Blog Unit 6 Exam Style Question

 The extract from “An American Mosey” by William Least Heat-Moon is taken from a travel book that highlights America’s small towns. The extract that is given is four paragraphs long. Within the four paragraphs, the author is detailing his journey through an American small town. 

The form of a piece of writing is the type of writing it is, such as an essay or an article. The extract that is supplied is from a book, meaning that the form is that of a book. The form is that of a book. The writer uses the form and inputs an informal form of writing instead of a formal one. The writing is informal because of the use of the first person perspective the writer implemented. It is seen throughout the extract where the writer uses the words “my” and “I”, showing the first person format. The effect this has on the reader is that the reader receives more understanding of the main character because the perspective is first person. This is a reason as to why the author uses the first person perspective in their writing. Another reason as to why they implemented the first person perspective is to describe the setting and events as the author sees them or as he wants the reader to see them. 

“An American Mosey” gives off an effect on the audience naturally, as does any writing. The language used in “An American Mosey” by William Least Heat-Moon is applied because the lexical choices of a piece of writing can change the whole meaning of the text. The writing is informal because of the first person perspective, the word choices of “my” and “I” are evidence of the first person perspective. The author, William Least-Heat Moon, uses language that states what is happening in the setting without including descriptive language or an abundance of adjectives. For example, in the second paragraph of the extract the author wrote “My running commentary on why those were necessary ingredients turned a transaction into a conversation leading to details of a recent irruption the Susquehanna made through Lanesboro”. This quote shows the disregard for description words and instead shows the usage of simply explaining the setting or event to the maximum extent. The reason William Least-Heat Moon wrote “An American Mosey” this way is to create the imagery for the audience without causing them to misinterpret the text. If there were adjectives used to describe the setting instead of using straightforward language, subjects could be interpreted differently for the reader rather than the subject that the writer was trying to display. 

The structure of a text is important because the text would be unorganized and won’t flow correctly without proper structure. The structure of “An American Mosey” is chronological. The reason the author, William Least-Heat Moon, input the chronological order into his writing is because it gives the reader the information they need to interpret the story the way the author meant for it to be interpreted. Chronological order is a type of text structure that follows the plot in order of the events or in sequence from first to last. The sentence structure that is seen throughout the extract are compound and complex sentences. The author doesn’t include simple sentences, this could be for an informational purpose as simple sentences can’t include the same amount of information that a complex or compound sentence could include because of the size of each sentence type. 

The structure, form, and language use in any type of writing create an effect for the reader that the writer wants to implement. In the extract from the book “An American Mosey” the structure, form, and language are all inserted into the text by the author in the way that they desire to inform the reader of their travels through small towns in America.

Blog 4.4

  The essay "Shooting the Elephant" by George Orwell is an essay in the first person. The main focus of the excerpt is the shooting of an elephant that took place in front of an audience. The form, structure, and lexical choices that George Orwell inputs into the excerpt creates a problematic and conflicting tone in the story. 

    The author of "Shooting the Elephant", George Orwell, wrote the essay in a chronological or sequential order. This means that the excerpt takes place from which the events occurred, from the first event in the story and the rest are in order until the last event in the story. The author inputs chronological order for the structure of the text because it gives the reader a stable understanding of the text. For example, if George Orwell wrote "Shooting the Elephant" in haphazardly or disorderly then the audience wouldn't be able to fully grasp the text. The excerpt also contains larger paragraphs that tie into each other through the first and last sentences of each paragraph. For example, in the third paragraph the last sentence is "with a crash that seemed to shake the ground even where I lay". The next paragraph begins with "I got up. The Burmans were already racing past me across the mud". This shows the chronological order that George Orwell had inserted and it shows how each paragraph ties into each other. 

