Logan Frey

Andrew Brown

April 21st, 2017

UWRT 1104

Studio #5: Cirque De Critique ~ Critically Reviewing

Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to
show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want
something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people. ~ Randy Pausch

Implementation ~

1. The Last Lecture is ...

a. A great book. The Last Lecture was a great book, due to the fact that it conveys a message to live life to the fullest
regardless of the obstacles that life throws at you. In regard to Randy Pauschs final lecture, he displayed a slide
containing a picture of his tumors and stated, This is what it is. We cant change it. We just have to decide how
well respond. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand (Pausch 17), which is a
reflection of how Pausch went about dealing with adversity. Regardless of Randy Pauschs diagnosis of pancreatic
cancer, he wasnt going to let this deadly disease define the type of person that he was. This book gave insight into a
life that was overcome by adversity and how that adversity was fought with optimism and happiness. Through this
battle with adversity, Randy Pausch displayed to readers that we are never going to get out of life alive, therefore
live life to its fullest potential. In The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch continued to show happiness regardless of the
battle he was fighting, and this can be seen in the activities he was participating in during his sluggish fight against
cancer.
b. An okay book
c. An awful book

2. It was...
A great pick for this class and goes well with the notions of creativity and imagination. In the Last Lecture, Randy
Pausch stated, My imagination was always pretty hard to contain, and halfway through high school, I felt this urge
to splash some of the thoughts swirling in my head onto the walls of my childhood bedroom (Pausch 27). The Last
Lecture was a great pick for this class and goes well with the notions of creativity and imagination, due to the sole
fact that Randy Pauschs entire life revolved around creativity and imagination. Randy Pausch stresses the
importance of expressing ones imagination and creativity amongst different outlets that can be seen in Pauschs
bedroom drawings or through his work as an imagineer. Whether it was drawing in his bedroom with his sister
Tammy and his friend Jack or working as an Imagineer, Randy Pausch was able to express how imagination and
creativity is a universal tool that can be applied to any aspect of life.
b. An okay pick for this class and mostly works with our imagination and creativity items
c. An awful pick for the class and has no relevance

3. I...
a. Learned from reading the book. After reading The Last Lecture, I have come to realize how much I have actually
learned and gained through my experience reading Randy Pauschs book. Gaining a deeper understanding about
Randy Pauschs life and gaining further appreciation for how he went about living out his last adventure through
life, I have learned to never stop chasing my dreams. In the Last Lecture, Pausch described how one of his lifelong
dreams was to become an Imagineer at Walt Disney, and once he received a PhD in computer science he dashed off
his letters of application to Walt Disney Imagineering, only to receive some of the nicest go-to-hell letters.
Regardless of this brick wall, Pausch stuck to his famous saying, The brick walls are there for a reason. Theyre
there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something (Pausch
52), and with this in mind, Randy Pausch was able to overcome this brick wall and eventually achieve one of his
lifelong dreams of becoming an imagineer. Reflecting on the endless obstacles presented in Pauschs life and how he
went about overcoming them, it has inspired me to perceive obstacles in my life as brick walls that are there to
make me work harder to achieve the unachievable.
b. Learned some from reading the book
c. Learned nothing from the book

4. I would recommend this book to...

a. Anyone. In my opinion, I would recommend The Last Lecture to all readers due to the universal teaching Randy
Pausch was able to express throughout his writing. Throughout The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch was able to include
content that all readers could connect with at a personal level, which is part of the reason why I would recommend
this book to all readers. Whether it is Pauschs useful insight on how to go about living a life filled with imagination
and creativity, or the endless pieces of advice provided to help guide individuals on the path to happiness, Pausch
delivered a touching and relatable life story of his own to help individuals personally connect to a life filled with
adversity and hardships. Not only does the content in Pauschs book provide an uplifting and relatable life story, but
hearing about Randy Pauschs story and how he went about carrying out his last adventure through life is very
uplifting and can serve as an outlet to anyone overcoming adversity in their life.
b. No one, not even my worst enemy
c. A select group (specify who that might be)

5. A statement is no use unless we have its context. That means, we need to know why. After you've completed
each statement, go back to EACH, and elaborate by answering WHY. Why is it a great book? What makes it
so? Why wouldn't you force your worst enemy to read this text?
1.--------------------------------- Why? (or what was great, okay, or awful about it)
2.----------------------------------Why?
3.----------------------------------Why? (or what you learned, would substitute)
4. ---------------------------------Why?
Completed this step by adding a description with each selection above.

