AboutDan Smith Expertise I have been a professional writer and editor for more than 30 years, taught speech and English composition at the university level, and have developed speech and English composition courses and seminars for businesses. I am experienced in editing a wide variety of materials, especially business, scientific, and other academic papers. I am familiar with all the major style guides.
Experience I have edited any number of graduate papers and other technical materials in such advanced fields as civil and electrical engineering and semiconductor fabrication. I have extensive experience in working with non-native English speakers.
Expert: Dan Smith Date: 2/29/2008 Subject: Essay for English class
Question Hello, I am a 10th grader and I have been given a essay to complete. I need to prove a quote by Aesop ("appearances are often deceiving") to be true. I have read the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding and I need to find examples of how an appearance was deceiving. In addition to that, I have to also find examples of historical events. For example, Hitler, or maybe Stalin. How could I structure my essay? And ,if possible, can you give me some good examples from the book and/or from history?
Thank you
Answer I cannot help with examples from the novel, because I have not read it.
But....
I can help you with examples from history.
Abraham Lincoln's appearance was not that of an eloquent and cultured man. Rather, he appeared very rough.
Neither Hitler nor Stalin appeared terribly imposing, but they turned out to be among the most ruthless of rulers.
Donald Rumsfeld certainly had the trappings of competence but turned out to be utterly incompetent to manage a military operation.
By way of contrast, you might show how some appearances are quite accurate. The language skills of George W. Bush, for example, might lead one to believe he would be incompetent to manage anything.
