David Foster Wallace’s "This is Water"
One quote should be directly quoted and cited, another quote should be paraphrased and one should be summarized. If you need to do so, use or integrate other quotes to help this brief writing assignment be logical and understandable.
The short essay should be between 300 and 500 words. More than 500 words will likely receive a penalty and certainly writing less than 300 words will not meet the requirement. You must refer or cite at least three quotes (in the form of direct quote, summary, and paraphrase. However, if more quoted iinformation is needed, then paraphrase or summary will be the acceptable form. Do not use more than one direct quote in this assignment. Generally, most citation styles require that the writer only use direct quotes when it is absolutely necessary. One explains that direct quotes should only be used for specific emphasis or if the writer can not communicate the information any better.
Your document must be in MLA format and citation style.
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Wallace’s “This is Water” Essay
David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech at the 2005 Kenyon’s graduation of the liberal arts class is characteristic of intriguing clichés and allusions to real-life experiences and observations towards challenging the audience’s thought process. He emphasizes the need to break away from the norm by critiquing the use of didactic stories as a standard requirement of commencement speeches in the U.S. while also using the same story to introduce the main theme of his speech. Wallace employs different approaches to explore and present his key message that “important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about”. He posits that the graduating students have to exercise creative and effective thinking upon their completion of study in the field of field liberal arts. Such thinking, he argues, stems from the education gained throughout the course that precisely taught them how and what to think. It is a vital reality that the graduates have to face in their adult day to day life as they face situations demanding the exercise of their enhanced thought patterns that go beyond themselves to incorporate and accommodate divergent views and opinions.
In driving the point home, Wallace highlights a misleading perspective held by many students in thinking that they are beyond being taught how and what to think based on their merited qualifica...