Neat people vs. sloppy people
This is an expository piece of writing, comparing and contrasting two groups of people, the neat people and the sloppy.
In the text, the writer uses the subject-by-subject method to contrast neat people and sloppy people. She first analyzes the problems with sloppy people, then moves on to the second subject, neat people. To achieve humor, the writer employs various rhetoric devices such as paradox, parallelism, hyperbole and irony. Paradox : in the first paragraph, the writer turns a common set of assumption upside down by stating “Neat people are lazier and meaner than sloppy people. This statement seems to contradict the common assumption ,thus arousing the reader’s interest in reading the essay.
Parallelism : in the third paragraph ,there are five parallel sentences beginning with the adverb ”someday”. The use of parallelism makes this paragraph clear and rhythmical.
Irony：The writer emphasizes the word “someday”, which implies that sloppy people have many great plans for future , but are quite unlikely to carry them out. This is a kind of irony
Hyperbole : sentences such as”….the unread magazines threaten to reach the ceiling” may make us laugh and they also underscore the stark contrast of the two groups
Apart from using various rhetoric devices to make the essay a great humorous piece, the author provides details that the reader recognizes as true about herself.。