english paper

February 8, 2011

English 1302

Humor Makes Reading Fun

One of the strategies Joshua Halberstam uses to make his essay "Class in the

Classroom” more effective is the use of humor. Halberstam uses humor throughout the

chapter which makes it fun and interesting for the readers. W hen I was reading his essay, I

did not stop to get a glass of water or to check my cell phone to see if I had a text message--

as I usually do--because his humor made me keep reading the paper until the end.

Halberstam is humoristic by being realistic and sarcastic at the same time. For example, he

sarcastically writes, "Sure, and I recommend that you do a triathlon every morning and read

one play by Shakespeare with dinner every evening" (Halberstam 5). Then he follows this

statement with a comic and realistic “W ho are we kidding?” implying that he is just kidding

about his recommendation (5). Halberstam's humor is very detectable and easy to catch.

When he talks about class participation, he makes fun of the student who always wants to tell

his or her life story to the class. W hen I read those lines, I felt so familiar with the situation that

I laughed for a few seconds. It was obvious for me that he reason he talked about this type of

students was to intentionally cause a joking sensation in his readers. Although joking,

Halberstam takes his writing very seriously and his humor only shows how passionate he is

about his work. I enjoyed reading Halberstam's essay because the humor in his writing made

it a fun and educational experience.

Instructor comment

Commented [A1]: Check mark over Halberstam

Commented [A2]: Check mark over classroom

Commented [A3]: Check mark over effective

Commented [A4]: Check mark over humor

Commented [A5]: Check mark over humor

Commented [A6]: Check mark over humoristic

Commented [A7]: Check mark over sarcastically

Commented [A8]: Check mark over Halberstam 5

Commented [A9]: SP: Change The to Then

Commented [A10]: Check mark over comic

Commented [A11]: Check mark over recommendation (5)

Commented [A12]: Check mark over humor

Commented [A13]: WC: Change (talks about) to recommends

Commented [A14]: Check mark over fun

Commented [A15]: SP: Change he to the

Commented [A16]: WC: Change (talked about) to mentioned

Commented [A17]: GR: Remove “s” from the end of students

Commented [A18]: Check mark over joking

Commented [A19]: P: Insert a comma after seriously

Commented [A20]: Check mark over humor

Commented [A21]: Check mark over humor

Commented [A22]: Good job. Every sentence clearly relates back to the topic sentence.

September 13, 2010

English 1302-5003

Tone is Everything

Joshua Halberstam’s informal tone in “Class in the Classroom” was most

effective because he makes it seem like he's giving friendly advice rather than a lecture

from a teacher. “The more stringent ones will even fail the A student who

has accrued too many absences. Unfair? I agree. In fact, I find this outrageous”,

(Halberstam 1). Halberstam is aware that his audiences are college students, so

his informal tone makes the students relate to what he's saying. A more formal tone would

have made his message boring and less efficient. People like reading things that are light

and humorous. Halberstam starts off with “Kid knocks on my office door,” immediately

letting the reader know that this isn't going to be another mind numbing read (1).

Halberstam's advice doesn’t sound like a sern because of his tone; yet he still lets the

reader know that his advice should be taken into consideration. A formal tone wouldn't

have gotten his message across as clear, nor would it have had the same effect on the

reader.

Instructor comment

Commented [A23]: Center the title by highlighting it and clicking the “center” button.

Commented [A24]: Check mark over Halberstam’s

Commented [A25]: Check mark over tone

Commented [A26]: Check mark over classroom

Commented [A27]: Check mark over effective

Commented [A28]: Instructor comment: Integrate quotes by introducing them, or following them, with your own words.

Commented [A29]: Instructor comment: Halberstram confides to student readers.

Commented [A30]: Check mark over tone

Commented [A31]: Check mark over tone

Commented [A32]: Instructor comment: I agree.

Commented [A33]: Check mark over (1)

Commented [A34]: Check mark over tone

Commented [A35]: Check mark over tone

Commented [A36]: SP: Add “ly” to the end of clear

Commented [A37]: Good job. Repeating the word “tone” throughout the paragraph ensures you focus on that one strategy. Work on just a bit more development.

Work Cited

Halberstam, Joshua. "Class in the Classroom." Acing College. New York: Penguin, 1991.