Name: Wade Zhang
Course: Engl 101
Professor: Teddy
Due Date: 10/7/2011
“GROWTH OF A NATION”
The author of this article “GROWTH OF A NATION” is Chris Barrow who is one of
the best students of University of Massachusetts Boston now. There are two factors make this
article is so excellent. One is the transition part which connects the whole context so closely
and perfectly. The other one is the specific evidence which support the author’s position
powerfully and accurately.
The main points which throughout the paper are all men are created equal, so they
should be treated equal as well, and women is the part of human being, thus they should get
the equal rights as all men. In order to prove those positions, the author utilized Thomas
Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence and William Lloyd Garrison’s Declaration of
Sentiments of the American Anti-slavery Convention to explain and exposit all men are
created equal and they should be treated equal as well. Also, the author used Elizabeth Cady
Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiments 1848 to illustrate women are the part of the whole
human beings, and they should get the same rights as all men.
By reading this article, it is easily to find that the author is very good at using
transition that every paragraph is connected perfectly. For instance, the author wrote “His
first point brought up was in relation to the Declaration of Independence and the flaw in the
statement that justifies the reasoning for our leaving of the British”, for the quotation to go
next. Also, the author wrote “Without people standing up for their beliefs many of these
changes would not have taken place, and the next to seek these gifts of “equal rights” is the
reason all of us are here in the first place: women,” for the Stanton’s Declaration of
Sentiments which the author will talk about next.
The author utilized a lot of powerful quotations in this article to prove his arguments.
For example, he cited a section of Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence that “ We
hold these truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness” (1), to prove all men are created equal. And, he quoted a part of
Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiment 1848 that “We hold these truths to be
self-evident: that all men and women are created equal that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness” (2) to prove all men women are created equal, therefore women should get the
same rights as men.
In addition, the author explains his arguments by using the Thomas Jefferson’s
Declaration of Independence and William Lloyd Garrison’s Declaration of Sentiments in
1833 and Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiment in 1848, in the beginning of this
article. He also stated the present situation of the United States of America that “America has
grown to a nation where equal rights are becoming a more realistic ideal than it ever has in
the past.” (2) In the end of this article, the author writes that “America is a nation that is
continuing to grow and learn from experience, and without those who are willing to stick up
to what they see wrong, this growth will not reach its potential.” Therefore, he hopes that the
United States of America could always open its ears and actually here people’s voices in the
future.
As I talked above, the author is really good at using transition and the evidences
which he used to prove his arguments are very specific and powerful. Both of those two are
very worthy for me to learn and improve my writing. Also, for an academic paper, both of
those two points are very significant. A good transition part will lead the readers to read the
article very comfortably and no any jumpy feeling. Specific evidences could strongly and
powerfully support the arguments that make the readers plainly understand the meaning of
the arguments. Therefore, I need to and I have to learn these two points for improving my
academic paper.