Kay Hymowitzs article Where have the Good Men Gone? that has been posted on the Wallstreet Journal caught many of the readers attention, regarding its rather myopic and exaggerated point of view towards the average American men after t

Review of essay

Rating: 5 star(s)

Response to the question

This task is set to test the candidates' ability to argue. One of the hardest things about an argument is that, at GCSE level, there must be a clear appreciation of an opposing view. This may appear illogical and to many real life argumentative articles is completely unrealistic, but candidates must adhere to the requirements of the question and the syllabus. This candidate has a clear-cut argument to voice, and uses a huge array of linguistic devices to convey their argument. A further exploration into that all-elusive counter-argument may have served the candidate well, but nonetheless, this is an extremely well-written and passionate argument against a hypothesis.

Level of analysis

The Level of Analysis is very good indeed. Incorporating many elements of a successful argument such as authoritative language; a variety of powerful adjectives; use of triples, alliteration, and repetition ("myopic interpretation", "ageing frat boys"); and evidence of their own real life accounts of men who have done well for themselves, this candidate constructs a hugely convincing arguments against the rather deterministic and pessimistic view of Kay S. Hymowitz.
The candidate could, in order to make their answer even stronger, address a wider range of comments made in the 'Where Have All The Good Men Gone?' article and also provided a secondary opinion to strengthen the rationality of their argument. However, the sheer enthusiasm of the candidate combined with their masterful use of the English language mean that this argument is both convincing, powerful and potent.

Quality of writing

The Quality of Written Communication is less impressive, but no errors within the answer compromise any it's impressive qualities.