{"id":502,"date":"2023-01-20T00:40:10","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T08:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/?page_id=502"},"modified":"2024-03-06T16:52:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T00:52:40","slug":"outstanding-writing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/outstanding-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"Outstanding Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Click the title of any essay to access<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n        \n          \n          \n          \n          \n          \n          \n          \n          \n          \n          \n  \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--editorial-cards \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--editorial-cards\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  \n      <div class=\"cards-container\">\n      \n        <div class=\"card\">\n\n          \n                                      \n                \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n        <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/anzaldua_gloria_-_borderlands_la_frontera.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Read more about \"La Conciencia de la Mestiza\/Towards a New Consciousness,\" by Gloria Anzald\u00faa\">\n  \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/anzaldua-gloria-high-res.png\"\n                    data-sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 23vw, (min-width:768px) 39vw, 83vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Photograph of Gloria Anzald\u00faa\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n      <\/a>\n  \n\n<\/div>\n          \n          <div class=\"text-container\">\n            \n                            <h3>\n                                      <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/anzaldua_gloria_-_borderlands_la_frontera.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">\n                  \n                    &#8220;La Conciencia de la Mestiza\/Towards a New Consciousness,&#8221; by Gloria Anzald\u00faa\n\n                                      <\/a>\n                                  <\/h3>\n            \n                              \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p>\u201cLa Conciencia de la Mestiza\u201d is the powerful conclusion to Gloria Anzald\u00faa\u2019s book\u00a0<i>Borderlands \/ La Frontera<\/i>. In this groundbreaking work, she analyzes her experience of occupying borderlands as someone who is tricultural: fluent in Mexican, Indigenous, and Anglo cultures. As she explores how this complex social location shapes\u00a0<i>la conciencia de la mestiza<\/i>, she is acutely aware of the marginalization and possibility contained in this identity: \u201c<i>La mestiza<\/i>\u00a0has gone from being the sacrificial goat to becoming the officiating priestess at the crossroads. As a\u00a0<i>mestiza<\/i>\u00a0I have no country, my homeland cast me out; yet all countries are mine because I am every woman\u2019s sister or potential lover\u201d (p.102). Her liminal position comes at acute costs, as she receives opposing messages from multiple cultures simultaneously, which creates within her \u201ca struggle of borders, an inner war\u201d (p. 100). But, ultimately, her message aims to empower those who have\u00a0<i>mestiza<\/i>\u00a0consciousness. The\u00a0<i>mestiza<\/i>, she argues, has a plural personality that is acclimated to living with ambiguities and contradictions. A great deal is visible from this vantage point. Anzald\u00faa\u2019s hybrid identity is richer, more mutable, and more malleable precisely because it is inclusive.\u00a0 She conveys\u00a0<i>mestiza<\/i> consciousness through her use of code meshing as well as her effortless blending of poetry, philosophical argument, and call to action.\u00a0 Anzald\u00faa\u2019s work &#8212; prescient in both substance and style &#8212; is every bit as relevant today as it was when it was originally published.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n                      <\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n      \n        <div class=\"card\">\n\n          \n                                      \n                \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.runnersworld.com\/runners-stories\/a32883923\/ahmaud-arbery-death-running-and-racism\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Read more about \"Twelve Minutes and a Life,\" by Mitchell S. Jackson\">\n  \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/jackson-mitchell-high-res-678x432.png\"\n                    data-sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 23vw, (min-width:768px) 39vw, 83vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Photograph of Mitchell S. Jackson\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n      <\/a>\n  \n\n<\/div>\n          \n          <div class=\"text-container\">\n            \n                            <h3>\n                                      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.runnersworld.com\/runners-stories\/a32883923\/ahmaud-arbery-death-running-and-racism\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n                  \n                    &#8220;Twelve Minutes and a Life,&#8221; by Mitchell S. Jackson\n\n                                      <\/a>\n                                  <\/h3>\n            \n                              \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This essay, winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize and National Magazine Award for Feature Writing, provides a strong instance of code-meshing &#8212; and in addition\u00a0to fusing two dialects, it fuses multiple genres.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Part epitaph, part memoir, and part cultural history of running, this piece places the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in numerous contexts.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>More importantly, this essay celebrates Arbery\u2019s life, insisting that readers view him as \u201cmore than a symbol, more than a movement, more than a cause.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 We<\/span>\u00a0hope you will regard this piece as an invitation to combine dialects and genres in your own writing.