One morning in the MW 9:10 class, students were given the option to work on their essays or analyze articles. Nearly the entire class chose the former option, but one student, Emily, chose the latter.
So, Emily and I worked together while everyone else typed.
I actually brought one blog post and one "real article" from the New York Times.
The blog post link came from the Florida State Inkwell. In the post, the author discusses Florida State and their use of the Seminole name.
Interest Coverage, FSU, and the Seminole Tribe of Florida
Emily read and afterwards decided the use of first-person writing and other informal language categorized the writing as a blog post.
Next came the New York Times article, where the authors discuss the use of rap lyrics in a court trial. The two men present their case well here, in that rap lyrics are rap lyrics and do not necessarily reflect the character of a defendant, and they use a variety of logos, pathos and ethos as well. Yet, they also favor third person throughout the article.
Rap Lyrics on Trial
She read the article and made the distinction of how the author presented his topic and case with a different style of writing than the blog post, which made it more suitable for a major newspaper. I meant to come back to this lesson for the entire class, but never did.
Anyways, skim through the blog post and article quickly to see the differences.
Staying away from first or second person might be impossible for some students. But, at least, tone down on the use of certain words (I, me, you, etc.).
Once in a while authors use first and second person in formal writing anyway, even for major newspapers or other kinds of articles, but I wonder if those authors ever took upper-division English. For this research paper, favor third-person writing.
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