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...narrates this trajectory of calamities with noteworthy energy and skill. And Johnson is obviously aiming for something more here than standard-issue pulp-fiction chills. In their reflective moments his whacked-out villains have a tendency to quote Nietzsche, as if to explain themselves to themselves and the reader. But Johnson does not make clear where, among so many burned-out characters, the reader's rooting interests should lie. Nelson seems a poor choice, even though he gets to tell major swatches of his story and is given some funny lines. Here is his take on California talk: "Everything...

Author: /time Magazine | Title: BOOKS: CALIFORNIA BAD DREAMING | 8/11/1997 | See Source »

...concluding sentence of the previous paragraph would serve well as the thesis for a perfect essay--which should always be the first sentence of the essay--since it is a logical deduction that can be proved by evidence. The reader will appreciate clarity and simplicity in both the thought and the vocabulary of the author of the essay. It is not that the reader is a stupid person but that he or she ought not to have to give extra thought to a statement if it might be put before him or her in a transparent fashion. Acuity of purpose...

Author: By Joshua A. Kaufman, | Title: The Perfect Essay | 7/25/1997 | See Source »

Following the beginning of the essay is the middle of the essay, by which I refer to all of those (evenly worded) graphs which are necessary to lead the reader from one's introduction--itself requiring only a paragraph or, at most, two--to one's conclusion, which ought to be of similar length and breadth to one's introduction and ought to appear as a mirror image of its earlier self in determining exactly what was set out to prove. These middle paragraphs can be many or few, but they must be evenly numbered, and they must not confuse...

Author: By Joshua A. Kaufman, | Title: The Perfect Essay | 7/25/1997 | See Source »

...objective for the writer of the perfect essay is the exact argument. The exact argument proceeds from a previously elaborated thesis. It is ordinarily divided into two, three or four points. All complex arguments are also required to be reduced to two, three or four points so that the reader can comprehend the nature of the argument. Within each point, the author is required to marshal evidence to convince the reader that the thesis of the essay is perfect. In the case of the weary workers, for example, the author might cite personal discussions, even if the vulgar language contained...

Author: By Joshua A. Kaufman, | Title: The Perfect Essay | 7/25/1997 | See Source »

...perseveres, impelled not merely to state the conclusion to the perfect essay in a blunt regard, but to explicate it fully and thoughtfully, as if he or she were retying the ribbon on an unwrapped package. The contents of said package have, of course, been revealed. The reader must, however, be fully alerted to the existence of its contents...

Author: By Joshua A. Kaufman, | Title: The Perfect Essay | 7/25/1997 | See Source »

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