Erasmus Response Paper
Erasmus’ copious style lends itself to a variety of practices in an effort to approach language and communication in an apt and expedient manner. As a part-time English tutor, Erasmus’ copious style is especially applicable to both my written work, and verbal communication with my students. However, I will argue that the utility Erasmus’ copious style extends beyond my own usage of the style. As the student-tutor relationship is often casual, with information and discussion being exchanged regularly from both sides, I will establish that in the realm of tutorship, the copious style is a method of teaching and explanation. However, I will argue that knowledge of Erasmus’ Copia is also a method for gaining information, …show more content…
The abundant style, which Erasmus attributes to “assembling, explaining, and amplifying of arguments by the use of examples, comparisons, similarities, dissimilarities, opposites, and other like procedures…” (Erasmus, 301) is something I use when creating worksheets, study materials, questions, and examples to supplement my students’ understanding of certain terms and conventions. The creation of these materials serves as practice for the student, so that they can reaffirm their understanding on the topic or idea. At the same time, the compressed and truncated style is also necessary in teaching, particularly in providing study guides, mnemonics, and simplifying concepts. In explaining the literary device of “alliteration” for example, while providing countless examples of alliteration can help a student understand when the term is used, explaining the criteria for alliteration is also necessary in order for the student to understand where and how alliteration can be applied. Through the ability to use the abundant and compressed styles, I am able to effectively flesh out ideas that are too densely packed for them, while also simplifying concepts to something more easily understandable and
Erasmus’ copious style lends itself to a variety of practices in an effort to approach language and communication in an apt and expedient manner. As a part-time English tutor, Erasmus’ copious style is especially applicable to both my written work, and verbal communication with my students. However, I will argue that the utility Erasmus’ copious style extends beyond my own usage of the style. As the student-tutor relationship is often casual, with information and discussion being exchanged regularly from both sides, I will establish that in the realm of tutorship, the copious style is a method of teaching and explanation. However, I will argue that knowledge of Erasmus’ Copia is also a method for gaining information, …show more content…
The abundant style, which Erasmus attributes to “assembling, explaining, and amplifying of arguments by the use of examples, comparisons, similarities, dissimilarities, opposites, and other like procedures…” (Erasmus, 301) is something I use when creating worksheets, study materials, questions, and examples to supplement my students’ understanding of certain terms and conventions. The creation of these materials serves as practice for the student, so that they can reaffirm their understanding on the topic or idea. At the same time, the compressed and truncated style is also necessary in teaching, particularly in providing study guides, mnemonics, and simplifying concepts. In explaining the literary device of “alliteration” for example, while providing countless examples of alliteration can help a student understand when the term is used, explaining the criteria for alliteration is also necessary in order for the student to understand where and how alliteration can be applied. Through the ability to use the abundant and compressed styles, I am able to effectively flesh out ideas that are too densely packed for them, while also simplifying concepts to something more easily understandable and