TOW #2 (How to Say Nothing in 500 Words)

How to Say Nothing in 500 Words is a small informational excerpt that informs about the right and wrong methods of essay writing. The author guides the reader through the process of perfecting an essay that would otherwise be poorly written. Paul Roberts, is an American journalist that has an extensive collection of writing textbooks that help his readers have a better understanding of the English language. The audience of this excerpt are adolescents that are currently in high-school and those who are about to enter college. This group of people is the one that can relate to this the most since they are usually assigned essays on a regular basis. Adolescents and entering college students can relate to the student at the beginning of the excerpt who contemplated whether or not he should go out on the weekend or stay home and get his essay out of the way instead. The contents of this excerpt contain many suggestions on how to improve one's essay writing skills. For instance, there is a part in the text that teaches the readers how to convert a four word statement to a forty word statement by using "colored" words and details. This technique proves very effective when trying to extend the length of an essay to meet minimum requirements. To achieve his purpose, the author use anecdotes as his main rhetorical device. The author exemplifies the anecdote of the student who received a "D" on his essay in order to convey his point. The author's purpose in writing this text is to help teenagers and college students write better essays and to actually make a good use of it. The author does accomplish this purposes as his use of anecdotes is very successful in persuading his beliefs. Because every teenager relates to the student at the beginning of the excerpt, they know how it feels to want an improvement in their writing style while prioritizing their plans for the weekend.