This article is written by John Holt. It is a piece of expository writing (in which the writer explains and analyzes an issue). The title of the article "Disciplining Children" shows the subject matter. In this article the writer tries to familiarize the reader with three very important sources of experience for a child: nature, culture, and superior force.
The writer directly starts his treatise by a general thesis statement – the very first sentence. The article is divided into three distinct paragraphs each explaining one of the three sources of disciplining children. The writer starts each paragraph with a general idea (a general definition of the related discipline). Then, with the help of different examples, he tries to clarify his major point. Afterward, he goes into details and explains different aspects of the main idea. At last, he ends each paragraph with a brief note on the related discipline as a conclusion.
The examples given by the writer are not straightforward. He does not explain the situation to the reader. Instead, he faces the reader with the situation all of a sudden. For instance, he says, "If he hits the wrong key, he hears the wrong note". In this example, the writer is certainly talking about a piano or another musical instrument of the same kind. Thus, the writer is not clear enough for two reasons: first, it is not necessary for the reader to imagine the exact situation in order to understand the writer's point; second, the reader's mind is activated and he will not be limited to only one situation. Therefore, it is not important to know exactly what kind of "key" the writer means; moreover, the reader can think of piano, keyboard, organ, … and he will see that as one of the rules of nature – something tat happens over and over again.
The writer's diction is plain and simple. He does not want to be technical and is trying his best to convey his own meaning. He is synonymous and expresses the same idea in different ways so that his readers – regardless of their education– understand what he means. For example, in the phrase "Discipline of Culture, of Society, of What People Really Do", he starts from a somehow technical term and ends in a very commonplace phrase to express his idea. Thus, his audience, are not limited to any particular group of the society. Or in another example, he says, "Nature, is impersonal, impartial, and indifferent
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