...Professor Beth Riley October 23, 2013 Homelessness is More Appealing Many of us will never be homeless, and not everyone understands the benefit of having a wife, but after reading the essays’, Homeless (Quindlen, A. n.d.) and I Want a Wife (Brady, J. 1971), one can gain a better understanding of both. I am a wife. Therefore, I can certainly connect with the narrator’s story of I Want a Wife. This is a narrative essay, in which the narrator reflects on why she too would like to have a wife after a visit with a recently divorced male friend, who is looking for a new wife. The narrator gives a list of duties and activities she will and will not do if she had a wife, and she can visualize the benefits a wife could afford her with less responsibilities and more time for school or friends. My other essay of choice is quite different in theme, but it is still relatable. Anne Quindlen’s essay, Homeless (n.d.) is a short descriptive essay with the narrator retelling of an account when she met a woman, who she believes is homeless, at the bus terminal. It is during the encounter that the narrator reflects on homeless people in general, the homeless individual and about herself. Both of these essays’ are well written, however, I feel that Homeless (Quindlen, A. n.d.), is a more appealing essay than I Want a Wife (Brady, J. 1971), as it allows the reader to become more engaged in the descriptions and reflect on the details of the story. Whenever I first start reading any type of literature...
Words: 1517 - Pages: 7
...These days many people want to feel like they belong to a community but many are pressured to accept their roles in society. The informative and narrative essay “Can You Tell the Truth in a Small Town” by Kathleen Norris focuses on a small town community in the Dakotas in order to explain a bigger picture on how American society does not want to highlight failures and mistakes from the past. Norris conveys many individuals apart of this community have been trying to remember things the way they want to than how things actually are in reality, and therefore the community masks the truth and hides their history. On the other side of the spectrum, the informative and revealing essay “A Secret Society of the Starving” by Mim Udovitch validates the way individuals, especially young girls, engage themselves in dangerous activities and behaviors because of the familiar environment they have with others who can relate to them. Specifically in Udovitch’s essay, she targets a population of young girls who have an eating disorder and seek an emotional understanding within others on websites that promote an eating disorder community by sharing their experiences. Norris and Udovitch present different issues regarding communities in their essays, but they both explain that acceptance in American society affects how people cope with their problems, how they tell the truth, and what crucial details of their stories they leave out for others to hear. In both essays, females are pushed to follow...
Words: 1465 - Pages: 6
...edition Writing essays The language that we use for writing essays is often more formal than the language that we use in conversation. The next four pages give you help with the more formal type of language that is usually used in writing. They give words and phrases that will help you to write your ideas clearly and naturally, and in a way that is suitable for an essay. Saying what you agree with You will first need to read the essay title carefully, and decide what you agree or disagree with about it or whether you think it is true. Use these words and phrases to say what you agree with or what you think is true about the statement: Certainly . . . It is certainly true that . . . It is certainly the case (= true) that . . . Examples: An example essay You could be asked to write many different types of essays in English during the course of your studies. These may include factual essays, descriptive essays or stories. You may also be asked to write letters, emails, reports or pages from a diary as writing exercises. The phrases below all relate to the language you might want to use in a discursive essay (= an essay in which you are asked to discuss something). The title of the example essay is: ‘Despite the increased availability of ‘healthy’ food and our greater knowledge of what makes a healthy diet, we are fatter and less healthy than ever before.’ Discuss. Before you start Make sure you understand what you are expected to do in writing the essay. If you do not understand...
Words: 1738 - Pages: 7
...Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts Essay The world we are living in has been through so many changes, and now we are living in a world filled with technology. It is not just some inconsiderable change in our everyday life, and it would not be an exaggeration if you said that technology has changed the world. It has dispensed so many new opportunities to the human kind and it is just the beginning of what technology may bring the future. One could argue whether technology has had negative or positive influence on the human kind, and you can ask yourselves whether people are using technology in a meaningful way? Maybe the human race is not clever enough to avoid being seduced by technology. The essay Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts written by Jonathan Franzen bring some essential subjects into focus. In the beginning of the essay he describes his obsession with his new BlackBerry Bold and why he got rid of the old one. He humanizes his phones and describes his relationship with them as if the phones were actual people. He says: “(…) our technology has become extremely adept at creating products that correspond to our fantasy ideal of an erotic relationship (…)” (p. 8, l. 46) He explains that the ultimate goal of technology is to replace the natural world with a world that is responsive to our wishes. Technology does not ask for anything, we can do what ever we want with it without getting into a big argument as in ‘real’ relationships, and all things considered...
