jenlapointeblog

Blog Five: Elements of Style

2005-03-14T14:16:00.000-08:00

Writing style encompasses many factors. When you are developing your writing style you not only choose the way you present yourself by giving your voice a personality, but also choose the rules of grammar you chose to utilize either consciously or unconsciously.

Choosing a writing style is like choosing what type of clothes to wear. You can choose to write formally, like putting on a tuxedo, or informally, like throwing on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Often as writers we fluctuate between these two styles depending on what we are writing about and who our audience is.

Unconsciously we may choose a writing style due to our background and experiences. For example, if our grasp of the English Language is not fluent, our writing style may appear cryptic and informal; sentences may be brief and undescriptive. On the other hand, if we have a firm and expansive understanding of the English Language we may choose to write with more eloquent words and our sentence structure could be complex and academic in style.

Author Joseph Williams believes that no matter what your style is, you must incorporate these writing rules and stratageies: Clarity, Cohesion, and Coherence. Clarity in writing requires you to clearly state what you’re trying to convey, argue, or sate in your writing. The reader should not be confused about the topic of your writing. Cohesion and coherence means that from sentence to sentence, and paragraph to paragraph, your writing should show fluidity and continuation in thought. For example, the reader should be able to predict what is coming next in your thought process due to the sentences and paragraphs supporting one idea to the next.

Developing a style is a unique process for every writer. Although the word style is open to interpretation and leaves a lot of wiggle room for development, you must still follow the basic rules of grammar. The authors Stunk and White nicely outline these rules. After all, misplacing a comma, or misspelling a word, can sometime change the whole meaning of your paper. Knowing the basic rules of grammar will make developing a writing style a painless process.

Blog Four: Comments and Opinions

2005-03-12T10:53:00.000-08:00

I have commented on the blogs of Jake, Tamara, and Ian. Each classamte spoke on different topics. I have posted their blog excerpt and my comments follow:

Jake’s Blog:

From his discussion of style, Williams discussed the coherence of your writing. This goes beyond what he calls “local coherence,” which is the coherence of individual sentences, free of context. Coherence refers to your writing as a whole, more on the paragraph level.Sentences themselves should start with already discussed ideas, and work their ways into new or surprising ones. This way, the reader has an anchor in something he should already understand.I agree, and I try to write this way all the time.

My response:
I mostly agree with your opinions here. The only slight difference of opinion I have is your comment on coherence. I don't think it is mainly limited to paragraph comprehension. I feel it is the way the paragraphs relate to one another and how the whole document ties together. In particular, that the reader understands the point being made or the main topic is clear. But coherence can be critiques in just one sentence. For example, is the sentence grammatically correct? Does it make sense? Sometimes a document can seem coherent then all of a sudden one sentence throws you off due to it not being coherent or tying in with the rest of the paragraph.

Tamara’s Blog:

The chapter that I found to be unhelpful would be the on a few matters of form. A good example would be the word colloquialisms. It just simply says that if a person uses a colloquialism or a slang word or phrase, to just use it and not draw attention to it by enclosing it in quotation marks. I don’t think this is helpful to me since I really doubt I would use very often.I really learned a lot a lot of the book, The Elements of Style. It would be really be a book that I would consider reading and using again. I can always go back and cross reference with it any time I need or unsure of a particular way of constructing a sentence. The most important thing that I read would have to how to incorporate a comma in the correct place. So now I can refer back to this book when in need on how to use a comma.

My Response:
Although Tamara is quoting from Strunk and White, I feel sometimes it is useful to put slang comments or sayings in quotations for readers. Not everyone draws from the same experiences and knows the same terms and common slang usage. I especially am guilty on not being "too hip" on the latest slang words so using quotations (like I just did) are helpful to me. I think this is related even more so to generation gaps. For example, would an 80 year old person understand the articles in the Metro Times? Probably not.

Ian’s blog:
Writing a paper is like constructing a skyscraper. The main element of the tower is the foundation. The foundation can be compared to the thesis and main points. These are what the paper is built on and around. As we build to higher levels, we must support our tower. In papers, we use examples that we have and information from other sources. The pinnacle of the paper is the conclusion. The conclusion serves as a steeple or the thing that draws our attention from the top of the ‘tower’ down, analyzing the many elements that we have used in the complete work. The style and words we use, help create a more attractive ‘tower’ and make it more pleasing to the senses.