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 We<\/span>\u00a0further hope that, as you read, you\u2019ll slow down and appreciate the work Jackson is doing on the sentence level.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>In particular, his use of intensification (repeating the same phrase to create suspense and emotional power) is stunning.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n                      <\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n      \n        <div class=\"card\">\n\n          \n                                      \n                \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2022\/10\/26\/magazine\/visualization-climate-change-future.html\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Read more about \"The New World: Envisioning Life After Climate Change,\" written by David Wallace-Wells and illustrated by Anuj Shrestha\">\n  \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/04\/wallace-wells-and-shrestha-combined.png\"\n                    data-sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 23vw, (min-width:768px) 39vw, 83vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Photograph of David Wallace-Wells (left) and Anuj Shrestha (right)\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n      <\/a>\n  \n\n<\/div>\n          \n          <div class=\"text-container\">\n            \n                            <h3>\n                                      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2022\/10\/26\/magazine\/visualization-climate-change-future.html\" target=\"_blank\">\n                  \n                    &#8220;The New World: Envisioning Life After Climate Change,&#8221; written by David Wallace-Wells and illustrated by Anuj Shrestha\n\n                                      <\/a>\n                                  <\/h3>\n            \n                              \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p>This visual essay about the future of our warming planet is memorable and engaging. The short blocks of text, the bold illustrations, and the interactivity of the article invite readers to sit with a problem that is often hard to wrap our minds around. In addition to demonstrating how powerfully texts and images can interact in an essay, this piece shows how helpful details can be to illuminate a sprawling and complex issue.\u00a0 For instance, Wallace-Wells points out that, in the future, palm trees could thrive in unexpected places like London. Ultimately, the essay argues that while climate change will undoubtedly cause enormous destruction and upheaval, it is also something that we can navigate and mitigate, if we act wisely. The essay concludes on this powerful note: &#8220;We have lost our chance to forestall disaster, and there are reasons to fear the world to come. But it remains our to make.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Please note: Because this article is interactive, it needs to be experienced on the website for the\u00a0<em>New York Times<\/em>.\u00a0 The\u00a0<em>Times\u00a0<\/em>offers readers several free articles a month.\u00a0 Additionally, USC offers all students a free year-long subscription.\u00a0 Learn more <a href=\"https:\/\/nytimesaccess.com\/usc\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n                      <\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n      \n        <div class=\"card\">\n\n          \n                                      \n                \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n        <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/brown-dorothy-compressed.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Read more about \"The Whiteness of Wealth,\" by Dorothy A. Brown\">\n  \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/brown-dorothy-high-res-1-475x432.png\"\n                    data-sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 23vw, (min-width:768px) 39vw, 83vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Photograph of Dorothy A. Brown\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n      <\/a>\n  \n\n<\/div>\n          \n          <div class=\"text-container\">\n            \n                            <h3>\n                                      <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/brown-dorothy-compressed.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">\n                  \n                    &#8220;The Whiteness of Wealth,&#8221; by Dorothy A. Brown\n\n                                      <\/a>\n                                  <\/h3>\n            \n                              \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p>In\u00a0<i>The Whiteness of Wealth<\/i>, Dorothy A. Brown\u2019s tax policy research assumes the form of urgent, compelling antiracist activism. She originally became a tax attorney to join a field where \u201cthe only color that mattered was green\u201d (p.5), but her disillusionment grew quickly, and she began assembling research to demonstrate how tax law &#8212; far from being color-blind &#8212; actively and systematically contributes to the growing wealth gap between Black Americans and their white peers.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Even though the IRS does not publish their statistics by race, Brown shows how, \u201cTaxpayers bring their racial identities to their tax returns. As in so many parts of American life, being Black is more likely to hurt and being white is more likely to help\u201d (p.11).