Paul mchenry roberts how to say nothing

Running Head: ENGLISH WEEK 3

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ENGLISH WEEK 3

Personal Essay Assignments Student’s Name College

Personal Essay

Assignment one

A moment with special meaning in my life

Becoming a mother was the moment that has special meaning in my entire life. That particular day and occurrences when I first became a mother still remains in my mind fresh and alive as though it just happened few hours ago. Though I was young and innocent of such occurrences, I could not chance for the world. By then, I was just seventeen years and I considered myself a girl. Indeed I was. That moment I held baby Hayley in my hands, I knew becoming a mother to such a beautiful baby girl marked the beginning of responsibilities, responsibilities as a mother. Hayley made me also realize that being a mother was not a bad thing. Twenty months later, I became a mother to Damian Wayne. Having two children at my tender age made me realize that my children needed to grow in good morals and have education, food, good health and even a nice family. My two children and my family were then my world. I teach them how to respect each other and other people as well. I also teach them how to be good pupils in school and respect their teachers. In fact, they have memorized my words “Your teachers are like your parents at school, respect them as well.” I have always thought them to be responsible citizens when they grow up.

The moment of becoming a mother at the first time created a whole new perception of children as a blessing one can have in a family. More so, becoming a mother at an early age gave me the pleasure to enjoy growing up with my children. I cannot compare this moment with any other experience because being a mother sees one deal with a spectrum of varied emotions. Though there are some days that I felt like am fed up, the giggles, hugs and smiles of my children brightened those days.We enjoyed playing children games at their tender ages as I relieved myself of the daily pressure from my classwork and other chores. This experience also reminds me of being like a mother to my little brother at the age of fifteen. I have raised him since he was three years old and now I plan to raise him until he is of age to be of his own and support himself in all the dimensions of life.

I enjoyed the moments of being a mother to young and creative beings because they motivate, inspire and entertain as they grow up. At this age now, I feel happy and will never chance for the world for anything. My life has of several other memorable moments but the moments I spend as a mother as still my best moments and has meaning to both me and my children. It is more than what I could ask for.

This memorable moment is also a true blessing in my life, just like any mother can put it. Though the children will grow and be in their own, I pray the moments of being with them in the tender age lasts in my life for my lifetime. The lessons learnt in parenting especially being a mother during the birth of my first born are my greatest treasure. I hope to share the same experience with my daughter when she becomes a mother too and help her raise happy and responsible children as a mother.

Assignment Two

The purpose of this essay is to elaborate the qualities of a good essay and explain how good essays are written. The author uses an example of a composition by one of the freshman students titles “Why college football should be abolished” to explain the qualities of a good essay. In this essay, Roberts clearly points out that it lacks the correct ingredients of a good essay and therefore that is a reason it yields a “D”. He points out aspects like weak content, lack of colored words and obvious content as the major causes of low grades in writing English compositions.

In the essay by Paul McHenry Roberts titled “How to say nothing in 500 words”, paraphrasing has been used extensively. Paul Roberts effectively explains the qualities of a good essay by incorporating another person’s work into his own essay through paraphrasing. The author used descriptive elements in his work such as direct quoting and sense of immediacy to enhance his objectives. He quotes severally and gives direct description of terms and phrases for proper writing.

Paul Roberts has used the descriptive patterns well in this work because he involves the readers’ five senses to help them understand his message. He involves real examples to help readers develop a vivid image of the case and thus bring a better understanding of the topic. For instance, Paul McHenry Roberts (1950), advices that a good essay should take the less usual side of the topic’s discussion. Like for the case of dogs, a student may decide to write about them as being helpful and the best friend of man due to their humility and perfect policing services (Paul M.R., 1950).

Personally, I find this kind of descriptive handy in my personal essay and I plan to integrate colorful words and other descriptive elements. I will paraphrase some of the ‘experts’ work in my own essay and put correct words in their correct position to pass the intended message to my readers.