Words: 1172 - Pages: 5
...Gaining Knowledge about Our Environment How often do you pay attention to the environment around you? There are few people that take notice of how humans treat and take care of the earth; however, the people that do observe the earth are trying to gain awareness so people can see just what is happening around them. In Delaney’s essay, Pilgrim at Topanga Creek, he goes on to discuss the nature of human versus wildlife. The wildlife that he seems to focus on is coyotes and humans coexist. He goes on to explain that coyotes do not mean intentional harm, because they are just doing what they need to do to survive. Another environmentalist, Aldo Leopold wrote an essay called “Land Ethic.” Leopold goes on to express his ideals of how mistreated the environment really is. Like Delaney, he expresses how humans and the environment coexist; however, unlike Delaney, Leopold refers to plants and animals. He tries to prove the point that humans do not have respect for the natural world. While both essays’ focus on the subject of the environment there is a compare and contrast of similarities, differences, and tones. In both essays’ Leopold and Delaney discuss how easily humans take over land that belonged to animals long before we took over the land. Delaney talks about how the coyotes invade the yards in his neighborhood; however, there are people that leave food out for the coyotes, but call in complaints when the coyotes attack their yards, pets, or children. About 100 coyotes per...
Words: 987 - Pages: 4
...the true statement or false statement on the situation. Stating the situation on the first essay its argument deals with the lifestyle on which we live in. “The argument on which cars will be an uproar to our communities, disrupting sleep, terrifying animals, destroying public and private property, and placing members of our emergency services in life threatening situations”. Fairfax, M. (2005, Nov 11). Everybody has their opinions on different situations that evolve around the world, some may be true statements, some may be false statements regardless which is the right statement. We will make an argument to prove who is right are who is wrong. The second essay talks about woman with cancer who died in 1989. The woman named was Bronwen Wallace who went to Queen’s University and Marxist politics. The essay talks about how Wallace who died at the age of 44 wrote a book about knowing your damage about anything wrong with your body.” The power of feminism is the power of the victim who has recognized a way to use her damage.” “When you get in touch with your damage, recognized it and care for it, you also discover the source of your power.” Wallace, B., Page, J., & Robertson, H. (1993, Feb). The third essay talks about arguments between one another going through debates, while expressing your opinions with reasons to support it without arguing with any particular person or group of people. Even if you do win an argument, which is rare, it may boost up your ego without serving any...
Words: 926 - Pages: 4
...on many intricate roles. These roles are often unnoticed or are part of an unspoken code. Women have played a major role in the development of greatness, but will often go unrecognized for their input, effort and involvement. Many times the role of a woman asked her to take a back seat to men’s work and not be in the fore front. It was not important for women to be educated, for they were not made to be leaders, creators, commanders or organizers. Sister Flowers by Maya Angelou and I Want a Wife by Judy Brady bring light to the dynamics of a woman and the many facets of a woman. Whether of a high or low class the, fortitude of a woman is astounding. In this ever changing world, women have begun to evolve and smile at the ratification of the positions that they have long held. These essays provide us with a piece of history that shows the growth and development that women are making to get the recognition that is their-due. Sister Flowers by Maya Angelou is a descriptive essay told through the eyes of a young girl named Marguerite who has admiration for a woman in her community that is full of grace. The presence, stature and charisma of this woman was enough to put her in a class with the elite. This woman was different from the others within her community and due to education. Sister Flowers words and language supported that image. As she would often have conversations with Marguerite’s mother that would be very shameful to her, due to her mother’s lack of...