<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Her introduction blends personal narrative (the origin story of her research, her drive to do this difficult work in hostile spaces), historical evidence on the emergence of the modern income tax system, and hard financial data. In the same tradition as Michelle Alexander\u2019s\u00a0<i>The New Jim Crow\u00a0<\/i>and Dayna Bowen Matthew\u2019s\u00a0<i>Just Medicine<\/i>,\u00a0<i>The Whiteness of Wealth<\/i>\u00a0calls attention to how laws and social structures in the United States are the result of conscious and unconscious racial biases that disadvantage Black people while privileging whites. An important contribution to advance a racial reckoning that is long overdue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n                      <\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n      \n        <div class=\"card\">\n\n          \n                                      \n                \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n        <a href=\"http:\/\/themapisnot.com\/issue-iii-francisco-cantu\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Read more about \"Clearly Marked Ghosts,\" by Francisco Cant\u00fa\">\n  \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/cantu-francisco-high-res-394x432.png\"\n                    data-sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 23vw, (min-width:768px) 39vw, 83vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Photograph of Francisco Cant\u00fa\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n      <\/a>\n  \n\n<\/div>\n          \n          <div class=\"text-container\">\n            \n                            <h3>\n                                      <a href=\"http:\/\/themapisnot.com\/issue-iii-francisco-cantu\" target=\"_blank\">\n                  \n                    &#8220;Clearly Marked Ghosts,&#8221; by Francisco Cant\u00fa\n\n                                      <\/a>\n                                  <\/h3>\n            \n                              \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p class=\"p1\">In this piece, the author builds upon ideas a student introduced in an essay for Honors English.\u00a0 Professors do not often discuss their thoughts while grading papers, but the written conversations they have with students can be intense, informative, and &#8212; as Cant\u00fa demonstrates &#8212; generative.\u00a0 In addition to revealing how professors can learn from their students, this piece provides an excellent example of a \u201cthesis-last\u201d essay, one where the argument emerges clearly in the final paragraphs.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Writers who would like to experiment with the placement of their thesis statement will find a lot to enjoy here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n                      <\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n      \n        <div class=\"card\">\n\n          \n                                      \n                \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n        <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/04\/wang-esme-high-functioning-resized.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Read more about \"High Functioning,\" by Esm\u00e9 Weijun Wang\">\n  \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/04\/wang-esme-768x432.png\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/04\/wang-esme-768x432.png 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 23vw, (min-width:768px) 39vw, 83vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Photograph of Esme Weijun Wang\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n      <\/a>\n  \n\n<\/div>\n          \n          <div class=\"text-container\">\n            \n                            <h3>\n                                      <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/04\/wang-esme-high-functioning-resized.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">\n                  \n                    &#8220;High Functioning,&#8221; by Esm\u00e9 Weijun Wang\n\n                                      <\/a>\n                                  <\/h3>\n            \n                              \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <div>\n<p>Esm\u00e9 Weijun Wang\u2019s essay \u201cHigh Functioning\u201d explores the author\u2019s schizophrenia diagnosis and interrogates the labels attached to mental illnesses in the United States. Doctors view Wang as a \u201chigh functioning\u201d schizophrenic because she attended Yale and is a successful, published writer. However, Wang suggests that this label might be inaccurate. Anxious to retain freedoms and to protect herself in medicalized spaces, Wang admits she draws on her background as a fashion journalist to appear chic and convince doctors that she\u2019s put together and \u201csane.\u201d As her essay progresses, Wang questions if anyone can ever truly assess another person\u2019s level of functioning. Does she, as a Chinese American, work to seem \u201chigh functioning\u201d because of intersecting pressures related to \u201cmodel minority\u201d myth? Is she attempting to convince herself she\u2019s \u201cnormal\u201d because she internalized social stigmas against mental illness and disability? Can Wang ever know her own level of functioning if she continually postures and performs sanity for others? The essay insists that these difficult questions have real stakes, because in the U.S. we accord rights, privileges, and protections to mentally ill people based on how sane they appear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n                      <\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n      \n        <div class=\"card\">\n\n          \n                                      \n                \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n        <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointmag.com\/criticism\/monstrous-motherhood\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Read more about \"Monstrous Motherhood,\" by Kelsey E. Henry\">\n  \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/02\/Kelsey-Henry-x250.jpeg\"\n                    data-sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 23vw, (min-width:768px) 39vw, 83vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Photograph of Kelsey Henry\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n      <\/a>\n  \n\n<\/div>\n          \n          <div class=\"text-container\">\n            \n                            <h3>\n                                      <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointmag.com\/criticism\/monstrous-motherhood\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n                  \n                    &#8220;Monstrous Motherhood,&#8221; by Kelsey E. Henry\n\n                                      <\/a>\n                                  <\/h3>\n            \n                              \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Kelsey Henry\u2019s essay on a niche horror subgenre, \u201cmommy horror,\u201d is a great example of cultural