 Chapter 1 Review ... by stating that the Native Americans are well on their ... very interesting and very easy to read in Chapter 1. The essays ... to me were the first hand writing that I ... 1245 words
  • The Evidence for Jesus ... One of the main focuses of this chapter is the ... is that Matthew, Mark and Luke are writing based on ... This material is explained to be the wellknown, accepted ... 1366 words
  • Letter From Birmingham Jail ... as a classroom example of rhetorical style of writing. ... beliefs, and ways of life as well as appreciate ... 1. Aristotle, ampquotRhetoricampquot, Book I, Chapter 1, 1355a, A ... 1252 words
  • uses and abuses of information in Orwellamp39s 1984 ... It is unclear who is writing the history of Vietnam. ... In chapter 1 of the book Orwell describes the event ... This rhetoric is well used in propaganda and there are ... 2251 words
  • alcoholism ... a great deal of ordinary wine, as well as some ... CHAPTER 9 ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL VALUE OF WINE Like ... Acknowledgement The preparation and writing of their research ... 8961 words

Professional Essays

  • Total Quality Management and Employee Response ... The chapter also reviews related research ... Service companies must also remember that the well known traditional ... to the term ampquotISO.ampquot Wade Ferguson, writing in the ... 9306 words
  • Memo on Writing a Report on Smart Systems ... of trim tabs on aircraft, helicopters, and submarines as well as the ... Magnetostrictive rare earthFe2 compounds, Chapter 7 in Ferromagnetic Materials, Volume ... 5725 words
  • Reading Curiculum Effectiveness ... teach special needs children reading and writing skills were ... exist, indicated that it worked well for at ... Chapter 3 METHODS AND PROCEDURES Sampling Design Two ... 4652 words
  • Health Services Research Methods ... This chapter results in a comprehensive understanding ... methodology, statistics, computers, writing, and public ... this book provides a wellwritten, comprehensive ... 4889 words
  • Enhanced Interdepartmental Communications INTRODUCTION This study ... ... general thrust of most of this writing has been ... an organizational unit on common goals, as well as upon ... performed for this study are presented in this chapter. ... 6860 words
  • Teachersamp39 Perceptions REVIEW OF LITERATURE Introduction ... high expectations emphasis on reading, writing, phonics, and ... if students are doing well, teachers are ... responsibilities for the Chapter 1 Parental Involvement ... 7127 words


Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.
Home Join Now Support
Acceptable Use Policy About us FAQ
All papers are for research and reference purposes only!
© 2002-2009 DirectEssays.com. All Rights Reserved.