secretsuntold  +  54814 Thu, 11 Nov 04 09:19 PM I was wondering if anyone can explain or describe the main parts of an autobiogrpahical essay, the only requirement is a 2 point thesis. Also, if you have any links that provide guides on writing any kind of essays, please point it out! secretsuntold Joined on Thu, Nov 11 2004 New Member 07 The only mistake man kind made was to exist. Essays

	julielai  +  54843 Fri, 12 Nov 04 01:09 AM I myself have written a few personal essays, but none of them has a thesis, per se. For example, I began one essay with: I was on North Lamar, outside Central Market, journeying back to work after a futile hunt for cheap lunchable gourmet. The morning hummed a refrain from a sunny tune. The larger concerns in life barely registered: the Iraqi war hung like an overdue cold front . . . You see? No thesis. Moderators, feel free to chime in. julielai Joined on Sun, Oct 24 2004 Senior Member 3,829 Just another blogger (http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/julie-lai) Essays

	anon1  +  54846 Fri, 12 Nov 04 01:40 AM Julielai, You sound like a cannibal? "...hunt for cheap lunchable gourmet" I think you were looking for an inexpensive but tasty or at least acceptable lunch? gourmet: A connoisseur of fine food and drink. In other words, a person. lunchable: No such word exists, but I think you meant tasty or at least acceptable. Don't worry, we all make up our words now and then. As far as autobiographies go, I have no clue. I never wrote one. I have read several autobiographical books, but that's about it. I suggest doing an Internet search or something. MountainHiker anon1 Joined on Fri, Jul 2 2004 Senior Member 2,049

	julielai  +  54857 Fri, 12 Nov 04 03:46 AM Strange, the opening went through several pairs of eyes, and this is the first time the question comes up. (OK, none of the proofreaders is a copyeditor...) I did make up another word -- "skyful" (the phrase was "a skyful of cotton balls") -- which got edited out by an internet poster. Anyway, the blurb I posted was the beginning of an autobiographical incident. julielai

	anon1  +  54862 Fri, 12 Nov 04 04:33 AM Hi julielai, OK, none of the proofreaders is a copyeditor... Neither am I a copy editor nor a proofreader. I am just an average Joe. Actually, it was the word "lunchable" that jumped out at me. And then "gourmet." It's interesting how when we hear words in our native language we can instanteously detect incorrect words by their sounds. Yet, when learning a foreign language, this instinctive ability is lost. Anyway, no harm, no foul. MountainHiker anon1

	julielai  +  54865 Fri, 12 Nov 04 05:19 AM I intentionally made up the word "lunchable". I guess my native-speaking proofreaders were okay with it since we were all in a creative writing group, and there were even more outrageous with words such as (words like SOBEIT???). I do agree that gourmet is questionable, and it would have been marked wrong in a business writing course. I come to think that the ability to detect incorrectness is learned, though native speakers do have an advantage. And some people are more visual-oriented. Just my humble opinion. Edited julielai Creative Writing

	anon1  +  54882 Fri, 12 Nov 04 07:22 AM Hi Julielai, Both "lunchable" and "gourmet" would be marked wrong in most writing courses. The ability to detect errors is simply the ability to write well. Once a writer knows right from wrong, then it is easy. Don't worry, I make my fair share of mistakes as well. And I need to write several drafts before I am happy with my product. As far as being visual, when you read something, you can either picture it or hear it. So as long as you are predisposed to either one of those, you are fine. MountainHiker anon1

	julielai  +  54926 Fri, 12 Nov 04 12:31 PM My oh-so-very-picky writing instructor and two other creative writers didn't mark the words wrong. (I assume you mean "marked", not "market"?) But as I said, many native speakers also like to experiment with words, including many writers I've come across in New Yorker and Harper's. (And the person who marked "skyful" wrong was a non-native speaker) My teacher once gave me this definition of good writing: Superior writing shows clarity, organization, polish, language skills, confidence, imagination, energy, and insight. Anyway, our views towards "corrrectness" will never coincide. Better leave this discussion as it is. julielai

	nona the brit  +  54958 Fri, 12 Nov 04 04:06 PM No carry on! I can accept lunchable as an easily understood invented word but it is the use of gourmet that rang out as incorrect to me. As originally stated, it sounds as though you wanted to eat a human! Gourment as a noun, such as here, means a person who appreciates good food. As an adjective, it means something that a gourmet would enjoy, but it needs a noun to modify. And you had turned 'lunch' into an adjective as well. So a lunchable gourmet snack or meal would have made sense, or a lunchable snack, or a gourmet lunch, but a lunchable gourmet doesn't. nona the brit Joined on Wed, Sep 22 2004 England Veteran Member 11,713 The name says it all. Nouns