What makes great essays is there a format that students can follow or does writing essays have to come naturally? Is a narrative hook required so that we may grab the attention of our audience or are essays supposed to grab the attention of any unsuspecting bystander? Many teachers “encourage” students to follow the Jane Shaffer format and say it is an excellent way to write essays when really they force their students to write in that format and can limit the writing potential of students. “Hell Hath No Fury: The Relationship Between Greece's Medusa and Egypt's Wadjet” by Elizabeth R. Casto does not follow the Jane Shaffer format it is not a bad essay however. Casto uses appeals to emotions to grab the audience’s attention particularly women’s feelings even though it does not seem to follow any format.
The essay is about a relationship between Medusa and Wadjet, as it is obviously stated in the title of the essay. The two are powerful women of myth in which Casto points out the many similarities of the two myths. Her essay title does not cover give us any idea that it is a feminist piece and she seems unaware of it. The essay does seems as if it should be centered more towards feminism because Casto talks of how in earlier eras powerful women could not exist. Casto does say that “men will destroy [powerful women] or own them eventually. The thesis for this essay is “fierce women make for interesting myths and an insight on forbidden strengths in women” yet she concludes her essay by saying that men do not like to be owned by women. Her title and thesis do not match which in turn means that her essay does not follow either or and becomes incoherent.
The incoherence really may be bad but the essay has more to it than its subject. AS mentioned earlier Casto’s essay does not follow Jane Shaffer’s format. Her paragraphs for example vary in size with paragraphs as small as three sentences or bigger than eight sentences long. Her sentences also vary in size; they all do not take up two lines in the page. Her quotations fit naturally with the host sentence, they are not awkwardly placed. She switches from paraphrasing and direct quotations throughout the essay. She may not have two commentary sentences for every concrete detail, but she does have enough of her own commentary in the essay. Her language is formal, it does not have any slang and she does not try to impress her audience with her diction. Her use of evidence is balanced in that it is mostly her commentary rather than allowing the facts to overrun the essay. Her use of “in conclusion” is an acceptable way to start the beginning of the closing, but there are other ways to start the conclusion.
To say that Elizabeth R. Casto ‘s essay is mediocre has some truth but there are some elements that put it above most essays. Her subject, a rather interesting one, may naturally give her some help because of the feministic subject in her essay but the mediocrity comes from her incoherence. The title may mislead any potential persons from reading something they may actually enjoy or agree but the subject in itself can retain those that would normally avoid feminist pieces. This essay is a great example of an essay that is independent of Jane Shaffer’s format for great essays.
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