Give Us Another Page You're the Essay Man

(note: this first sentence only works if you have listened to “piano man” by billy Joel, if not, it is a very good song)

Oh it's one am on a Sunday, you're back at the grind again, there's an open laptop sitting next to you, oh procrastination really should be a sin. You can not think, you confuse your pencil with the spoon for your coffee, life just seems stacked against you. Everyone has been there. Young Choate student Hewlett Packard has found himself there many a time, and perhaps he can be learned from. If only there was a higher edition of spell check, that could detect misplaced modifiers, the use of the first person, or anything that ends up highlighted or marked in red when the essay is returned. Hewlett's problems can be reduced to three main solutions. He needs to create time, use that time to proofread, and learn the writing tips to improve that proofreading.

Five minutes can do wonders for your grade. In the first paragraph of an essay, Hewlett had 10 capitalization errors. Capitalization is learned in first grade. All it takes is 5 sec for each error to change your grade. When reading an essay or a blog post with such trivial mistakes, it is often very hard to take anything the writer says seriously. The comment sections of any social internet website will destroy a post if it has typos, capitalization certainly deserves dismissal of content. Additionally, the errors are mostly with the names of people, such as Donald Trump. Ever since Hewett learned to write his name, he should have learned that names get capital letters. Proofreading could have saved his grade as well as his reputation. If that seems so obvious, then why do more students not turn to it as an option? Hewletts source of demise lies in the fabric of the universe, time.

Time can be created. Hewlett could have made an outline for his essay instead of going rock climbing, or eating a second lunch. With simple management of a schedule, hours of free time can be created. Time allows for proofreading, the source of errors in the above paragraph, as well as correction of repetitive error throughout the career of a writer. In Hewlett’s winter journal, quotes and titles of works are marked wrong six times. After the second time at most, a review of the writing guide and writing tips should be self mandated. If Hewett is working late into the night for chemistry test corrections, the same should be done for essay corrections. This will remove the mystery behind grades, and improve writings in the future, once he can realise what he often fails to do.

Similarly to how it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog, it's the size of the enthusiasm in the writer. Without that enthusiasm, there is no motivation to do corrections, writing seems a bore, and one will never produce good ideas. In the essay comparing Donald Trump and Macbeth, Hewlett was able to spew out great ideas and concepts. In the winter journal, it is clear which assignments were done rushed and which were planned. The responses with the most errors also have the worst ideas and content. Had Hewlett set aside more time for his english homework each night, both issues would have been solved. You can create enthusiasm as well. When I write about something that intrigues me, it is incredibly easier than something that bores me or that I have no interest in.

The perfect combination of enthusiasm, time, and proofreading will not produce a perfect essay. That comes from a combination of past knowledge, a good prompt, and all the qualities mentioned in this essay. Hewlett’s writing is never going to turn into Hemingway's with 100 hours of proofreading, but at least it will not have as many red marks on it. He wants to proofread, he knows it will work, but often he either has the motivation to write the essay or improve it, rarely both. Without enthusiasm, the idea quality suffers, and nobody likes to read an awful essay, even its creator correcting it. This essay right here is written by Hewlett, lets hope he gets it right this time.

Clark Devoto
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