Page 267 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

The following essay is by Maya Angelou, noted writer, poet, and
activist. It is an excerpt from Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey

Now, one of Angelou’s several autobiographical books.

The essay embodies all three of the writing techniques featured in this

chapter. The predominant technique of the essay is narration, or

storytelling. Notice how the author highlights her narrative with
dialogue, or conversation, to help the reader understand the

characters she describes.

In the second and third paragraphs, Angelou uses examples, which

can be exact instances or general illustrations. Notice how these

paragraphs provide specific examples of complainers, showing exactly
how they behave.

Finally, the author uses description to paint a picture so that the

reader can visualize the people in her story. Because humans

perceive the world through the senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste,
and smell, describing in terms of the five senses is an effective way to

make a subject real and concrete to readers.

Complaining

Maya Angelou

When my grandmother was raising me in Stamps, Arkansas, she 1

had a particular routine when people who were known to be whiners
entered her store. Whenever she saw a known complainer coming,

she would call me from whatever I was doing and say conspiratorially,