6. Three word answers are among the most powerful responses possible. We'll find out why, next week. Jot
down the first three words which come to your mind when you think about the text:
1. Inspiring
2. Useful
3. Relatable

III. Critical Review ~

Write a critical review of The Last Lecture book. To guide your response, your critical review can follow the starter
questions above, if you wish. Whether it does or not, your review should contain three (3) specific lines, details, or
passages from the text as the primary content to which you are responding. Using these specific portions will give
you specific, concrete responses in your review; otherwise, you risk having a far-too generalized response to your
reading. Yes, this is one of the more important teaching moments of the semester: using specific details from a text
gives you particulars to write about, which in turn gives you structure and direction.
* I want you to create an outline of what you would write for a critical review of The Last Lecture, first using the
Three Paragraph Format (TPF) as shown in the accompanying handout. Repeat the process for a second time, but
utilizing the Alternative Composition Format, also detailed in the same handout

The Five Paragraph Essay

I. Intro
A. Catchy Starter (to get audiences attention) From the opening scenes of The Last Lecture, written by
Randy Pausch, the instantaneous opening explanation of his most recent obstacle in life allows readers to swiftly
dive head first into the book. Pausch opens the book with an introduction section that within the first two sentences
clarifies his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and the ten tumors that are present within his body. With that being said,
Pausch fully opens himself up to the readers and allows the readers to make an instant connection to someone that is
facing adversity in their life.
B. Thesis Throughout the entirety of The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch constantly strives to distribute pieces
of advice by labeling each new section of the book with a piece of advice or after a life experience, while also
conveying the importance of expressing ones creativity and imagination, as well as inspiring individuals to live a
life filled adversity in which an individual can overcome specific obstacles and grow from them. As a reader myself,
I agree strongly with the main points that Randy Pausch is expressing throughout his book, and whether or not
theyre in a sequential order or not, he is still conveying some sort of message.
II. Body Paragraph One (first main point) As Randy Pausch carefully builds his book and goes about selecting
which section would go where, it becomes relevant on how he went about selecting chapter titles and the reasoning
behind the structure of The Last Lecture. Pausch was able to attract readers to his story through a universal story of
adversity in ones life that allowed readers to put themselves in Pauschs shoes and realize that everybody faces
adversity, but different individuals cope with it differently.
A. explanation of first main point Throughout the entirety of The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch drives
home the main points of his life that allowed him to fully live a happy and successful life, and he displayed this
through constructing a book that represented different stages of his life. Whether it was the first recollection of
cancer being present in Randy Pauschs body, or recollection of the rejections Pausch faced in life, he makes it clear
to readers that life is filled with adversity, but what defines an individual is how well they deal with their adversity.
B. any evidence or proof of first main point. Pauschs work is not only relatable but extremely universal,
due to the fact that he talks about real life phenomenas that an average individual would face at some point in their
life. Throughout his book, Pausch continued to tell a story of a life fully lived and he goes about expressing his last
remarks as a happy farewell, and through this he allows readers to view how well he handled his brick walls in life
and didnt let them effect the life he lived. As Pausch stated in The Last Lecture, This is what it is. We cant change
it. We just have to decide how well respond. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand
(Pausch 17), which displays his lifelong mantra.
III. Body Paragraph Two (second main point) With Pauschs life revolving around creativity and imagination, he
drives home the main point that creativity and imagination is something that makes each individual different, and
having the ability to express ones imagination and creativity is vital factor in life.
A. explanation of second main point Due to the fact that Pausch led a life filled with imagination and
creativity, I would agree that he may be one of the most suitable candidates to be preaching the topic of self-
expression and being able to display ones inner feelings. Throughout The Last Lecture, Pausch made it evident that
imagination and creativity can be displayed amongst all aspects of life regardless of whether or not individuals care
to realize it. This aspect of the book allows readers to connect with Pausch on a personal level and recollect different
moments in their life in which imagination and creativity was present and how they went about expressing those in a
positive manner.
B. any evidence or proof of second main point Whether it was his career working as a Disney Imagineer
or drawing on his bedroom walls, Pausch made it clear that imagination and creativity are universal tools that allow
individuals to express who they are regardless of what any other individuals say or think. With that being said,
Pausch began expressing his imagination and creativity at a young age, and he states, My imagination was always
pretty hard to contain, and halfway through high school, I felt this urge to splash some of the thoughts swirling in
my head onto the walls of my childhood bedroom (Pausch 27), which allows readers to agree with the fact that
imagination and creativity is something that is relevant in young individuals, but continues to be present throughout
an individuals entire life.
IV. Body Paragraph Three (third main point) Pauschs most influential role throughout the book is his role to
display the hardships he has faced throughout his life and how he went about overcoming them. Pausch has made it
clear to readers that he faced many rejections from different careers he had wished he couldve attained, and he also
was rejected from Carnegie Mellon, but the biggest obstacle he had to face was his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.
Throughout the entire book, Pausch selectively pieces together different sections filled with numerous pieces of
advice, but the most inspirational part of The Last Lecture is Pauschs continuous fight.
A. explanation of third main point. From the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer to his secret rejection from
Carnegie Mellon, Pausch always found a way to look at the bright side in every hardship he was faced with, which
ultimately led to the overcoming of several obstacles. Pausch was a fighter, and if he knew he couldnt overcome an
obstacle in life he would continue to fight against it with a smile on his face, which displays to readers the endless
fight that is required to live a life such as the one Pausch conveys.
B. any evidence of third main point Throughout the book, Pausch made it clear that adversity is going to
occur at some point in any individuals life, the only thing the individual can do is face it head on and do their best to
overcome it. Like Pausch stated, The brick walls are there for a reason. Theyre there to keep us out. The brick
walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something (Pausch 52), which displays the mantra
Randy Pausch lived his life with and allows readers to connect to someone who has faced endless adversity
throughout their life.
V. Conclusion (wrap up) Through The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch was able to develop a true life story based on
adversity and all that he has gone through to display to readers that life isnt always what is deemed to be, but you
must work hard to create your destiny and fight for what you want. Whether it was careers or fighting for his life,
Pausch fought till the end and wasnt going to give up, which allows a connection between readers and the author.
The Last Lecture is a very inspirational and influential book due to the life teaching Pausch was able to distribute
throughout his writing, as well as a book that all individuals can connect with on a personal level at some point
throughout the book.

