Nib #7: Dumb “As-es”
“As a…” is usually a terrible way to start a sentence, especially in a piece of persuasive writing.
You know the tactic. “As a veteran…” … “As a teacher…” … “As a woman/man/mother/father…” and so on.
The “As a…” construction is meant to endow whatever follows with mystical power, to strap the armor of the writer’s personal identity around arguments that would otherwise have to stand on their own merits.
Except, hold on: all arguments *DO* have to stand on their merits!
A writer’s identity has no bearing on whether one plus one equals two. It also has no more bearing on whether, say, a defendant is guilty. Or whether a government program is good for the economy. Or whether a retiring baseball player is a Hall of Famer. Either they are or they’re not.
Lazy, entitled writers use the “As a…” schtick to make their arguments seem stronger than they are. But they usually accomplish the opposite. Readers — even if only unconsciously — will always wonder, “Hey, if this is such a good idea, what does the writer’s age/sex/race/personal-victimhood-narrative have to do with it?”
Don’t be lazy. Don’t be entitled. Respect your readers, and yourself, enough not to be a “Dumb As.”
Until next week… keep writing!
