"Style: The Hidden Agenda in Composition Classes or One Reader's Confession"

This essay by Kate Ronald was very interesting for me to read as a student. She clearly explains to us, her audience, that as an English teacher she is somewhat biased in her 'grading'. Kate focuses mostly on the effect of one's style of writing. She gives us examples of pieces of writing and the obvious styles they possess. It is obvious that this aspect of writing is a concrete element in creating a good piece of writing. This is also related to creative sentence structure and how well the writing attracts the reader's attention. I believe that Kate's advocacy of style is to be expected for one who has a passion for writing. Style is an important aspect of writing that can often make a text unique and stand out among the rest. I enjoyed her concurrent definition of style as "having presence on a page". Rather than just writing to please a certain audience (usually the English professor), Kate emphasizes writing as if to say something to somebody real. Kate makes an interesting point of how she deviates from assignments where each classmate writes about the same subject. As a student, I believe Kate was certainly right when she said that "such assignments become exercises in competition". Kate also promotes using emotion and connection when writing certain kinds of essays. I realize this is not realistic in all types of situations, however I believe personal reactions are beneficial in many texts. Finally, I enjoyed an underlying theme of this essay about taking risks and chances with writing. Kate explains, as an English teacher, the advantages of setting your essay apart from the rest with nontraditional writing.