What are essays supposed to be anyways?

When first entering AP Composition, Mrs. G told us to develop a coffee habit. Unfortunately I failed to do so the Thursday morning she handed out the two essays titled "The Essayification of Everything" and "Blogs vs. Term Papers". I now understand why I should've listened to Mrs. G's wise words of adopting a caffeine addiction because I was taken through orbit. My entire definition of an essay got flipped upside down, spun around, and smashed into little pieces until I didn't know what the word even meant anymore. Even worse I didn't even realize the first essay handed to us could be classified as an essay!

Just like the English language, styles of writing and ways of publications have been changing. The world is trying to keep up with the new innovative society. What Wampole points out, is that the essay has become a "talisman of our times". It has been completely changed as it has become easier for people to get hold of and even create themselves. The meaning of an essay has diminished as it suffers a "chronic undecidability". It has become difficult to peg down something about an essay with absolute certainty. However that is the beauty that still remains in essays. Readers are able to put aside what they believe and learn about someone else's opinion or viewpoint. Unfortunately that has also led to the developing human nature of only touching upon things and then simply abandoning them. Wampole points out that the Italian word for essay is "saggio" derives from the same root as "assaggiare" which means to sample. Essays have come to reflect todays society of "sampling" experiences by not fully indulging through things such as internet dating and online shopping. Another type of "sampling" would be blogging. However it isn't all that negative as Richtel points out. Though blogs do reflect the technological age that we have entered. To Wampole's digust, people are now able to post whatever the want for the general public without thinking it through. A week ago, I would have most likely sided with Wampole and sided against blogging. But after reading the essay "Blogs vs. Term Papers" and actually getting some hands-on experience, I have come to appreciate the world of blogging. No longer do I feel as if I'm writing to purely for a grade. People are actually able to get their ideas and thoughts out easier. Blogging allows normal people to actually reach the masses. If given the choice to either create a blog or write a term paper, I would now choose to blog. Before blogging I would deem it necessary to do a substantial amount of thinking before submitting my work onto the web where anyone can access it. Whereas with a term paper, a large portion of the gruelingly long paper just turns into pointless psychobabble to simply reach that minimum of ten pages.

 



Although I have come to develop a liking for blogging, I do agree with Reeves who believes that writing term papers is actually useful as it helps students with critical thinking and argumentation needed in both college and their future career. It is necessary that a balance is found. Teachers should not dwell in the past and only teach the "old ways", but it also would not be beneficial to completely switch over to keep up with the innovative world, as valuable skills would be lost.