Neat People vs Sloppy People Response Journal

Response Journal 1 After reading the essay titled “Neat People vs. Sloppy People”, a question was posed. What was the author’s reason for writing this piece? The reason appears to be to contrast sloppy people and neat people in order to convince the reader that sloppy people are nicer and busier than neat people. Author Suzanne Britt clearly states that she has figured out what the difference between the two is; “Neat people are lazier and meaner than sloppy people.” She conveys the idea that sloppy people have better morals than neat people and that sloppy peoples habits are a direct result of their strong morals. They set up goals that are heavenly and unattainable, yet they continue to strive to reach them, while neat people just want to make it simple. It appears that her main goal in writing this essay was to take a carefree and entertaining look at neat people and sloppy people, while making a dramatic point about their differences. While organizing her thoughts, ideas, and information about sloppy people and neat people, it appears that Britt took the Spatial approach to organizing her writing. She starts her thoughts by describing the mindset of sloppy people. How “someday” is the sloppy persons specialty. Using examples of the sloppy persons behaviors to give more depth and understanding of the subject expands upon her thoughts. In order to keep the audience attention, humor is used to exaggerate on a point about sloppy people and the extended amount of time it takes them to clear the surface of a desk. With this point, Britt smoothly switches between her two subjects with the use of one simple sentence; “A neat person would just bulldoze the desk.”
This statement moves her thoughts into the subject of neat people. By comparing the thought possess of sloppy people and neat people on the topic of clearing a desk, the transition from expressing her thoughts and ideas from sloppy people to neat people was very effective. Overall, I found

Cited: Britt, Suzanne. “Neat people vs. Sloppy People” The Bedford Guide for College Writers with Reader, Research Manual, and Handbook. 7th ed. Eds. X.J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Marcia F. Muth, and Sylvia A. Holladay. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005. 96-98.