Summary Of To Write Software Read Books By J Bradford Hipps

The purpose of J. Bradford Hipps article “To Write Software, Read Books” is to persuade the reader that liberal arts and the humanities are just as important as STEM studies. Hipps uses a personal anecdote to make up most of his argument. By using the anecdote, Hipps makes a more personal connection and also shows proof of his argument in the real world. In the anecdote, Hipps references two instances in which people with backgrounds in non-STEM fields were vital to the progression of their programming assignment. In one instance, Hipps recounts a music major who could imagine parts of the system as musical notes that could be used to write a symphony rather than just pieces that needed to be logically jammed together. Because of her unique
The beginning, paragraphs one through four, are the introduction and address the counterargument. By addressing the counter argument, the argument that humanities and liberal arts should be taken after STEM courses, the author develops a basic outline of the two arguments so that the reader can understand the issue at hand. Doing this in the beginning of the article allows the author to build his argument against the counter argument from the very beginning. The middle, paragraphs five through eleven, are his personal anecdote. The anecdote is about a team programing assignment he once had. It discusses several occasions in which problems were solved by people with non STEM backgrounds. The personal anecdote serves to provide the majority of the evidence Hipps uses in his article. The end, paragraphs twelve through eighteen, are his analysis of his evidence and a statement of both his argument and the counterargument. Hipps analyzes his evidence using a metaphor comparing writing a book and programming in order to show the importance of humanities and creativity in the field of technology. Hipps also restates the counterargument and sums up his argument against it. The restatement of the two argument is particularly powerful. It serves as the conclusion and refreshes the reader on the topic of the article. It also concisely described why Hipp’s argument is