Compare and Contrast

            Everyone is unique.  We all have our distinct looks, thoughts, and most importantly mannerisms.  Another way of describing someone’s mannerisms could be their set of moves.  A person’s set of moves distinguishes them from other people and makes them interesting.  Gordon Ramsay’s moves are his swearing and excessive use of the word “donkey.”  Steve Urkel’s moves are his nerdy posture and saying, “Did I do that?” 

Moves are not special only to mannerisms, because writers also have moves.  Many of the world’s most well-know writers are recognizable by just reading a few paragraphs of their work because of their moves.  The best writers are conscious of their set of moves and they use this to their advantage.  Novice writers are probably not conscious of their set of moves, but whether they know it or not they definitely have some.  The moves that will be examined now are those in Everything is an Argument and “So What? Who Cares?.” 

            In the essay Everything is an Argument the author uses a set of moves that makes the paper very strong and convincing.  First of all, the author uses many pictures.  This keeps the readers interest and helps explain the ideas that the author is trying to present.  Another move that the author uses which makes the paper strong is the frequent use of quotes from respectable and knowledgeable sources.  This helps legitimize the authors claims and convince readers.  Also, each quote is bold and has it’s own paragraph.  This outlines the quote and makes it more noticeable.  The reader cannot help but pay closer attention to the quote than if it was just mixed in with the paragraph.  The author makes the essay easy to reader and uses words like “you” or “us” or “we.”  This makes it seem more like the author is addressing the reader directly and makes it so the reader can feel more close to the author.  Another move that the author uses is breaking up the paper into many small paragraphs.  By doing this, the reader isn’t bogged down by long and boring paragraphs, so the author is able to keep the readers attention.  Overall, by using these moves, the author writes a very strong paper.

In “So What? Who Cares?”  The author also has a helpful set of moves.  Similarly to Everything is an Argument, the author refers to the reader directly by using “you” and “we.”  Again, this helps make the reader feel like they are being spoken to, which ultimately makes them pay attention more.  The author dedicates large section to bullet points.  This makes the reader pay attention to the list of things that the author is saying.  Finally, the author uses an example many times and changes it slightly each time.  This helps the author prove the point that they are trying to make by employing what they are saying on the same example.