Francois Marie Arouet (Voltaire)

Francois Marie Arouet (Voltaire) Francois Marie Arouet (Voltaire) was a French philosopher and a writer. Voltaire was born in the year 1694 in Paris. As a young boy, Voltaire received his education at the Jesuit school between the years 1704 and 1711. At the school, Voltaire learned Latin, Greek, English, and Spanish.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Francois Marie Arouet (Voltaire) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Between the years 1711 and 1713, Voltaire studied law while working as a secretary in Paris. Later on, Voltaire quitted the law school, and concentrated on writing contrary to his father’s wishes. As a writer, he wrote several writings in all major literary fields. It is estimated that he wrote more than 1800 books, 20 000 letters and numerous brochures. Through his works, Voltaire became prominent for his wit and hilarious verses. During the Voltaire’s time, Europe was going through the age of enlightenment. With contributio n from various intellectuals, advance knowledge spread across most urban areas in Europe. In spite of the advanced knowledge, it should be noted that stern and suppressive laws with severe consequences were practiced at the time. Similarly, it was blasphemous to champion Christian dogmas. In spite of this, Voltaire became a social reformist, and criticized religious intolerance, war, and social injustices in French institutions. As a result, Voltaire was arrested severally and imprisoned by the authorities. To date, Voltaire works are considered absurd. His works portray him as a racist individual, who has no respect for the Jews and the Africans. More often, he questions the Africans’ intellectual ability due to their involvement in the slave trade. Until his death, at the age of 83, Voltaire worked as a writer. In writings, satire refers to the art of using irony, mockery and sarcasm to provoke individuals’ or society’s behaviors. For a writing to be acknowled ged as a satire, it must possess the following five characteristics: be targeted at the crooked, be humorous, be reform oriented, be ironic, and be exaggerated. Satirical writings try to point out faults in society and organizations. By doing so, actions, injustices, shortcomings, and policies are denounced. Most writers do not choose to express their thoughts through satire to cause harm or damage, but rather to expose the vices in the society through humorous and comical ways. As a result, appropriate use of satire is considered as the most effective way of exposing evil traits in the society. In my opinion, Voltaire through Candide uses satire to condemn the world’s evil, Christian dogmas, and war in the society he lived in. Candide ridicules a variety of secular and idealistic theories. He sarcastically illustrates several inherent evils in the world such as earthquakes, diseases, and storms. Through this text, religious leaders and the authorities felt offended.Advertisi ng Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More

Example of a Bad Academic Dismissal Appeal Letter

Example of a Bad Academic Dismissal Appeal Letter If youve been dismissed from your college or university because of poor academic performance, its only natural to feel embarrassed, angry and defensive. You may feel like youve let down your parents, your professors, and yourself. Because a dismissal can be so humiliating, many students try to place the blame for the low grades on anyone but themselves. After all, if you view yourself as a good student, then those Ds and Fs cant be your fault. However, to make a successful academic dismissal appeal, you need to take a long hard look in the mirror. While many factors can contribute to academic failure, that person in the mirror is the one who got the low grades on those papers, exams, and lab reports. The person in the mirror is the one who didnt attend class or failed to turn in assignments. When Brett appealed his academic dismissal, he did not own up to his own blunders. His appeal letter is an example of what not to do. (see Emmas letter for an example of a well-written appeal) Brett's Academic Dismissal Appeal Letter To Whom It May Concern:I am writing because I would like to appeal my dismissal from Ivy University for poor academic performance. I know my grades were not good last semester, but there were a lot of circumstances that were not my fault. I would like to encourage you to reinstate me for next semester.I work really hard at my schoolwork, and I have since high school. My grades dont always reflect my hard work, though, and I sometimes get low grades on tests and essays. In my opinion, my math professor was not clear about what would be on the final, and did not give us notes to study from. His English is also really bad and made it hard to understand what he was saying. When I emailed him to ask what I made on the final, he did not reply for several days, and then just told me I should come by to pick up the exam without emailing me my grade. In my English class, I think the professor just did not like me and several of the guys in class; she made a lot of sarcastic jokes that were no t appropriate. When she told me to take my essays to the Writing Center, I did, but that just made them worse. I tried to revise them on my own, and I worked really hard, but she would never give me a higher grade. I dont think anybody made an A in that class.If I am allowed to come back to Ivy University next fall, I will work even harder and maybe get a tutor for the classes like Spanish that I was struggling with. Also, I will try to get more sleep. That was a big factor last semester  when I was tired all the time and sometimes nodded off in class, even though one reason I didnt get sleep was because of the amount of homework.I hope you will give me a second chance to graduate.Sincerely,Brett Undergrad Critique of Brett's Academic Dismissal Appeal Letter A  good appeal letter  shows that you understand what went wrong and that you are being honest with yourself and the appeals committee. If your appeal is to succeed, you must show that you take responsibility for your low grades. Bretts appeal letter fails on this front. His first paragraph sets the wrong tone when he states that many of the problems he encountered were not my fault. Immediately he sounds like a student who lacks the maturity and self-awareness to own up to his own shortcomings. A student who tries to place blame elsewhere is a student who is not learning and growing from his mistakes. The appeals committee will not be impressed. Working Hard? It gets worse. In the second paragraph, Bretts claim that he works really hard sounds hollow. How hard is he really working if he has just failed out of college for low grades? And if he is working hard but getting low grades, why hasnt he sought out help in assessing his learning difficulties? The rest of the paragraph actually suggests that Brett does  not  work hard. He says his math professor was not clear about what would be on the final and did not give us notes to study from. Brett seems to think he is still in grade school and he will be spoon fed information and told exactly what will be on his exams. Alas, Brett needs to wake up to college. It is Bretts job to take notes, not his professors job. It is Bretts job to figure out what information has received the most emphasis in class and is, therefore, most likely to be on exams. It is Bretts job to work hard outside of the classroom so that he has mastery over all of the material covered throughout the semester. But Brett is not done digging himself into a hole. His complaint about his instructors English sounds petty if not racist, and the comments about receiving his grade over email is irrelevant to the appeal and shows laziness and ignorance on Bretts part (because of privacy issues and FERPA laws, most professors will not give out grades over email). When Brett talks about his English class, he again looks to blame anyone but himself. He seems to think that taking a paper to the Writing Center will somehow magically transform his writing. He seems to think that a feeble effort at revision represents hard work deserving of a higher grade. When Brett complains that she would never give me a higher grade, he reveals that he thinks grades are given, not earned. It's Not the Professor's Job to Like You Bretts claim that the professor didnt like him and made inappropriate comments raises a couple of issues. Professors arent required to like students. Indeed, after reading Bretts letter, I dont like him very much. However, professors should not let their fondness or dislike of a student affect their evaluation of the students work. Also, what was the nature of the inappropriate comments? Many professors will make snide comments to students who are slacking off, not paying attention, or being disruptive in some way. However, if the comments were in some way racist, sexist or in any way discriminatory, then they are indeed inappropriate and should be reported to the professors Dean. In Bretts case, these vague accusations of inappropriate comments sound as if they belong in the former category, but this is an issue the appeals committee will want to investigate further. Weak Plans for Future Success Finally, Bretts plan for future success sounds weak. Maybe  get a tutor? Brett, you need a tutor. Get rid of the maybe and act. Also, Brett says that homework was one reason he didnt get enough sleep. What were the other reasons? Why was Brett always sleeping through class? How will he address the time management problems that have left him exhausted all the time? Brett provides no answers to these questions. In short, Brett has made a losing appeal in his letter. He doesnt seem to understand what went wrong, and he put more energy into blaming others than figuring out how to improve his academic performance. The letter provides no evidence that Brett will succeed in the future. If youd like Allen Groves help with your own appeal letter,  see his bio for details. More Tips on Academic Dismissals Jasons Appeal Letter and Critique: Jason was dismissed because of alcohol abuse. See how he appealed his dismissal, with feedback.10 Tips for an In-Person Appeal: You may be able to appeal in-person to the scholastic standards committee. See tips for making the best case.10 Questions You Might Be Asked When Appealing a Dismissal: Be prepared to answer these questions appropriately.