    "Shooting the Elephant" is an essay, but the focus is on the segment from the essay by George Orwell. The form of  "Shooting the Elephant" is an essay. An essay is free form by definition, which Orwell uses the free form method with his writing. It is seen within his writing with the sentence structure. The sentence formation is very loose and the sentences are larger than the precedent. The sentences are grouped together using hyphens and commas to add more to each sentence. The writing is also narrative and informal. The author, George Orwell, is explaining the story from his point of view, making the story a narrative piece. The writing is informal, meaning it is written to be more casual. Since formal writing doesn't include the words "I" or "We", the excerpt from "Shooting the Elephant" is informal because of the thorough use of the word "I" as seen in the text. 

    George Orwell has a direct style with his writing. Orwell states what is happening within the story without employing an allusion or any distractions from what is occurring within the story. Orwell also inputs an abundance of adjectives to get the full descriptions of the setting, characters, and events that occur or are identified in "Shooting the Elephant". For example, in paragraph four of the excerpt from "Shooting the Elephant"  it includes "His mouth was wide open- I could see far down into the caverns of pale pink throat", it is seen within the quote from the text that George Orwell includes many adjectives and hyphens in his writing to further advance the plot and describe the setting or events within it. 

Paper 1 Question 1-Matty Graybill

(a)

     Usain Bolt made history on August 16, 2008 with a 9.69 second 100 meter race to win the gold medal for Jamaica. Since then, Usain Bolt has won 8 total gold medals and holds the world record for three events. Usain Bolt was recognized as the fastest man in the world during and after his Olympic career. 

    The atmosphere at the Beijing National Stadium was terrific and enthusiastic before the 100 meter final. All of the athletes were lined up and in their respective positions. The crowd's roar transitioned into a whisper as they waited in anticipation. Then, the gun fired into the sky, setting off a tumultuous rumble in the air and breaking the silence in the crowd. 

    The Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Richard Thompson got a magnificent start to his race, one of the bests that I had ever seen. The other runners, such as Usain Bolt, looked shocked and caught off guard by that start. Usain had gained his stride and before you knew it he was gliding past Richard Thompson. Usain then looks around a second later and notices that he is ahead of the competition and in first place. He then slightly puts his arms up in excitement after realizing he made history.

(b) 

    The extract that I wrote out for Usain Bolt's 100 meter final is mostly informational and sequential after the introductory first paragraph where I was explaining Usain Bolt's accomplishments and his gold medals on August 16, 2008, the day that the autobiography extract is describing. The autobiography extract is also sequential and all about Usain's perspective, rather than the race or Olympics as a whole. The autobiography extract also incorporates onomatopoeia before two of the paragraphs to bring imagery of the blank handgun used to start races as well as the motion Usain did as the race started. Both the extract and my writing are split up by paragraphs, but Usain's autobiography includes sentences as paragraphs instead of multiple sentences. This could be for emotional effect, a way to express his thought process during the race. The autobiography extract is more detailed in the specific event that is being described than my newspaper report. My report is more of a summary of what happened, while Usain's autobiography extract is more about how he felt and thought during the 100 meter final in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The autobiography extract is more accurate on the events and more detailed about them as the extract is written by Usain Bolt himself, making it one of the most reliable sources for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

    Usain Bolt's word choice in this autobiography extract is pretty relaxed and casual. The lexical choices he makes is informal, but it doesn't discredit the autobiography extract. The word choice in my newspaper report was more formal than the autobiography extract. The report I wrote contains many adjectives to describe the event and setting as a whole. Usain Bolt's language in his extract is written as if he were telling the story in person. When he states "I burst from the blocks, but Richard Thompson, the Trinidad and Tobago sprinter, was in a lane next to me and he got a start like nobody else in history of the Olympics", it gives a more immersive tone for the reader from the first perspective language in the text. 

    The structure in the autobiography extract is free-flowing and informal. The text contains formal paragraphs with multiple sentences and paragraphs only containing a single sentence. This shows the writer's thought process during the event, as his thoughts get slower or he only focuses on one subject at a certain point in the event. The text that I wrote only contains formal, multiple-sentenced paragraphs. Which differs from the autobiography extract.