Third Entry - Nuts and Bolts

     A clearly and effectively written essay, David Sedaris used many techniques to make "Me Talk Pretty One Day" interesting and easy to read. These techniques are similar to those described in The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing by Michael Harvey. Sedaris used the methods found in Harvey's book like opening sentences, consistent characters, clarity and honesty to paint a better picture for the reader.
     Sedaris uses opening sentences like a pro; he always informs the reader what the paragraph is going to be about, which is something that Harvey suggests in his book (71). The succession from paragraph to paragraph is important, too. In the first paragraph of the excerpt from "Me Talk Pretty One Day", we learn that Sedaris is going to return to school in France and in the next paragraph we learn why: he has "hopes of learning the language" (11). Harvey stated that opening sentences help the reader to "see how the paragraph connects to what has came before" (71), which is what Sedaris did throughout the entire essay. For these reasons, he has followed the advice in The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing to create a clearly written piece.
     Using consistent characters is also another method in The Nuts and Bolts that Sedaris has utilized. This is important to "control how [the] reader moves from one character to the next" and the key is to create a "sensible design" for moving from one character to the next ( Harvey 23, 25). Sedaris creates a flow of characters that is easy to follow and doesn't take away from the story. First, he focuses on himself and his journey ahead. Then we learn of the teacher, only to shift to the student teacher relationships. After, he gets more personal describing his relationship with the teacher, only to come full circle and back to just focusing on himself. He weaves in different characters but doesn't shift too much at any one time. Following Harvey's advice almost word for word, Sedaris has written an effectively entertaining essay.
     Another way to effectively write is to be honest and clear, which is another idea Sedaris uses from The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. First of all, Sedaris doesn't use "pompous style" (20) by adding big, unnecessary words. Instead, he uses the minimal amount of language needed to get the point across. Not only that, but he used brutal honesty and that is what it takes to "say what we see and think" and it takes even more "courage to tell the truth" (21). Sedaris writes "'I hate you," she said one afternoon. Her English was flawless. 'I really, really hate you'" (13).  If that wasn't brutally honest, I am not sure what is. He used clear and truthful writing, as describes in Harvey's book, to be successfully effective in his writing.
     All in all, Sedaris' essay follows the advice given in The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing to create a clearly and effectively written piece. He uses language that is easy to understand, effectively sets up his reader to understand what is next, and stays true to himself and his characters.