TOW #1: "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words"

Students have all experienced the dreaded announcement of homework being assigned over the weekend. Paul Roberts begins his essay with an anecdote; it is one that especially speaks out to and connects with students of all ages. The reader is able to unconsciously draw connections from the "you" that Roberts is writing about to himself. From the anecdote, the audience reads the anecdote and realizes that the "you" is actually themselves. The same crimes are being committed by the reader, and the anecdote serves as a way of letting one reflect on the common crimes writers commit.

Paul Roberts, who is the writer of multiple textbooks, teaches the reader in an understandable fashion. Using the example of the essay topic about college football throughout the entire essay, Roberts shows how an essay topic can stray away from the common ideas of good and bad, but become a paper that sheds light onto a new perspective. Pointing out re-occurring errors young writers make shows the audience, who are not fully developed writers, how to improve their writing through simple tips such as taking the less usual side, getting rid of fillers (or "padding"), etc. An example of this is seen through the juxtaposition. For example, Roberts writes, “When I was a little girl, I suffered from shyness and embarrassment in the presence of others” (4). To get rid of obvious padding, Roberts shows how the sentence can be changed to, “I was a shy little girl” (4). In hopes of making the audience effective writers, Roberts uses this essay to identify bad errors that most, inexperienced writers make. He then shows how, by following his tips, that the audience can not only avoid a bad grade on a paper, but also mature as writers.

From word choice to an essay’s content, Roberts presents the reader many ways to improve one’s writing. Even myself.  I was able to look at the sub-headings of his essay and point out the mistakes I make regularly in writing. This shows that Roberts successfully accomplishes his purpose of raising awareness of reoccurring errors young writers make.

shawnedwards.wordpress.com