Student Question
How can this essay be improved?
Quick answer:
To improve the essay, establish a strong thesis statement that unifies the content, such as the impact of technological writing machines on literature and public intellect. Focus on thematic coherence rather than listing facts. Address stylistic issues by correcting typographical errors and enhancing sentence structure. Clarify the essay's purpose and audience, ensuring a smooth flow of ideas. Consider the assignment's context and refine the introduction to align with the essay's main argument.
The most important issue with this essay is that it lacks a strong thesis statement that connects all the parts together. The very first sentence in such a short essay should be the thesis, but it is not enough to say that "technological writing machines became feasible." Instead, focus on some larger point; for example, you could write: "The rise of technological writing machines made literature more common, creating a higher standard of learning." With a thesis like that, you can use some of the above facts to support the simultaneous rise of available literature and public intellect, but you'd have to lose most of the facts and focus on the effects of the technology. This is just an example; if you want to focus on the technology itself, you could write: "As written language became more important in society, technology was forced to evolve to meet this new need for fast printing." That would give you a base for the lists of facts while keeping focus on the why instead of the what.
Other than that, spelling and grammar are acceptable, but read as if the facts are directly paraphrased from some other source. It is too easy to simply copy facts without a larger goal; try to construct stronger sentences by losing some of the weaker language ("...Christopher Latham Sholes, an American inventor developed a machine that at last succeeded on the market as the Remington...") and combining straight facts with interpretations that support your thesis.
See the links below for more information about formatting an essay, and remember that a short essay can be harder since there is so little room to elaborate on essential points.
There are two areas which need work in the essay as you have uploaded it. On
a stylistic level, you have a few typographical errors and might also want to
consult Williams, Style: 10 Lessons in Clarity and Grace for pointers
on sentence structuring and transitions. Your university may also offer free
tutoring at a Writing Centre or Writing Lab; this sort of individual tutorial
is very useful for students.
Next, you should focus on your introduction. You need to work on developing a
thesis statement or some sort of taxonomy that gives a reader a sense of what
the essay is attempting to do and why it should be read. Right now, there is no
real sense of a point or an audience, or even coherent theme. It just
appears a series of factual notes strong together in chronological
sequence.
Once you have a better idea of your central idea, theme, or claim, you will be
able to revise the essay to flow more smoothly.
How can I improve this essay on typewriters' influence on modern inventions?
One question I would ask is whether the advantages you describe are actually
disadvantages for inexperienced writers. Does having a mechanical thesaurus
help you learn to use words correctly and expand your vocabulary? Or just
increase the chance of misusing words? Spell-checkers can correct
typographical errors that cause misspelled words, but will not catch mistakes
such as typing "sad" when you intended "dad"; they may even lull you into a
sense of false security, leading you not to edit your work carefully.
More significantly, if you could give us a sense of the assignment, we could
probably give more detailed responses. Is this for a high school or university
class? Is it supposed to be about typewriters? Writing technology? A specific
genre of essay?
If your focus is "why word processors are better than typewriters" you might
want to change your first sentence. Currently, the rest of the essay doesn't
really follow from your opening.
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