The ability to write a good essay is a skill that seemingly few people have. From essays that are just too dry and lack luster to essays that contain lengthy and unnecessary details it is hard to balance the good and the bad of writing. In The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing Michael Harvey explores what makes a piece of writing work and what doesn't. With tricks from concision to paragraph structures there are many helpful ideas to be found in strong writing. While reading other pieces of work, such as "Me Talk Pretty One Day" readers look to pick up how the author uses the techniques found in Harvey's book. I believe that in "Me Talk Pretty One Day" David Sedaris does an excellent job of implementing Harvey's keys to writing high level essays.
In the first chapter of The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing Harvey discusses the importance of concision to a piece of writing. Concision is important to a piece of writing. It reduces the clutter and also aids the reader comprehension of a piece. Harvey states, "Concision can add remarkable grace to our prose. It also makes our prose easier to read and understand. Yet many of us are afraid of writing concisely because doing so can make us feel exposed" (Harvey 1). Sedaris adheres to this idea. He typically used enough detail that the reader could get a clear grasp of the story, but was concise enough that the passage was easy to understand and not be overwhelmed by. In the passage, "The two Polish Annas surely had clear notions of what they loved and hated, but like the rest of us, they were limited in terms of vocabulary, and this made them appear less than sophisticated" (Sedaris 12) Sedaris uses enough information that the reader gets a clear picture of the two classmates in which he is describing. He does so in a way that the reader does not get lost in the meaning of the sentence. In this passage Sedaris could have added several more details unnecessary details, but he did not and keeps this passage clear and concise.
Another point that Harvey stresses in his book is the idea of importance of beginnings and endings found in a piece of work. Focusing on the strategies of creating a good beginning Harvey provides many different ideas of how to make the opening of an essay strong. The importance of the length and how to create a context are highly emphasized along with several other ideas. Harvey says, "Good writers usually start an essay with something small- a story, a quotation, an example, a question, a detail, or the like- that connects to something big, the argument to be pursued" (Harvey 80). In "Me Talk Pretty One Day" Sedaris creates a smooth opening that keeps the readers interest. Sedaris starts his work by saying, "At the age of forty-one, I am returning to school and have to think of myself as what my French textbook calls 'a true debutant'" (Sedaris 11). Sedaris uses a small detail to connect to the idea of the rest of this passage which in turn helps create a small portion of his powerful opening. He also uses the length of the opening to his advantage. It is just the proper length in regards to the rest of this essay.
Overall, Sedaris does a great job following the rules found in The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. Sedaris creates a catchy opening that intrigues the reader while at the same time providing a clear idea of where his piece is heading. The body of his work, is quite clear and concise while still providing enough factual information that the reader can understand more about the authors experiences.
