You do talk pretty, Sedaris.

“Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris does so much of what Harvey tells us makes good writing, one might think they worked together. The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing outlines how to use concision, clarity, and paragraphs, among other devices, to make an essay readable. Sedaris uses these tools to make the point of his essay clear and easy to understand.

Harvey says concision adds grace to prose, and makes it easier to understand (1). Sedaris uses concision throughout his essay, making it readable by virtually everyone. Sedaris gives no reason for guessing where he is or why he is there, he comes right out and says “I’ve moved to Paris with hopes of learning the language” (1). Later on, after describing the intense first day of class, Sedaris makes it clear that the worst was not over by saying the students “foolishly believ[ed]” it would get better (3). Using these everyday, simple words instead of big, intelligent words makes the essay flow better and leaves no questions about the meaning.

Sedaris’ use of paragraphs also makes the essay more readable and easy to understand. Harvey says that “paragraphs are there for your reader’s benefit,” and Sedaris’ paragraphs were beneficial in the flow of the essay (69). He used good opening sentences to introduce the reader to a new topic, from the different people introducing themselves to his work habits. Sedaris uses a logical order for his paragraphs, also adding to the understanding.

Of endings, Harvey says “one of the best ways to end an essay is by closing the circle” (83). Sedaris uses this technique to close his essay. At the beginning, he states he’s in Paris to learn French, and to emphasize the little he knew, he uses fractured sentences with incorrect pronouns and missing words. To show the progress he has made by the end of the essay, Sedaris recounts what the teacher was saying when he realized he understood everything. However, to close the circle and show he still had a long way to go, Sedaris uses fractured sentences to close the essay, saying “I know the thing that you speak exact now” (5).

Whether or not Sedaris has ever read The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing, he uses the guidelines given perfectly. He uses concision, paragraphs, and a good ending to make “Me Talk Pretty Some Day” flow, and in turn make it easier to read and understand.

Poetry's not my strong suit...

1. Rythm

I'm still stuck in the 'when the line ends, pause' way of reading poetry that I was taught in like second grade. It doesn't work much anymore. Understanding what the author is trying to say is a lot harder when I'm cutting his ideas short and starting them in the middle.

2. Kinds of Poetry

Not gonna lie, I don't know what characterizes certain kinds of poems. I know some basics, but I definitely need to be more concrete on how to determine what type of poetry a poem is.

3. Allusions

The question about classical allusions in the poem by Holmes really threw me. I don't know anything about enchanting sea nymphs or Greek sea gods, so picking up on allusions to them is pretty difficult. I need to learn more about the classical allusions so I can see when they show up in poems.

4.Terms

I really had no idea what "gloaming" meant at the beginning of  "The First Snowfall." Which, consequently, distracted me from what the poet was saying. If I learn more terms frequently used by poets, I'll be less distracted by the words I don't understand and be able to read the poetry more fluidly.

5. Tone

In Sonnet 55, I definitely thought the speaker was angry. My bad. Understanding the tone of a poem will be quite helpful in determining the message of the poem.