Shopping Mall Descriptions, Essay Example

Description #1

The shopping mall is like a magazine overrun with annoying advertisements.  Plagued with too many stores for the average person, it doesn’t stop there.  Advertisements, sales, and anything that businesses need to get consumers into the door is used.

The products there are also like the magazine that contains a myriad of products.  It is simply too much.  Too many products, too many stores, and too much commercialized space within one enclosed piece of property becomes tantamount with the shopping mall.  It is simply too much.

The commercial threshold thus undermines the average consumer’s consciousness.  Overrun with advertisements and shopping options, one becomes lost in the maze of the shopping mall.  Wasted time, regretful purchases, and more characterize the experience of the shopping mall, which is all too much within society.

Description #2

The Swiss Army knife is one of the most useful tools around, being able to cut, open, and perform task after task within one single object.  Consumers that go from store to store in order to purchase what they need wish for the Swiss Army knife, but for shopping.  The shopping mall is certainly the Swiss Army knife for shopping.

There are few, if any, places, where one can go where they can get the plethora of shopping options that the shopping mall offers.  One store cannot give someone the options they need when they are looking for the perfect shirt.  Where else can one go to several different fashion stores without getting back into their car?

Selection is one of the many advantages of the shopping mall.  As one of many blades in the Swiss Army knife of shopping, the shopping mall remains multi-dimensional for consumers.

Analysis

I tried to use strategies #2-5 on page 97 to emphasize both aspects of the shopping mall descriptions.  The second strategy was illustrated clearly in the second description, where I focused on the selection that a shopping mall offers, which could certainly be considered a negative.  Focusing on it, I didn’t include any negatives in that description.

The third strategy was more fully developed in the first description.  I wanted to use negative words, so I resorted to those such as annoying, myriad, and the phrase “too much.”  I felt these allowed the reader to receive the negative sense in this perspective.

The fourth strategy was clearly used in each instance.  The first description compared the shopping mall with a beauty magazine, in respect to advertisements and other aspects.  The second description compared the usefulness of the shopping mall to the Swiss Army knife.

The final strategy was used in the second paragraph of the first description.  I repeated the “too much” phrase at the beginning in the first two sentences, using longer sentences.  Then I stated it again at the end in a short sentence for effect.

The most valuable lesson I learned was the integration of these elements.  In instances I was able to combine more than one strategy within a paragraph.  I believe this multiplied the argumentative power of the persuasive description.  With this strategy, I feel, arguments and persuasive writing can become extremely revealing of the author’s point of view, which is a crucial lesson to learn for further writing endeavors.