Me Talk Pretty One Day: Writing Pretty

David Sedaris' "Me Talk Pretty One Day" reads like a story.  He narrates his experience returning to school as a middle-aged man to learn to speak French and "talk pretty".  His tone is compelling and distinctive, with a healthy dose of humor to keep the narration moving and the readers interested.  It seems entirely unlike the writing that is expected out of a college student.  However, a closer examination shows that he follows many of the guidelines laid out for college undergraduate writers in The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing by Michael Harvey.

This can be seen through the language usage in the excerpt.  In Nuts and Bolts, Harvey denounces the so-called "pompous style" of writing, which dresses up our prose with big words and elaborate sentence structures (1).  He emphasizes simple, concise wording that tells the facts plainly (Harvey 9).  Throughout Sedaris' writing, his active and descriptive voice keeps the reader's attention through his plain language.  "The first day of class was nerve-wracking because I knew I'd be expected to perform," he tells us (Sedaris 11).  The facts are plainly stated and the words all familiar.  Many of his descriptions throughout the excerpt remain in such a form.  "When the phone rang, I ignored it.  If someone asked me a question, I pretended to be deaf" (Sedaris 14).  Sedaris shows us his actions and choices, keeping the situation clear and easy to follow.  Until the very end, the writing is simple and consistent, keeping the reader engaged and following without much difficulties.

Through his skillful use of language, Sedaris shares with his readers not only an essay but a memory.  His diction and plain vocabulary illustrate his meaning far better than if he had chosen to use complicated sentence structures, way too many prepositional phrases, and vocabulary that seemed to come from abusing a thesaurus.  Though it is uncertain whether David Sedaris eventually learned to "talk pretty someday," according to the The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing, at least, he provides a great example at "writing pretty."