Question

Read an essay about Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Black Cat" and look for weaknesses in the writing. Describe how the writer should revise the word, and edit the essay for errors in capitalization, spelling, and punctuation.

Answer 1

Explanation:

Phrases to be corrected:

-"The story revolves around the psychology of guilt and a murderer who commits a crime and is able to hide it."

The most concrete idea would be:

The story revolves around the psychology of a murderer who commits a crime and is able to hide it.

-"This article will analyze the issue of violence as it is contained in history".

It could be corrected as the following:

"This article will analyze what influenced the narrator to become a violent man and what the consequences were."

A correct punctuation must be made in the following paragraph:

"These animals included dogs, apes, and even donkeys. The theme of violence is also portrayed when the narrator, realizing his mistake, turns on himself and begins to hurt himself with the knife that he always carried with him."

The first stanza is a continuity of the idea from the previous paragraph, therefore it must be in the previous paragraph with a period followed.

In the following paragraph we can make some editorial corrections as well as punctuation:

"The other theme of the story is that of loyalty. Before the narrator began drinking, he was loyal to his wife and pet cat, Pluto. The theme of loyalty also shows up when the narrator gouges his cat's eye out. Even though his wife saw the kind of cruelty he had subjected the cat to, he was still loyal to him."

We can see in the previous paragraph that the subject of loyalty begins to be discussed, therefore it is not necessary for the writer of the essay to say again "the subject of loyalty is also shown ..." it could be said "We can quote a example when the narrator gouges out his cat's eye ".

The last paragraph, as it is a continuity of the previous paragraph where the writer continues talking about loyalty, must continue that idea in the previous paragraph with a period followed.

Therefore, there should be a single paragraph where it is not necessary to repeat the word "the issue of loyalty" but only leave the word "loyalty" because it is already known that that issue has been discussed. Therefore, they could be as follows:

"The other theme of the story is that of loyalty. Before the narrator began drinking, he was loyal to his wife and pet cat, Pluto. An example we can cite is when the narrator gouges out his cat's eye. Even though his wife saw the kind of cruelty he had subjected the cat to, he was still loyal to him, and loyalty is represented by the cat himself. After the narrator gouged out the cat's eye, the cat was still playing with the narrator after the pierced eye sock had healed. Under normal circumstances, the cat would have fled the house and moved to another house away from the brutality."