Straight Edge Essay

366 Words2 Pages
Straight Edge William Dowell in his essay “Life on the Edge” does an excellent job explaining to us his feeling that people in America, more so than other countries, are much more prone to take risks because their lives are boring. His repeated use of vivid words keeps the reader interested, he used quotes from real life risk takers, as well as using actual statistics are just a few ways he incorporates his writing skills to help prove his point. Dowell’s use of statistics and numbers was of great use in his essay. It was leverage to prove that more people have taken up riskier extreme sports within the last few years. “Snowboarding has grown 113 % in five years and now boasts nearly 5.5 million participants. This growth reveals a nation that loves to play with danger” (Dowell 373). All of his examples through statistics helps to prove his point, and he does very well in his effort to convince you through these examples. Quotes from actual real life risk takers are quoted to help prove Dowell’s point as well. Eric Perlman, a mountaineer and filmmaker in extreme sports was quoted saying “Every human being with two legs two arms is going to wonder how fast, how strong, how enduring he or she is. We are designed to experiment or die” (Dowell 373). This proves to the reader that even the risk takers themselves know that what they are doing is quite risky. Finally, Dowell’s most useful way of convincing the reader of his point is his repeated use of vivid words. Without keeping the reader interested the rest of your writing has no point. “The chute snaps open, the sound ricocheting through the gorge like a gunshot, and McGuire is soaring, carving S-turns into the air, swooping over a winding creek” (Dowell 371) He uses so many descriptive words in this essay that the reader will have a difficult time in becoming un-interested. All of Dowell’s techniques he

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