its intent, to the consternation of the bullsters acquaintances. Perhaps a teachers willingness to accept mediocre work is based on the fact that he thinks the author may not be able to take his criticism. This is nothing short of a friendly consideration on the teachers part, but it is an unnecessary one. Students receive so much criticism from others on a daily basis that a few comments on an essay do nothing to rival. Harsh as they may seem, these comments are actually helping the student to become a better writer. When the author is asked to write a paper for a real rather than general audience, he will be much more capable because his teacher has given him honest feedback as to how a person would actually react to his essay. Unfortunately, those students whose instructors refuse to provide criticism will never know what parts of their papers to improve upon. Elbow effectively makes his point by stating, the student never gets the experience of learning what actually happens to a real reader reading his words. How can students get around all of these obstacles and write a paper that appeals to both the teacher and the "general reader? Perhaps this is the intended purpose of writing classes: to teach students to become better versed in writing for many people all at once. For those who may find it difficult to cope with the conflict caused where academic discourse is concerned, Elbow offers some free advice that may prove very helpful.Asking a teacher to provide a more clearly explained set of directions could be very favorable. Besides the obvious advantages that an increased amount of clarity would furnish, the teacher may also choose to sponsor a class discussion on the exact audience of their papers. Every time an essay is assigned, it would be to both the teachers and the students benefit to consider the topic of the paper and then deduce what disposition a general reader would take on such an issue or event. By clearly defini...