Alternative Structure for Composition

I. Intro (dont forget to include the title and author in your intro) The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch is an
excellent book in the fact that it includes all different aspects of life that all readers can connect with on a personal
level, while even gaining a little inspiration as well.
A. Attention Getter (something which caught YOUR attention in the piece) A rejection letter from
Disney, followed by a rejection letter into Carnegie Mellon, followed by ten tumors and a diagnosis of pancreatic
cancer; The Last Lecture gives readers insight into Randy Pauschs life, which is a life filled with adversity and
hardships combined with happiness and joy.
B. Thesis (what you thought of text/piece) Through Pauschs work, he was able to construct a book filled
with universal teachings that all individuals can learn from, express the importance of imagination and creativity, as
well as display the significance of fighting adversity head on. Throughout the book, I constantly found myself
nodding my head or subconsciously thanking Randy Pausch for his relatable writing that can be found throughout
the book, therefore I was able to completely delve into the book and connect with almost all parts of Pauschs life on
a personal level.
II. Body
Point One. As readers open the book and delve into the content that Pausch carefully distributed through
carefully selected and worded sections in the book, they will begin to recognize the recurring section titles that offer
small pieces of life advice that worked for Pausch. Pausch was able to carefully select section titles such as Never
Give Up, Dont Complain, Just Work Harder, and Dream Big, which offers readers a small piece of life advice
that Pausch was able to incorporate and benefit from during his lifetime, therefore readers can view how these
different pieces of advice worked for Pausch and in turn incorporate them in their own life.
Point Two (with an added quote, give context on how it fits into the rest of text, or why it is so
important to draw attention) Randy Pausch is an individual whose life revolves around creativity and imagination,
therefore when he began talking about self-expression and being able to express ones imagination and creativity, I
couldnt have agreed more with the information he was describing. Creativity and imagination are universal tools
that are present in all individuals lives whether or not they choose to express it, therefore when Pausch began
explaining his life story filled with creativity and imagination I myself, as a reader, was able to easily connect with
what he was describing. With Pausch being an extremely suitable advocate for expressing ones creativity and
imagination, when he stated, My imagination was pretty hard to contain, and halfway through high school, I felt
this urge to splash some of the thoughts swirling in my head onto the walls of my childhood bedroom (Pausch 27),
I could easily relate due to the fact that I was lucky enough to have parents that encouraged self-expression and
allowed me to express my creativity and imagination on my bedroom walls as well. Through The Last Lecture,
Pausch is able to incorporate endless life stories that are easy to connect to, therefore making his book such an
enjoyable read.
Point Three (with an association you can identify with from text/piece) Throughout Pauschs work, he
completely drove home the idea that adversity is something that will occur in ones life regardless of how hard that
one individual tries to prevent it from occurring, and the only thing that individual can do is face adversity head on
and fight it with the biggest smile possible. As Pausch stated, The brick walls are there for a reason. Theyre there
to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something (Pausch 52),
which displays the mantra that Pausch lived his life by. The Last Lecture is a book filled with endless piece of life
advice and displays how an individual facing the biggest hardships one could face overcomes them with happiness
and joy, which allows readers to step into Pauschs shoes and look at ones own life from a different perspective.
The Last Lecture constantly references adversity and rejection, but Pausch never gave up which is reflected in how
many of his goals and dreams have come true throughout his life.
III. Further Thoughts if you need more material to include, such as ideas which didnt fit well anywhere
else. Throughout Pauschs work, he continued to express happiness and gratitude regardless of what he was
dealing with at the time of the creation of this book, therefore displaying how important it is to remain
 optimistic in times of adversity. Pausch was an individual that expressed the important of love towards
oneself and towards loved ones around you, therefore when his life was quickly coming to an end he knew
this book and the last lecture was something he had to complete as a memento for his kids to remember
their father. Randy Pausch and The Last Lecture go hand in hand with what a happy and successful life
should reflect, and I couldnt be more thankful for the lifelong knowledge I have been able to gain through
Randy Pauschs work.
IV. Conclusion (restate importance of your view, or end with a rhetorical question tied to the text/piece) As
The Last Lecture read came to an end, readers will feel a sense of serenity due to the fact that they may have
possibly just read the most inspirational and influential book they may have ever read. Throughout The Last Lecture,
Pausch was able to drive home the importance of facing adversity, incorporating creativity and imagination in ones
life, all while providing small pieces of advice to display ways that Randy Pausch was able to live a happy and
successful life. With Pausch as an advocate expressing how one should go about living their life in terms of finding
happiness and remaining optimistic through hardships throughout life, I truly believe that everything Randy Pausch
included in his book is something that can be used more than once in ones lifetime. How about you?