Words: 1369 - Pages: 6
...closing that reinforces the main point? * Is the essay coherent? Does it flow from beginning to end? * Is the order of the support logical and effective? * Does the essay provide strong evidence to support any opinions? * Does the essay reflect on the evidence and explain its importance? * Does the essay use strong transitions between sentences and between paragraphs? When it comes to revising your essay there are key questions that you want to ask yourself and make sure that they are answered. You want to make sure that the topic sentence of each paragraph addresses your thesis statement; such as different types of weight loss methods, each paragraphs’ topic sentence should be a different method. You want to make sure that each paragraph has an effective closing statement that reinforces that main point of the essay; like saying that a specific method will help to contribute to the weight loss. When writing an essay you want to make sure that you grab your readers’ attention and keep it throughout the entire paper. You do not want to talk about how a banana is yellow, then say how high the ball can bounce, then back to describing the banana for example. To keep your readers’ attention it is important to make sure you keep your details in order like you would need a cooking recipe to do. People who read your essay are going to have their own opinions about the topic you are writing about. You want to be sure that you are able to cover all points of...
Words: 601 - Pages: 3
...social critic, and journalist wrote an intriguing essay “Stuff is Not Salvation” about the addiction of Americans, who splurge on materialistic items that have no real meaning. The ability to obtain credit is one of the main reasons to blame for society’s consumption epidemic. However, Quindlen feels the economic decline due to credit card debt is insignificant compared to the underlying issues of American’s binging problems. Quindlen’s essay gives excellent points regarding the differences in America’s typical shopping habits. Additionally, she mentions how people acquire all this “stuff” but seem to never realize, “why did I get this?”(501). Quindlen makes her audience visualize a world where we acquire our needs versus our meaningless desires. Yet, she fails to mention people who could live a life of happiness through the possessions they acquire. In summary, Quindlen supports her point of view with examples of American spending habits in the past decades of depression compared to now. She mentions Black Friday and how people become enthralled by cheap bargains (Quindlen 500-501). In Quindlen’s essay, she refers to an accident in which a worker at Walmart was trampled to death by a mob of shoppers and despite the horrific incident people kept shopping (500). With the U.S. depression, Black Friday brings hopes of more money spent, therefore a rise in the markets. The dream of an uplifted economy became unrealistic as people began to realize they could not afford their desirables...
Words: 880 - Pages: 4
...groups of employees. You may have found out that you will need to be great at getting people under you to do what needs to be done. If you have heard all of this and the job fits your personality, then you should be doing research on how you can be a business manager. When you are making plans for the career change, you will want to make sure that you know a lot about the field you are considering. Some jobs look good but once you find out what they entail you will find they are not right for you. This is usually true in those coveted high paying careers. People usually get hung up on the prospect of making more money and they forget that they need to choose a career that is fun and interesting. If you don't want to make this mistake you will want to get a hold of at least one educational essay on your chosen careers in business management. When looking for those essays that describe you career of business management, try to make sure it isn't by companies looking to hire new people because they tend to spin it towards their business. Consider that if it sounds far too good, then throw the essay in the trash. Don't waste your time on pipe dreams, when what you need is the facts. There may be a few great websites that will help you find information about working in those careers. You will want to try an essay about business management because the information will be unbiased. Reading essays on careers on business management that has someone who may be bitter abut their current...
Words: 384 - Pages: 2
...Liking is for cowards. Go for what hurts Jonathan Franzen, an American novelist and essayist, wrote the essay “Liking is for cowards. Go for what hurts” in The New York Times in 2011. Franzen’s essay is mainly about the increasing relationship between humans and technology, where he criticizes the development of the narcissism in the modern time. He writes about how to love and like in real life and in consumer technology. Franzen begins the essay with his own example of his relationship to his old smartphone and his new one. He describes his own addiction to the new Blackberry and he “wanted to keep fondling” the new blackberry even though he didn’t have anybody to reach. He finds safety in the smartphone because it won´t hurt you and it’s always available and writes that the “beloved object asks for nothing and gives everything, instantly, and makes us feel powerful, and doesn’t throw terrible scenes when it’s replaced by an even sexier object.” ll.49-53. Franzen describes therefore his blackberry as a girlfriend. But vanity has become more popular these days and the term “liking “ someone’s picture or status on Facebook is stated as “commercial culture’s substitute for loving” (ll.84-84), and is a superficial way of saying that you “like” the person. Franzen writes that we can form our own lives through the media and make it more interesting for others to see and he blames it because of its increasing narcissism and the fakeness of “liking”. But as I mentioned before, this...