criticism. She takes two examples of this subgenre,\u00a0<i>Goodnight Mommy\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0<i>Rosemary\u2019s Baby<\/i>, to think through the idea of motherhood, a concept loaded with social meaning and expectations. Henry\u2019s essay demonstrates how cultural criticism, particularly film criticism, can rely on much more than an analysis of plot or characters (and what they represent), although these elements are, of course, important as well. She reaches deep into her criticism toolkit to look at things like mood, setting, and genre by paying close and slow attention to all of the cinematographic choices made in a film. Horror films are especially good at showing how external environments can reflect interior psyches. By paying attention to these dimensions, we get great lines like: \u201cIn contrast,<i>\u00a0Goodnight Mommy\u2019s\u00a0<\/i>Mother is vacuous. The feelings she carries are too light, not heavy or strong enough for the serious business of motherhood. She is an imposter, a changeling.\u201d The horror genre is a great case study for building criticism beyond character\/plot, since the characters and plots are usually relatively (or deceptively) simple. Through various techniques, films can unsettle the conventions and ideas most familiar to us in the world, and Henry\u2019s careful eye is a great example of this.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n                      <\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n      \n        <div class=\"card\">\n\n          \n                                      \n                \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n        <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/tandoh_ruby_-_hungry_human_bodies.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Read more about \"Hungry Human Bodies,\" by Ruby S. Tandoh\">\n  \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/tandoh-ruby-high-res-554x432.png\"\n                    data-sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 23vw, (min-width:768px) 39vw, 83vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Photograph of Ruby Tandoh\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n      <\/a>\n  \n\n<\/div>\n          \n          <div class=\"text-container\">\n            \n                            <h3>\n                                      <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/tandoh_ruby_-_hungry_human_bodies.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">\n                  \n                    &#8220;Hungry Human Bodies,&#8221; by Ruby S. Tandoh\n\n                                      <\/a>\n                                  <\/h3>\n            \n                              \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p class=\"p1\">Most people know Ruby Tandoh from her memorable stint on <i>The Great British Bake-Off,\u00a0<\/i>where she won acclaim for her delicious breads and cakes.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>But it\u2019s Tandoh\u2019s skills as a writer and a cultural critic that are the real showstopper here.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>In \u201cHungry Human Bodies,\u201d she argues for the importance of taking pleasure in our food.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>It\u2019s a powerful argument, but what is most impressive about Tandoh is how skillfully she writes in <em>praise<\/em> of something.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Many writers know how to gain momentum on the page by criticizing something, deconstructing it or revealing its problematic messages.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>It is far harder to generate complex, multifaceted arguments in celebration of something, presenting it not just as satisfying but delicious.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Tandoh does just that, while supplying us with a few easy recipes to try at home.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u201cHave a little fun with your mealtimes,\u201d she argues \u2014 while expertly showing us how (p. 35).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n                      <\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n      \n        <div class=\"card\">\n\n          \n                                      \n                \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2019\/aug\/02\/athleisure-barre-kale-tyranny-ideal-woman-labour\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Read more about \"Athleisure, Barre, and Kale: The Tyranny of the Ideal Woman,\" by Jia Tolentino\">\n  \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/tolentino-jia-high-res-768x432.png\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/tolentino-jia-high-res-768x432.png 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 23vw, (min-width:768px) 39vw, 83vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Photograph of Jia Tolentino\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n      <\/a>\n  \n\n<\/div>\n          \n          <div class=\"text-container\">\n            \n                            <h3>\n                                      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2019\/aug\/02\/athleisure-barre-kale-tyranny-ideal-woman-labour\" target=\"_blank\">\n                  \n                    &#8220;Athleisure, Barre, and Kale: The Tyranny of the Ideal Woman,&#8221; by Jia Tolentino\n\n                                      <\/a>\n                                  <\/h3>\n            \n                              \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">This ambitious essay takes on some big concepts, including, but not limited to, capitalism, feminism, and technological transformation. It\u2019s nuanced and insightful but also accessible to a general audience. Reading it helped me better understand various trends in fashion, fitness, and food that I had not thought enough about. Tolentino draws on a range of support to advance her claims: economic data, history, scholarly writing, online writing, observation, and lived experience. The first person is not out of place in this essay; in fact, it makes the argument more persuasive! But so does the discussion of Donna Haraway\u2019s seminal \u201cCyborg Manifesto.