Responses

I’m working on a English question and need guidance to help me study.

responses (four) should be substantive and thoughtful, but they need not be formal. They should be in standard written English, though, not text-speak. You are welcome to comment “I totally agree with you, Jane” or “Great point, Bill” but these will not be considered substantive enough for credit. Responses should expand on a point, disagree with a point, compare or contrast to another passage or text, or explore a new way to look at the craft point. Make sure you read all the responses before yours, and please refer to others who have responded before you by name when appropriate (e.g., “Although I agree with what Susie said about Wallace’s repetition, I think what he was really after was a sense of . . . .” ). Do not simply repeat a response that has been submitted before yours. This would be plagiarism.

1- In “The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction,” Jeff Gundy says “I’m convinced that we are all better off when reminded that there are beings and forces not made by human beings but worth our attention; that there are energies larger, older and subtler than our little human knots.” This makes me think on what other beings I have an affect on and brings me to the question, what do you think you have an affect on that makes you feel better off when reminded of it?

2- In “The Rose Metal Press Field Guild to Writing Flash Nonfiction,” Patrick Madden writes, “essays often do contain some moral rhetorical quality that threatens to improve not only their authors.” He adds that regardless of the fact that the inclination and shape of an essay do not support suasion or the fact that an essay does not direct a reader to think like an author, essays consist of complex content that sparks thoughts that exceed the mere notions. In this perspective, he adds that the best contrary essays do not challenge moral principles, but instead seeks to explore the validity of humorous platitudes regarding various notions in society. From this perspective, it is clear that essays ought to concentrate on challenging notions that do not interfere with the morality surrounding a situation. In Jeff Gundy’s essay “from the rocks at dusk,” what is the moral rhetoric in the story? Is the moral rhetoric clear and why?

3- In The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to writing Flash Nonfiction, Dinty Moore writes, “I’m convinced that we all are better off when reminded that there are beings and forces not made by human beings but worth our attention; that there are energies larger, older, and subtler than our little human knots.” I feel like they are talking about a larger power and that they are saying somethings are only explainable because of God. What do you think she is saying by larger energies?

4- In the The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction, Patrick Madden explains that “the essay is a kind of anti-genre—not methodical, not linearly rhetorical, not narrative, not artful—and yet it is all of these things, in subtle ways.” Writing can consist of elements of these things, however essays do not. In other words, they are more detached, going against all other genres. Do you agree with this assessment? Do you think that an essay can be artful, or is it exempt from other literary structures?

A guy replied to this with: An essay has the potential to be artful, however many writers tend to stick to what they were taught when doing essays- keeping things academic, structured, and bland in a sense. It is not their fault they do this, it is the institutions that makes this happen.