An Essay on Textual Niceties

(In other words, author write good.)

        Writing and speaking in clear but articulate words is a goal that many seem content to ignore. Clarity is hard. Clarity isn't pretty. Unfortunately, clarity is the only way to effectively and powerfully get a point across without sounding alien. Michael Harvey adamantly supports plain and clear writing in her book The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing, and in David Sedaris' narrative Me Talk Pretty One Day, he shows remarkable mastery of frank but emotional writing. His essay is active and concise, two of the most important keystones of the plain style.

         "Active verbs convey action." (Harvey, 15) While a fairly obvious idea, very few writers seem to grasp the idea that action is good. Sedaris is in the minority. His essay is packed with action verbs, moving the reader along as if they were standing in that very school, struggling to understand the french of those around them. The reader stood by as "the teacher marched in," (Sedaris, 1) immediately setting a mood of military strictness and placing the reader firmly in that classroom. Throughout the essay he continues to use action to propel the reader, without any odd words to make the reader stumble over.

         The concision in Me Talk Pretty One Day is as impressive as it is convenient. Sedaris has mastered the plain sort of writing that Harvey supports, completely avoiding the "pompous style" (Harvey, 2) with short and effectively used words. Nothing is dressed up in his essay, only made stronger. Due to his plain words, the reader relates more to his plight and situation. In describing a character, he tells us plainly that she had "front teeth the size of tombstones." (Sedaris 2) He could have written about this in a much more cryptic and therefore more respectful way, but with the language he uses, we instantly imagine the character in all of her buck-toothed glory.

        Sedaris' essay may not have been perfect. He slips into passive voice, shifts between past and present perspective, and uses references not always familiar to the average drudge. But with expert use of action to push the reader along and masterful word choice and concision, Sedaris does a commendable job of writing in the same plain but powerful style that Harvey so advocates.