Sunday, January 13, 2008

Respond to the Whaling Piece

     According to  the Current Traditional Theory of Composition, the whaling paper is almost equal with positive and negative results.  Grammar, spelling, punctuation and mechanics are basically fine, but rules dealing with form have been neglected.  There are no paragraph breaks in the paper; an essay cannot be only one paragraph.  There are four distinct breaks in the paper, when these breaks are added five paragraphs are created.  By adding these paragraph breaks, the correct form of a five-paragraph essay appears.  Japan and the United States are not given equal comparison in this essay.  The paragraph on Japan is much shorter than the two describing whaling in the U.S.  This goes against the form of having a comparative essay equally describing both groups.  The paper is also single spaced, not double spaced, which leaves no room for comments and is an obvious neglect of the rules.  
     The paper also neglects rules of internal citations and a works cited page.  The internal citations are not done correctly.  Since these are punctuated incorrectly, it becomes difficult to distinguish which sentence belongs to the citation.  Also, where is the works cited page?  The citations are useless without a works cited page.  
     This essay does not demonstrate mastery of the rules of writing, and therefore is not a good essay.  If the rules mentioned above were followed, meeting all criteria, then it would potentially be a good essay.

No comments: