The first sentence of "Salvation"--"I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen"--proves to be an example of irony (Links to an external site.). After reading the essay, how might we reinterpret this opening sentence?

We can reinterpret the opening sentence, because we know that this was the moment when the narrator recognized that he could be spared some things if he acted the way they expected him to act, even if he was lying. This can be ironically reinterpreted, showing that his moment of salvation was actually the moment of perdition and imprisonment.

Explanation:

After reading the text, we can see that the author did not really want to be saved, but was doing what his aunt wanted, to avoid problems for himself. He was not accepting God in a true way in his life, but by keeping and doing what was expected. At that time, the author knew the power of dishonesty and childish corruption, making it an unsaved, but impure, figure.

author – information on the internet with a listed author is one indication of a credible site. the fact that the author is willing to stand behind the information presented (and in some cases, include his or her contact information) is a good indication that the information is reliable.

date – the date of any research information is important, including information found on the internet. by including a date, the website allows readers to make decisions about whether that information is recent enough for their purposes.

sources – credible websites, like books and scholarly articles, should cite the source of the information presented.

domain – some domains such as .com, .org, and .net can be purchased and used by any individual. however, the domain .edu is reserved for colleges and universities, while .gov denotes a government website. these two are usually credible sources for information (though occasionally a university will assign a .edu address to each of its students for personal use, in which case use caution when citing). be careful with the domain .org, because .org is usually used by non-profit organizations which may have an agenda of persuasion rather than education.

site design – this can be very subjective, but a well-designed site can be an indication of more reliable information. good design make information more easily accessible.

writing style – poor spelling and grammar are an indication that the site may not be credible. in an effort to make the information presented easy to understand, credible sites watch writing style closely.

i believe the answer is thesis, reasons, evidence, counterclaim, conclusion