Everyone who's awesome with essays...
 

I need help. I can usually get started on an essay fairly quickly. This topic has got me going crazy!

Write a cause and effect essay about words. Using the essays by Cisneros, Naylor, and Scudder as a guide or example, explore the cause and effect of the power of words.

Consider:
Where do you think power of language is created? How does language change how you see yourself, your peers, or your world?

Cisneros essay was about her name. Naylors was about the N word and how it was used in her family and how it was used to hurt her in school.



Seriously though... I don't get how to write an essay about the power of words. :confused:

Any help is truly appreciated.

oooh that sounds like a fun topic. :D A few ideas already popped into my mind. I usually get A's on my English papers. PM me or actually my email may be better because I get it right away, I'm not always on here. My email is Kati.Lynn@hotmail.com feel free to use either if you want my help :)

Start by brainstorming with yourself on a topic that's familiar and dear to your heart. Like Yorkies!
1. Think of all the names your dog has been called -- by people you know and by people you meet in passing. Here are a few from my own experience: baby, angel, cutie, mutt, rat, yapster, snack (from owner of a larger dog).... etc.
All of these are just words. But they evoked wildly differing feelings in me...about my dog, about myself, about the person speaking. So you could make the case that each of these words had power.
Did you react to any of the above words? How?
2. Similarly, did any bystanders react to hearing those words spoken? What did those reactions add to the encounter? How did they make you feel?
3. Then, suppose somebody came on YT with a message that insulted Yorkies. What would be the wider effects? (This actually happened, sort of, a week or two ago.)
4. What if somebody wrote an essay in the "My Turn" column of Newsweek stating that Yorkies were dangerous to the public, or the potential bearers of a deadly disease? Or an Oprah guest claimed the same thing? Would these words have power? More or less power because they were in print/on TV?

Just some idea-starters. Best of luck! Carol

Thank you for your suggestions.
I wrote my rough draft already, due last night. But these suggestions will help just WRAP up the essay. I couldn't think of anything else but your thoughts sparked some ideas right now. I can't finish it until my professor returns it though.

I liked number 4. I wrote about how some leaders can have such a profound impact on a group of people because their words seem to come off as so powerful.

This whole topic started to make sense last night and I'm still dumbfounded on how certain words or certain people have such a big affect.

Thank you for your help. :D If I get stuck with my final essay, which I don't think I will, I just need to expand on some things, I'll be sure to email you. :thumbup:

glad to hear you broke through the writer's block. (a breakthrough almost always happens, as i'm sure you've discovered-- but SOOO painful while it lasts.) let us hear from you when you get that A! c & O

No problem :)
You can email me whenever

Sounds like a GREAT topic!! Something you can "sink your teeth into" LOL....I was an English Major in University (yrs ago) so writing papers was one of my favourite things to do!! I guess that makes me a "nerd"!! LOL
I have always had a love for words and I thank my late grandmother for that!!
Good luck and let us know how it goes!!