Weak vs strong Analysis

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (Thoreau 405).

WEAK ANALYSIS

Living simply lets you start living meaningfully.

Hold up.  What does simply mean?  What are we talking about when we say this?  What does it LOOK like?  And what about meaningfully?  What does that look like?  These are vague and empty adverbs and do not actually show any real analysis or thought.  BLAH BLAH BLAH is what I see.

STRONG ANALYSIS

To live deliberately, Thoreau found it necessary to remove himself from the industrialized society in which he lived and seek solitude by Walden Pond.  In so doing, he could focus on the big picture – identity, place in society, his own humanity, nature’s beauty – rather than getting trapped in the minutia of everyday life.  This minutia seems to consume modern society, from Facebook and Twitter posts and updates to conversations revolving around fashion and celebrities, etc.  Life has become who you know and what you can regurgitate rather than what you know and what you can critically think of and develop.  Thoreau thought to live that we must do the latter.

“Talking and writing about what they’re grateful for amplifies adults’ happiness, new studies show” (Elias).

WEAK ANALYSIS

We should write what we’re grateful for to make us happy.

Um…this is called PARAPHRASING.  Paraphrasing is NOT analysis.  It is taking what someone else said and putting it in your own words.  That is not hard to do.  My 5 year old daughter does this daily…

STRONG ANALYSIS

Romantic poets, similarly, looked at what they’re grateful for – whether a seashell (chambered nautilus) they happened upon or the rhythm of the tide rising and falling, and wrote about it, allowing them to hold more idealistic views of the world.  Too often, people expect to receive gifts, opportunities, etc.  There is a sense of entitlement.  However, if we take time to appreciate what we receive – a hug from a friend, a new pair of shoes, a stick of gum – whatever! – we could find greater happiness in what we have and less demand for more.