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English Comp. CLEP- literary decline



SairaTasartir 5 / 36  
Apr 22, 2009   #1
I wrote this essay to practice for my upcoming English Comp CLEP. Any feedback on what I should pay attention to during the actual test is greatly appreciated! This is the essay:

Scholars have noted with disapproval the decline in interest and rise in apathy towards the literature of earlier periods. They are right to feel that way. In the time since the classical, medieval, and renaissance eras, there has been a decline in the quality of literary content. Also, a major moral shift has occurred since those early times, and with the rise of technology, the media has inundated our society, robbing it of any semblance of the attention span it once had.

Ever since the "golden ages" of literature, there have been moral and political upheavals. With every generation, greater distance has been placed between the values of the old authors, and those of modern readers. To read old books now, readers deal with not only archaic language barriers, but also with ethnocentric feelings rising out of culture differences. One almost needs to study the context of The Taming of the Shrew in order to understand the moral principle of wifely obedience to husbands indigenous to Shakespeare's time.

Partly due to the universal decline in attention span, modern literature has conformed to this shortened, abbreviated style. The popular books of this age have lost the richness and color so carefully sculpted in older works. Even in the short space of time between The Lord of the Rings and Eragon; diction, style and clarity have declined rapidly. This is a phenomenon that amplifies the greater the distance of time, and is ever more apparent as time progresses.

Another difficulty contributing to this trend of indifference is technological advancement. While good in some ways for education, television and the internet have practically eliminated the individual attention span. Most people would rather watch a two hour movie than spend the time necessary to read the title's book. Technology has inadvertently fostered a live-for-the-moment attitude in children, which carries over, in most cases, to their adult life.

So it is without reluctance that I agree with the disgruntled scholars of past literature. There is much to be learned from the old works that is worth the conquering of ethnocentrism and the effort invested in understanding them. An attention span is worth cultivating, and time spent reading the "classics" is time well spent.

EF_Kevin 8 / 13053  
Apr 23, 2009   #2
This is a great essay! You should feel very confident. You can work on fine tuning it now, with details like this:

This is a phenomenon that amplifies the greater the distance of with time, and it is ever more apparent as time progresses.

No semi-colon is necessary here: Even in the short space of time between The Lord of the Rings and Eragon, diction, style and clarity have declined rapidly.

Nevermind, though...You write very well already!!
EF_Sean 6 / 3460  
Apr 25, 2009   #3
Your grammar and style are solid as usual. The content is okay. I suspect for this sort of essay, written under time pressure, it is actually very good.

I would point out, though, that you do a much better job of demonstrating that there has been a decline in the interest in older literature than in defending the notion that this decline is lamentable. Your first paragraph almost reads as an argument against taking an interest in old literature, unless you believe that 'wifely obedience' is a moral virtue that should be resurrected. Your second paragraph seems out of place. It references the short attention span that you don't get around to talking about until your next paragraph. Plus, it argues more that literature itself has declined over time, rather than interest in it. If in fact old literature is better written than new literature, then that could be a good reason why people should still read the classics, I suppose. Your third paragraph shows that modern technology has had negative side effects, in as much as a limited attention-span is a bad thing in general. This does not mean that, even if today's kids had a good attention span, they should use it to engage in old literature.

So, well written enough for your purposes, but if you want advice for improving generally, I'd say to be careful when arguing a two-part thesis to make sure you cover both parts fully.


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