Reading Response #2

I believe that the fact that both authors have individual experiences to tie them to what they are writing about is what makes the papers discovery essays. Their own familiarity with their topic allows them to put a personal spin on the facts that they have just learned and are presenting to the reader. Everyone has had experience with sun exposure so there is no question that Garrett-Brown has some personal insight that she might add to her essay. A less common activity, which Holmquist has done and is so honest about in his research essay, discusses the use of party drugs. One particular part stood out to me when Holmquist was able to use his past to help elaborate on the research that he did. He was discussing the non-addictive qualities of the drugs, but was able to refute some of the evidence by saying that even as he was writing the essay “there were [have been] countless times that he [I’ve] wanted LSD or MDMA.” His yearning was not necessarily chemical, but was instead encouraged by his nostalgic reflection on previous accounts with the drugs.

Both essays got their controlling idea from an event that happened to the author. Garrett-Brown’s “people are so stupid rant” was a more trivial cause for research, whereas Holmquist’s friend’s near death made him feel like he needed to know more. The controlling idea of Garrett-Brown’s essay is that tanning in a tanning salon is a silly ritual and she would like to know how it got started. She determines that innate sun exposure is healthy because it is a sign of being active in the outdoors, but that tans “via lightbulb technology” are taking the place of natural tans as people yearn to look active even if they are not. There is research and personal insight included to support the idea that “people just like the way it looks to be tan” for various reasons. Tans are fashionable and also give off the impression of an outdoor lifestyle. The author even admits to wishing she was tan whenever she puts on a swimsuit. The controlling idea of Holmquist’s essay is to discuss the dangers of the so-called “safe party drugs.” He shows very well through research and his friend’s situation that although they are hard to overdose on, they have other side-effects that can lead to severe danger or death.

Garrett-Brown does not know the answer to the question she is researching. Her research started after she asked herself “who made it cool for people to tan?” She wanted to know how the current trend began which will cause our generation to look “leathered and wrinkled” in our later years. Holmquist had a hunches about the dangers of the drugs, but wanted to fill in the blanks and figure out why, chemically, the drugs were not as safe as some of his friends believed.

I think the feature of having one’s own voice while also utilizing research is less successful in Garrett-Brown’s essay than Holmquist’s. While reading Holmquist’s paper, one could assume that he didn’t know all of the information he was spewing off from off the top of his head and the citations may have been a hint that there was research going on. That being said, I think that Holmquist did an excellent job weaving his own opinions with the information he found. There was never a point where I felt like I was reading a succession of facts or supporting details. I feel like Holmquist would write solely from personal knowledge until he arrived at a small detail he wasn’t sure about so he would research just that small fact to include. The essay flowed very well because of the lack of huge “data dumps;” instead he only gave small tidbits at a time when they became relevant. I had a different feeling while I was reading Garrett-Brown’s essay. The essay as a whole seemed unorganized, or maybe even too short. Even though there were only 5 different research points in the paper, I still felt overwhelmed. It seemed as if she had moved on to the next argument before even making me feel anything strongly about the previous. It was also interesting how Garrett-Brown’s essay actually discussed her process of researching within the paper. On the second page of her writing she said “As I researched sunbathing and the like I came across an interesting article in the…” She goes on to list the source of her information. Personally, I did not enjoy this transition to introduce research. It seemed very elementary and careless to me.

After reading these works and also the information given about writing research essays, I think the most important thing is weaving research seamlessly into my writing. I will try to break up my research into small relevant parts and insert them only when they seem necessary instead of seeing my “essay as a hole that must be filled with information.”