February Response (2-2) -- Of Studies

Article: Essay of Studies
by Sir Francis Bacon

Central Argument: Bacon persuades us to study by laying out the benefits of studying and how we can make the best out of it; According to him, reading is the best method to learn from your studies.

                In his essay “Of studies”, Sir Francis Bacon spreads out the pros of studying. He puts it out in an orderly fashion to convince us that studying will lead to a positive place. The writer’s main argument is that reading a lot of pieces of writing, such as novels or articles, is the best way to learn. I, and so would Mr. P (our English teacher), agree on the fact that reading boosts your knowledge. Bacon states that studying aides in three core aspects: “delight, ornament and ability”, or in other words, he says that studying will help to communicate, to debate, and to be better than others.

                As children that are brought up in a well-to-do family, our parents would encourage us to study; After all, it’s the only possible way to be successful in life. Parents –mine at least – set out our goals for us from the very beginning. Study hard, get past high school and university, get a good job, get married and then settle down peacefully. The base of this entire plan was to study hard, but what does studying hard mean exactly? Sir Bacon explains how studying for long periods of time won’t necessarily help if you’re not studying correctly and efficiently. There are some methods that will prove be more useful than others.

                A well-known motivational quote goes a little something like this: “Practice makes perfection.” My basketball coach refused to agree with that; he’d always tell us, “Practice makes permanent, perfect practice makes perfection.” If you learn the wrong thing and continue to practice that, your ability to accomplish that task won’t necessarily escalate. This applies for studying as well. If you don’t use an efficient method when it comes to learning, you won’t take in knowledge.

                Sir Bacon explains studying to be just another method of exercising the body. Through reading, one can improve in several paths of knowledge. I chose to agree with Sir Francis Bacon’s opinion because of what I have learned through experience. As a young reading, I could speak a lot better English than almost all the people in my class. While the other kids chose to go outside and play cricket, I’d stay back and read another one of Enid Blyton’s books; from The Famous Five to The Secret Seven, I would definitely agree with the fact that reading improves you skills and is a far more superior method than others.

                Interesting enough, Sir Bacon includes that “histories make men wise.”  With the self-explanatory phrase, he explains the values that people learn from the past, and since the past can mostly be found through written sources, the author combines both ideas into one. He specifies his argument that reading is the more efficient method to get educated successfully. Using this argument, Sir Francis Bacon, in his essay “Of studying” he attempts to persuade people that reading is the best method of studying and can help you distinctly.