\u201d The concluding paragraph is especially striking, where Tolentino eloquently urges readers to reimagine the status quo.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n                      <\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n      \n        <div class=\"card\">\n\n          \n                                      \n                \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n        <a href=\"http:\/\/hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com\/2013\/05\/depression-part-two.html\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Read more about \"Depression, Part Two,\" by Allie Brosh\">\n  \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/01\/brosh-allie-2-copy-591x432.png\"\n                    data-sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 23vw, (min-width:768px) 39vw, 83vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Illustration from a cartoon by Allie Brosh\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n      <\/a>\n  \n\n<\/div>\n          \n          <div class=\"text-container\">\n            \n                            <h3>\n                                      <a href=\"http:\/\/hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com\/2013\/05\/depression-part-two.html\" target=\"_blank\">\n                  \n                    &#8220;Depression, Part Two,&#8221; by Allie Brosh\n\n                                      <\/a>\n                                  <\/h3>\n            \n                              \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p class=\"p1\">This piece showcases the possibilities of a graphic essay, one where words and images work together to make the argument.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Often, Brosh\u2019s drawings serve as evidence: they illustrate and further deepen the points she is making.\u00a0<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>More fundamentally, her drawings add emotional texture, literally illustrating the fact that depression transcends the language we have to describe it.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Along the way, Brosh (who always represents herself as a tubular white creature with a yellow, cone-shaped ponytail on her head) makes an important, two-pronged argument.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>On the one hand, her essay argues that mental illness does not always make sense, even to those experiencing it.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>On the other, her piece humorously and gently outlines how to help a loved one with depression \u2014 or, perhaps, how\u00a0<i>not\u00a0<\/i>to help.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>This piece can be absorbed in mere minutes, but don\u2019t let Brosh\u2019s simple color palette or loose drawing style fool you: this essay is a complex, subtle, and virtuosic piece of work.\u00a0<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>[Content warning: This piece includes discussion of mental illness and describes Brosh\u2019s suicidal thoughts; it may be disturbing for some readers.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n                      <\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n      \n        <div class=\"card\">\n\n          \n                                      \n                \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/675683\/poverty-by-america-by-matthew-desmond\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Read more about \"Poverty, by America,\" by Matthew Desmond\">\n  \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/119\/2023\/04\/desmond-matthew.png\"\n                    data-sizes=\"(min-width:1024px) 23vw, (min-width:768px) 39vw, 83vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Photograph of Matthew Desmond\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n      <\/a>\n  \n\n<\/div>\n          \n          <div class=\"text-container\">\n            \n                            <h3>\n                                      <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguinrandomhouse.com\/books\/675683\/poverty-by-america-by-matthew-desmond\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n                  \n                    &#8220;Poverty, by America,&#8221; by Matthew Desmond\n\n                                      <\/a>\n                                  <\/h3>\n            \n                              \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Matthew Desmond won the Pulitzer prize for his 2016 book, <em>Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.\u00a0 <\/em>Now, in his latest book, Desmond widens his lens, asking why a nation as wealthy as America allows 37.9 million people to live in poverty.\u00a0 The book\u00a0 asserts that poverty persists in America because the rest of us \u2014 to varying degrees, and whether we realize it or not \u2014 benefit from it.\u00a0 In the excerpt shared here, you can hear a portion of the audiobook, as read by Dion Graham.\u00a0 As you listen, we hope you&#8217;ll take a moment to appreciate <\/span>Desmond\u2019s skillful use \u2013 and Graham\u2019s skillful rendering \u2013 of<span class=\"s1\">\u00a0repetition.\u00a0 Multiple sentences begin with the phrase &#8220;poverty is,&#8221; stacking vivid images to illustrate the urgency of the issue.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n                      <\/div>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n  \n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--featured-block \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--featured-block\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"text-image-container\">\n    <div class=\"text-container\">\n\n      \n      \n                  \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  <p>THH 216<br \/>\n213-740-3691<br \/>\nwriting@usc.edu<\/p>\n<p>January 16 \u2013 April \u00a026<br \/>\nM \u2013 Th, 9am \u2013 9pm (PST)<br \/>\nF, 9am \u2013 4pm (PST)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n      \n          <\/div>\n\n    \n  <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-502","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Outstanding Writing - USC Dornsife Writing Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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