Mitch Albom
Mitch Albom picks a side to an argument and sticks with it. He is very short and to the point with his opinion and facts of an argument. In his article “Examining the NFL’s debate for penalties for using black slur”, he opens with this,”It’s not my word. I don’t like it. I don’t use it.” This shows how Albom just gets right to the point with his opinion on the issue. He will back up each part of his argument with his opinion and why it is right with as much detail as possible. He demonstrates this is the next few sentences of the same article, “To me, the N-word is a hateful slur based on a person’s skin color. Yet because my skin is also a certain color, I am told I cannot criticize its usage.” Albom just writes what he believes in and if somebody disagrees, he doesn’t care. He writes his opinion and why that is is his opinion. Albom writes many articles on bias. He really uses his tone of writing to show how much of a problem bias is in this country. In order to emphasize his point, Albom focuses upon a form of writing that quickly yet effectively communicates his message. However, his tone could seem somewhat opinionated, as it is strongly worded. Though I personally enjoyed Albom’s articles, I could see how some of his ideas might be controversial.
Do you believe this form of writing gets the point across well to a reader? Or is it too forceful?
I believe that Albom’s form of writing gets the point across very well. Especially in a column or persuasive essay where the author’s opinion is the most important thing, I think that you need to write like Albom does. You get your opinion and your main points out there right away, and then you can use facts and other details to persuade your reader to feel the same way that you do. This is also how my columnist, Bill O’Reilly writes. He tells you exactly how he feels on a topic, and then uses facts to back up his opinion. I think that they both do it right, and that their writing styles are the most effective way to get their point across to the reader. If they tell the reader early and often, then they are sure to get the point.
I would have to agree, that yes, this form of writing does get the point across very well. Even if you originally do not agree with the author’s views, when reading a column that’s very opinionated, you get a better understanding of their views and sometimes it’s interesting to learn about other views than your own.
My columnist, Fred Reed, writes like this. However his views aren’t some that most people share, and come off as offensive to most. Yet I enjoyed reading about his varying opinions, despite them not being exactly like mine. The way he articulates his ideas, however, could be improved, and sometimes he actually insults the readers that don’t share his views. That’s definitely not the way to go, I believe.
Insulting those who don’t think like him could be going a bit far, but if you can articulate your ideas in a strong way, then I’d say it’s a most effective way to get your point across!
I do agree that this form of writing gets the point across very quickly. I personally like writing that gets to the point. They don’t beat around the bush they just form an opinion and they stick with it. This type of writing makes it easier to back up your opinion so then you can start to persuade your reader. If you start to talk about the other side of the topic it will give your reader mixed feelings. That is why staying to one side is better. I think there is a way of getting your thoughts across without being to forceful. My Columnist, Jon Carroll, has a balance between the two. He is very one sided but I did not feel he was trying to force his opinions on me. If the position of the author on the topic is obvious early then readers that disagree can just stop reading. I think that this form of writing can get the point across most effectively.
I personally believe that this style of writing gets across to the reader because it is sharp and keeps to the point which keeps the interest of the reader and shows the writer’s true opinion. It is not too forceful because because he does not write in a way that is rude, yet he gets his point across with controversial topics tastefully and clearly. My writer is like this as well, except she is more humorous. All in all, when the writer, like Albom is strong and to the point, it is a much more interesting read.
I do believe that this style of writing will get your point across to the reader. By picking one side and sticking to it, it shows that Albom has no doubts about his opinion, and is prepared to back up his point. It seems that he doesn’t care what other people think, which a lot of columnists do not. It also shows that he has a backbone and he believes if he can write his opinion about a certain issue, than other people can write their opinion on said issue. I think that sometimes this writing can come off as forceful, but it seems that Albom tries not to be offensive. I also believe that if you are trying to get your point across to the reader, sometimes a little bit of force is necessary.
I agree with Kristi on this. By being very to the point on his ideas it shows that Albom truly believes in his ideas. This isn’t too forceful because it shows that he will speak his mind without worrying about other people and will stick to his gut. He is forcing his ideas out there but not onto anyone as it is their own choice to read his writings or not to.
I believe that Albom being to the point with his writing, is getting his point across to the reader. It shows that he knows what he is talking about and he truly believes in his side of the argument and his different ideas. I don’t believe this comes out as forceful because he isn’t saying any of this in a mean way, he is proving that he will stick to his opinion and no one can change it. He doesn’t care about what other people think about his opinion. Being a more to the point writer, is more interesting and better to read. This writing will make the point come across easier and adequately.
Matty B,
Albom does not come across as too forceful, to me. He is direct and I appreciate that he is self-reflective. By acknowledge a barrier he faces in discussing an issue (“because my skin is also a certain color, I am told I cannot criticize its usage”), Albom is displaying competence. This quantifies the credibility of his opinions.
I like the way Albom starts, he does get straight to the point and openly states his feelings on the subject. He doesn’t wait to express his feeling until half way through the passage. It allows the reader to know what they are reading from square one, the reader doesn’t have to read multiple paragraphs before the point of the article is known.