english paper

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. When 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 “Who 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. When 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. Comment by Author: Check mark over Halberstam Comment by Author: Check mark over classroom Comment by Author: Check mark over effective Comment by Author: Check mark over humor Comment by Author: Check mark over humor Comment by Author: Check mark over humoristic Comment by Author: Check mark over sarcastically Comment by Author: Check mark over Halberstam 5 Comment by Author: SP: Change The to Then Comment by Author: Check mark over comic Comment by Author: Check mark over recommendation (5) Comment by Author: Check mark over humor Comment by Author: WC: Change (talks about) to recommends Comment by Author: Check mark over fun Comment by Author: SP: Change he to the Comment by Author: WC: Change (talked about) to mentioned Comment by Author: GR: Remove “s” from the end of students Comment by Author: Check mark over joking Comment by Author: P: Insert a comma after seriously Comment by Author: Check mark over humor Comment by Author: Check mark over humor

Instructor comment Comment by Author: Good job. Every sentence clearly relates back to the topic sentence.

September 13, 2010

English 1302-5003

Tone is Everything Comment by Author: Center the title by highlighting it and clicking the “center” button.

Joshua Halberstam’s informal tone in “Class in the Classroom” was most Comment by Author: Check mark over Halberstam’s Comment by Author: Check mark over tone Comment by Author: Check mark over classroom

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 Comment by Author: Check mark over effective Comment by Author: Instructor comment: Integrate quotes by introducing them, or following them, with your own words.

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 Comment by Author: Instructor comment: Halberstram confides to student readers.

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 lright 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 sermon 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. Comment by Author: Check mark over tone Comment by Author: Check mark over tone Comment by Author: Instructor comment: I agree. Comment by Author: Check mark over (1) Comment by Author: Check mark over tone Comment by Author: Check mark over tone Comment by Author: SP: Add “ly” to the end of clear

Instructor comment Comment by Author: 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." Acting College. New York: Penguin, 1991.