IV. Short Reponses

1. Did you feel that the six questions, used as a lead-in, were helpful to starting your own composition? Why
so/Why not? In my opinion, I feel as though the six questions were essential in terms of providing a structure to
help lead-in to my own writing. The six questions allowed me to gather and organize information that would
essentially be used in the outline, which was a great way to prepare for the outlines that were to come later on in the
studio. With the help of the six questions, I was able to make a quick and easy transition to the outlines where I
could input the information from the six questions and make small adjustments to create organized and structured
outlines.

2. What do you see as pros and cons of the traditional Three Paragraph Format? Reflecting on the traditional
Three Paragraph Format, I would say that due to the various pros that this format has to offer, it outweighs the cons
by a small fraction. In terms of cons of the Three Paragraph Format, it provides a more structure feeling that most
writers tend to fall back on which may make this format seem a little more popular in terms of writing formats, but it
also tends to become repetitive due to its common usage. On the other hand, as stated above, the traditional Three
Paragraph Format becomes extremely repetitive due to its common usage which is a reason why the Alternative
Format stands out more to readers.

3. What do you see as pros and cons of the Alternative Composition Format? In terms of pros and cons of the
Alternative Composition Format, I would say that a pro would be that it allows writers to combine information with
less structure and guidelines to follow. Along with the less organized and structure feeling of the Alternative
Composition Format, I would say that it also has less guidelines in terms of allowing individuals to write lengthy
paragraphs combining various ideas. On the other hand, a con of the Three Paragraph Format is that it lacks that
feeling of structural format, which may be seen as a con, but some writers may see it as a pro. Overall, I would say
that the Alternative Composition Format has more pros than it does cons.

4. Which did you prefer and why? In my opinion, I prefer the Alternative Composition Format due to the fact that
it offers less restrictions in terms of paragraph lengths and allowing an individual to combine different thoughts and
ideas into one lengthy paragraph. When constructing the Alternative Composition Formats outline, I felt as if I had
more freedom to include different ideas into one paragraph regardless of the length which allowed me to be more
creative and not so selective in terms of selecting the perfect information to correlate with other details. Therefore,
I feel as if the Alternative Composition Format is a better overall choice for writers looking for more freedom and
less restrictions while writing a paper.

5. What is your opinion of creating two outlines instead of two essays? Why? After first reviewing the
instructions for studio number five, I was skeptical on the thought of creating two outlines instead of two essays, but
by the end of the studio I was extremely satisfied with creating outlines instead of writing papers. Being able to learn
about another writing format and being able to apply that new knowledge to creating outlines, I was excited I got the
opportunity to learn something new and be able to apply it right away. Instead of spending endless hours writing and
perfecting two lengthy papers, I was tremendously satisfied with the overall selection of creating two outlines.