TOW Post #1 (Article): "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words"

           Paul Roberts, writer of "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words" highlights the importance of meaningful writing rather than useless repetition filling random space. Roberts, known for his clear and helpful writing textbooks like English Syntax, establishes his credibility by the knowledgeable information provided throughout the essay. Paul starts off the essay with a narrative mimicking a college student's weekend schedule. He emphasizes how the student writing the paper tries to push it off till last minute because of the difficulty in writing five hundred words. He then starts to inform readers of the various techniques that will turn the D paper into a stronger, substance – filled material that will be worthy of an A. Through the process of classifying and categorizing parts of a paper, Roberts is able to educate his audience of high-school and college students. By using this style to format his informative piece, Robert is able to break down the important sections of writing the best essay. He uses headings to introduce each classification, and even tries humor as a strategy to build that author and reader connection. For example, Roberts writes, “All subjects, except sex, are dull until somebody makes them interesting” (Roberts 57). Throwing small and effective splashes of humor throughout the essay develops a connection between author and audience because the readers are able to see the humorous side of both the paper and writer without getting dulled by the information. Also, using a narrative as the opening paragraph is another method of connecting and relating with the audience. Roberts describes every student’s weekend behaviors when it comes to doing the schoolwork we all dread. Ultimately, this piece helped to get the author’s purpose, of educating the readers on the correct methods of writing a paper, across with the use of connections, humor, classification, and anecdotes.