Personal anecdotes and factual evidence are both useful forms of research for an author to portray a message in non-fiction writing. Personal anecdotes offer an easy way to introduce a topic; however, they can quickly lead to a single story in which evidence becomes less important. Technical facts, such as scientific research, statistics, and other data, can easily prove a point, but can also easily lose the interest of the reader. While every writer has their own writing techniques, they must incorporate both facts and stories to create an effective long form article. An example of an article that relies too much on personal anecdotes is Gary Smith’s “The Power of One.” Smith’s true story is about how a teenage girl named Bonnie Richardson won the Texas track-and-field state title single-handedly (Smith). While Bonnie definitely accomplished an amazing feat in her sport, Smith failed to mention how Bonnie compared to
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Roiland’s article is about his experience in getting out of debt. He explains that he has a PhD in humanities and his “annual salary [after taxes] translates to a little more than $3,000 in monthly take-home pay” (Roiland). However, he also has “$800 a month in rent, $1,100 in credit card bills (paying only the monthly minimums), $350 in student loans, and have $285 a month car payment,” which leaves roughly $500 a month for food, gas, and insurance (Roiland). The author fails to claim responsibility for his debt saying he was dealt a poor hand. Although, he was the one that went through years of PhD education knowing full well that he would have to pay off hundreds of thousands in student loans only to get a job that pays roughly $75,000 at one of the wealthiest colleges in the United States and significantly less than at most universities. The author failed to separate himself from his story to realize that he is to blame for the
Roiland’s article is about his experience in getting out of debt. He explains that he has a PhD in humanities and his “annual salary [after taxes] translates to a little more than $3,000 in monthly take-home pay” (Roiland). However, he also has “$800 a month in rent, $1,100 in credit card bills (paying only the monthly minimums), $350 in student loans, and have $285 a month car payment,” which leaves roughly $500 a month for food, gas, and insurance (Roiland). The author fails to claim responsibility for his debt saying he was dealt a poor hand. Although, he was the one that went through years of PhD education knowing full well that he would have to pay off hundreds of thousands in student loans only to get a job that pays roughly $75,000 at one of the wealthiest colleges in the United States and significantly less than at most universities. The author failed to separate himself from his story to realize that he is to blame for the