Not too personal

First, we turn in the Letter essays.  I’ll ask you to read 2-3 of your fellow writers’ works and then write in a quick blog post about how the process of writing your piece went and what you noticed in your fellow writers’ pieces.

Then, we’ll start taking a look at a more personal style of writing.

Go to the This I Believe site and read Bill Gate’s Unleashing the Power of Creativity and Intelligence and comparing it to T. Susan Chang’s The Imperfect Trace of Human Hands.

1. Give an example of one the better sentences or sections from each essay.
2. Explain what the major thesis is for each essay.
3. Consider the use of specifics in each essay. Which essay is more skillful in how he/she use concrete examples to dramatize and support the points the writer wants to make.
4. For Chang’s essay, comment on the purpose and effect of the paragraph that begins “I didn’t always feel this way.”
5. For Gates’ essay, comment on the purpose and effect of the paragraph that begins “Like my friend Warren Buffet.”

After this, we’ll read the seminal handout (a good bandname, that) Show don’t (just) Tell and talk about the advice given therein.

Finally, we’ll do a little practice in which I ask you to try out a little of that Show don’t Tell magic.

HW: Read Just Walk on By by Brent Staples and in a blog post note how he does and doesn’t Show vs. Tell in his own writing. (100-200 words)