Words: 1004 - Pages: 5
... | |What two objects, people, subjects, or concepts are you going to |I will compare and contrast two different methods of losing weight | |compare and contrast? |which are exercise and diet pills. | |What are the similarities between the two objects, people, subjects, |The similarities are that they can both help you lose weight. Also, | |or concepts? List as many similarities that you can think of. |both exercise and diet pills can have side effects, help increase your| | |energy, and confidence. | |What are the differences between the two objects, people, subjects, or|The differences between exercise and diet pill are, exercise can be | |concepts? List as many differences that you can think of. |free, keeps your heart in shape, controls stress and anxiety. Diet | | |pills are, effortless, pain free, and save you time. | |Are you going to focus on similarities, differences, or both? Explain |I am going to focus on both similarities and differences because, I | |your rationale. |want to show how exercise is better for you than taking diet pills. | |...
Words: 377 - Pages: 2
...Maureen Dowd, she wrote this essay about her brave niece. Maureen niece Jennifer gave up half her liver for her uncle, Michael (Maureen brother) who contracted hepatitis a few years back from an unsanatized blood transfusion. Maureen wanted her audience not to be frightened about donating organs. Maureen wants to inform the audience about organ donating, even if that person wasn’t related to you and you don’t even know them. You shouldn’t be inconsiderate about donating piece of your liver or any other organ to someone who might need it to live. Maureen is trying to communicate in this essay to the people who are still skeptical at donating. Maureen said her niece is a health fanatic, she is a personal trainer and she’s single, out in this cruel dating world. Plus they live in an “everything must be perfect” culture where the women us Botox, lasers, and liposuction. Just to make their bodies to this “so called perfection”. Maureen want Jennifer to feel good about her scare by using the love scene in Lethal Weapon three for an example when Gibson and Russo were showing off their scares to each other. Plus Maureen stated Jennifer had every quality a woman could want. This section that Maureen used in her essay was effective even though Jennifer had a scare on her stomach she was still joyful, and the scare didn’t even affected her personality. Maureen shifted from telling the story about her niece bravery to explaining more than 80,000 people are on the waiting list for...
Words: 550 - Pages: 3
...MBA Admissions Essay Powerful Tips for Improving Your Odds of Gaining Admission to the MBA Program of Your Choice Admissions essays are easily the most challenging part of the MBA application process, and it’s no wonder. Most people don’t like to write, and even those of us who do enjoy writing can come up blank when called upon to write about ourselves, especially when so much is at stake. The fact remains: If you want to go to business school, you have to be able to generate one or two thousand carefully chosen words that sum up your background and experience, your career goals, your reasons for seeking the MBA, and why you’ve chosen the program to which you’re applying. Step one: Relax. Writing admissions essays is stressful—it’s supposed to be stressful— but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Everyone who has ever applied to business school has written admissions essays, and so can you. All you have to do is submit essays that are a little bit better than most of the others, and if you follow the advice we’ll cover in the following pages, it will be a lot less painful. How to Write a Successful Most MBA essays are mediocre The good news is that most MBA admissions essays are mediocre at best. If you can at least come up with a marginally compelling narrative, and if you can spell and punctuate everything correctly—or know someone who can—you’ll automatically have an advantage over much of the competition. This guide is designed to help you get started (the hardest...
Words: 5885 - Pages: 24
...I try to draw an analogy with the process of reading application essays. The bad. Ninety percent of the applications I read contain what I call McEssays - usually five-paragraph essays that consist primarily of abstractions and unsupported generalization. They are technically correct in that they are organized and have the correct sentence structure and spelling, but they are boring. Sort of like a Big Mac. I have nothing against Big Macs, but the one I eat in Charlottesville is not going to be fundamentally different from the one I eat in Paris, Peoria or Palm Springs. I am not going to rave about the quality of a particular Big Mac. The same can be said about the generic essay. If an essay starts out: "I have been a member of the band and it has taught me leadership, perseverance and hard work," I can almost recite the rest of the essay without reading it. Each of the three middle paragraphs gives a bit of support to an abstraction, and the final paragraph restates what has already been said. A McEssay is not wrong, but it is not going to be a positive factor in the admission decision. It will not allow a student to stand out. A student who uses vague abstractions poured into a preset form will end up being interpreted as a vague series of abstractions. A student who uses cliché becomes, in effect, a cliché. If we are what we eat, we are also what we write. Not only does a preset form lead to a generic essay, so does a generic approach to what is perceived as the right topic...
Words: 1664 - Pages: 7
