Reader Response, Essay Example

This piece is clearly the work of someone who has only limited English skills, certainly when it comes to the written word. What is clear from the article though is the emotion and passion which reading the words of Martin Luther King has instilled in the writer.

Alhababi is clearly not a native speaker or writer of English, and his mode of expression is nevertheless endearing and heartfelt. The lack of skill with the language is shown by his use of phrases such as, “but I did not understand that word, but I as grasped that it was not a good thing.” (page 1) This clumsy use of language in the first paragraph helps to indicate to the reader early on that they are not dealing with a skilfully composed piece of argument, written by a skilled or professional writer.

Nevertheless, despite the clumsiness of the mode of expression, the passion of the writer for his subject is clear. This is seen most clearly in the passage where the writer mentions King’s famous ‘I have a dream’ speech of the 1960s. Although the sentence structure is unclear and confused, the passion comes across in lines such as, “Every time I read it I feel the excited and explode inside me in really positive energies and make me never surrendered.” While the mode of expression is grammatically incorrect in the extreme, the passion of what the writer is saying is never in doubt.

Overall, this is a passionate, if appallingly written, piece, which is all about personal response. With more correct grammar and use of vocabulary, it could have been effective.