This excerpt from Understanding English is informative and written in an interesting fashion that keeps the reader curious to learn. Paul Roberts teaches his audience how to properly write about something you might not care about. Through a theoretical student essay about college football, Roberts gives the dos and don'ts to approaching opinion papers. This essay is for students or any writer who struggles to reach the required word count, and does reach it by writing "In my opinion," or "it seems to me. Paul Roberts' works, such as English Syntax and Understanding English are prominent in the middle of the twentieth century and he treats composition as a science. Though written about fifty years ago, Roberts' maintains a commentary relevant to today's society. He does this with his diction and use of satire.
Roberts writes with a candid tone. He does not sugarcoat the truth for his audience. When explaining to avoid the obvious content he writes, "lf these are the points that leap to your mind, then they will leap to everyone elses too..." By being direct Roberts' keeps the purpose of instruction prevalent and efficient.
Roberts also uses some satire in his writing that creates humor. Along with his frank explanation Roberts also comments on societal norms. In discussion of the pat expressions he writes, "Some people like that sort of thing, but most modern readers would say, “Good grief,” and turn on the television." Despite being written in the 1950s, this comment still applies today and is still amusing.
No comments:
Post a Comment