My Resposne:
I like your comment (metaphor) that writing is like building a Sky Scraper. I agree your writng is built it up from the foundation. The floors (stories) are the supporting paragraphs. In summary, writing is constructed. The process can be broekn down into the orginal thought process, then outlining and constructing your ideas, then putting pen to paper, then editing and revising, etc.

In Summary, although there are many hard fast rules to writing that are universally agreed upon, many are subjective. It’s hard to say whose opinions are more correct than others, but instead that there are many answers to one idea. For example, when it comes to writing style, is there really a style that is better than another’s? Style is a matter of preference and varies from personality to personality. I may like Shakespeare and someone else may think it is pretentious. Therefore, we can use the books of Strunk and White and Williams as guides or templates, and keep an open interpretation on what is good writing verse bad writing, with exception of the proper use of Standard English grammar.

Metaphors

2005-03-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

Two writing metaphors:

"Less is best"

I believe this can be applied to writing. Often, in an effort to explain ourselves or sound knowledgeable, we "overwrite". Sometimes too much information takes away from the point being made and confuses the reader. It is better to be concise and clear then too wordy.

"Read the writing on the wall"

This metaphor states that the reader should obviously "get the point" being made because it is so clear, or appears to be so clear. This refers to how someone doesn't have to "flat out" state their feelings in order for you to comprehend what they are trying to say.

( P.S is "get the point" and "flat out" also metaphors? If so, you know what I am saying. ;-))

Blog 3: Strunk and White Vs. Williams

2005-03-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

The authors Strunk and White approach giving their readers advice on writing differently then author Joseph Williams. Strunk and White outline a methodical method towards waiting. Williams gives hypothetical advice on writing style, and examples of good verses bad writings.

By observing the chapter titles of the authors books you can immedaitely see the difference in how they approach the topic of what constitutes good writing. For example, Strunk and White divide their book into 5 sections:

1. Elementary Rules of Usage
2. Elementary precompiled of composition
3. A few Matters of Form
4. Words and Expressions commonly missed
5. An Approach to Style.

Each of these sections approach their topic in a methodical way stipulating rules and common usage thereof. These rules are based on Standard English rules of grammar and comprehension.

Joseph Williams book chapters are outlined in the following manner:
1. Causes
2. Clarity
3. Cohesion
4. Emphasis
5. Coherence I, and Coherence II, etc....

Williams asks his reader to ponder about writing style and how we develop our writing style as unique individuals. Although he references grammar usage, it is not the focus of his book. Williams wants his reader to understand how they relay thougth processes to paper and how it is inherently different then what we originally conceived in our mind, to what actually gets put on paper. He goes into detail on this subject when he addresses the process of metadiscourse. Williams is asking his reader to understand and recognize the internal thought process the use when pondering a subject. He then expalins this needs to be regergiated more coherently and factually when it is put on paper. Williams states that writing should be clear and concise and the reader should recognize the writers main point readily. Williams is quick to refute the notion that he thinks writing should be a mechanical list of facts and statements. He goes on to talk about the development of style and elegance that needs to be used in tandem with concise clarity. After all, that is what makes writing enjoyable and distinguishs one writer from the next.
Stunk and White, on the other hand, want their reader to understand the basic rules of gramamr and writing, but give limited advice on writing style. Writing style advice is limited to a few paragraphs stipulating the reader to write what comes naturally and put yourself in the readers place, etc. Unlike Williams, Strunk and White do not look at the physiological processes of writing. Nonetheless, all three authors give good advice and hypothetical theories on writing. If they were to combine their knowledge it would make for a perfect book on writing tools and information.

Writing Clarity:chapters 3-6

2005-02-22T15:02:00.000-08:00

Author Joseph Williams stresses the importance of paragraph cohesion. He states that the writer must follow the basic rules of grammar and be aware that every paragraph needs a topic sentence (the point of the paragraph), supporting sentences that support the topic sentence, and a concllding sentence. This writing rule was not utilized consistently in the paper we edited in Monday's class. Also, as mentioned by Williams, the writer did not utilize topic strings correctly.

Topic strings link the reader with previous information they just read, to the information being discussed in the next paragraph. This links the paragraphs together in a cohesive and coherent manner. The paper we looked at in class not only ignored pargraph cohesion, but also did not follow basic sentence structure within the paragraph. For example, the writer had paragraphs that were absent of a topic sentence and/or did not have a concluding sentence that linked it to the next paragraph.

Blog assignment two: Writing Clarity

2005-02-19T09:55:00.000-08:00

Blog: Assignment Two: Writing Clarity

I have attached paragraph from a previous writing assignment I did in another class. I chose to revise it due to punctuation errors and paragraph structure problems which made the paragraph difficult to read.

The original paragraph:

The principals of democracy according to Barber are based around a persons sense of civic duty and obligation. Barber believes it is essential that we instill in our students democratic values so they will be active civil servants in their community. Barber believes the public schools must have civic education as part of their curriculum. Young persons must learn how to respect the different opinions of others and be able to communicate effectively and proactively so that all sides of the issues are dealt with in a fair and reasonable manner for the common good of all persons. I agree with this ideology. As a future history teacher I believe my job is to instill democratic values in my students by teaching them the lessons of history and the evolution of our democratic system. If a history teacher just regurgitates facts about the Boston Tea Party (for example) and assigns dates for memorization, they are missing the whole point on why and what they should be teaching as a History Teacher.

The revised paragraph:
The principals of democracy according to author Barber, are based on a persons sense of civic duty and obligation. Barber believes it is essential that we instill in our students democratic values so they will be active civil servants in their community. How we instill these values, according to Barber, is through the public school system.

Barber believes it is essential that the public school system have civic education as part of their curriculum. Young persons must learn how to respect the different opinions of others and be able to communicate effectively and proactively so that all sides of the issues are dealt with in a fair and reasonable manner for the common good of all persons. I agree with this ideology. As a future history teacher I believe my job is to instill democratic values in my students by teaching them the lessons of history and the evolution of our democratic system. If a history teacher just regurgitates facts about the Boston Tea Party, for example, and assigns dates for memorization, they are missing the whole point on why, and what they should be teaching as a History Teacher.

Explanation of My Corrections:
In bold print are the corrections I made. These corrections were based on Joseph Williamss suggestions on managing the flow of information. I did this by inserting commas and tying the supporting sentences together in a more cohesive manner. I also broke up one long paragraph into two paragraphs to separate the two points being made.

By adding commas to the longer sentences, I help the reader take a pause and digest what I am trying to say. By creating two paragraphs I separated my two points. (My first point was to introduce Barbers education ideology, and my second point was to reinforce his ideology by giving an example of a history teacher's role in the classroom). Author Joseph Williams states, "As you begin each sentence, you have to prepare your readers for new and therefore important information (48)". I did this by adding inserting an introductory sentence before paragraph two. By utlizing these writing rules, my idea's come across clearer tot ehr eader.

Strunk and White:

2005-02-13T12:50:00.000-08:00

Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style”

Strunk and White’s book “The Elements of Style” is a useful writing tool. In particular, I enjoyed reading about the “Active Voice” and “Place Yourself in the Background” as discussed in Sections Two and Five. Both the chapters will help me with my future proof reading.

I find myself often using the passive voice when I write. This seems to come naturally when you are trying to reflct on something you did, for example. It also occurs when we are trying to write more eloquently. For example, the authors used the two sentences as examples of active and passive voices:

Active:
I shall always remember my first visits to Boston.

Passive:
My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.

The second sentence, the passive sentence, sounds as if the author is trying to “wax poetic” by his statement. The first sentence is shorter and much more direct. Strunk and White state it is best to follow the guidelines of “short and to the point” to avoid using the passive voice.

The authors also give the writing advice to “place yourself in the background”. They stress that it is not important to come out forcibly with your feelings or opinions. The authors state that if you are writing correctly your feelings will reveal themselves naturally. Strunk and White proclaim, “if the writing is solid and good, the mood and temper of the writer will eventually be revealed and not at the expense of the work.”

One thing I did not totally agree with the authors about was the use of “fancy words”. Although I agree it is important to utilize vocabulary that your readers are familiar with, I do not think you should “dull” your writing. I often think writers, whether it I an article, book, or televisions show, often assume their reader/viewer is dumb. A good vocabulary is something to be proud of and should be used if you possess it.

Strunk and White’s book is an excellent grammar and writing tool. Their goal is to have the reader think about how they write and to point out common errors in writing. Nonetheless, good writing is a gift. We can posses all the proper grammar and writing knowledge and still be a boring writer.

Introduction

2005-02-07T10:09:00.000-08:00

My name is Jennifer LaPointe. I am a senior at Eastern Michigan University. This blogger site is part of my Writing Technologies Class.

I have a lot of writing experince. I spent 15 years in "Corporate America" and gathered much writing experience by composing business bids, customer correspondences, and interoffice memos. I also acquired writing experience through my History and English course at EMU.