Kurt Vonnegut's Essay 'How To Write With Style'
Kurt Vonnegut author of slaughterhouse five, in the 1985 essay “How to Write with Style,” makes observations and recommendations for infusing personality into your work. It begins by defining "elements of style" as the unique personal qualities that you show to the reader.
Vonnegut then goes on to make an argument on why we should improve our writing style. To which he says it's out of sign of respect for the reader. Basically not putting effort into your writing will make the reader will think that you care little of them.
Vonnegut suggests the most powerful recommendation for improving style is picking the right subject matter. If it's something that you're passionate for your personality will show. Thus be careful to pick something
…show more content…
In the essay, Directions: Write, Read, Rewrite. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as Needed, Susan Sontag emphasizes that reading can be used as motivation for writing. Granted she has talked to people that don't feel the same. That the act of reading and the writing must be separate, that it's best to do one or the other. Sontag believes this view is brought about by either fear of influencing one's unique voice or simply lack of time. Sontag rejects this, seeing reading instead as an enjoyable pursuit that has the pragmatic side effect of encouragement for creating her own content (Sontag).
Kurt Vonnegut reports that if we don't endeavor to make good work that "they will stop reading you." Basically, Vonnegut is warning that we suffer from not putting effort into our writing. In addition emphasizing that, for the reader, reading is hard work. Generally he makes this claim to support his argument for simplicity and a pursuit of coherence. Simply that the reader has to understand our point, which might be difficult, thus we should make it as easy as possible for them
Keith Gilyard's Essay 'First Lessons'
654 Words | 3 PagesThe writer’s voice is the individual writing style of an author, a combinatoin of their common usage of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc.., within a given body of text. Distinguished professor of English at Pennslyvania State University, Keith Gilyard explains his first life lessons in his developed essay, First Lessons. He uses phrases like, “I hit the scene uptown in 1952, They doin’ nasty, and I decided to give Judy a sex change operation.” that adds spice to the essay other than just plain out stating what he meant in these phrases.
Writing Analysis: Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer
1124 Words | 5 PagesComponent 1: Writing Analysis Growth Narrative Throughout the semester growth can be seen in my writing from the Into the Wild prep work that demonstrates my starting point to the final Into the Wild Essay that demonstrates my improvement. The prep work was one of the very first assignments of the year and I particularly struggled within the section “Reasoning” and more specifically, “building my language through cause and effect language.” After writing this assignment, I wanted to focus on building a more articulate analysis through my reasoning by using “if/then” statements. My first draft contained the statement, “Krakauer’s repetition of the word “relieved,” indicates how isolation was comforting to McCandless (55).
Kurt Vonnegut Rhetorical Analysis
59 Words | 1 Pagesthe idea of equality was taken to the extreme. Satire is also used to exaggerate how awful equality is to persuade readers to believe that total equality will violate human rights. Kurt Vonnegut also uses symbols such as handicaps which make everyone equal and Harrison Bergeron to display the lack of freedom present in a world of total equality.
A Rhetorical Analysis Of Seattle Versus The Homeless
1421 Words | 6 PagesFor instance, in my first paragraph, I point out Bettelheim’s claims and his tactics for convicting them to the reader "Bettelheim incorporates pathos (emotional appeal), logos (logic), personal appeal, and prior knowledge into his writing to engage his reader." Furthermore, I describe the methods that are used by Bettelheim to simplify some of the claims so his readers could comprehend. In the first few drafts I had a hard time catching sight of the techniques Bettelheim used to convey his claims, but now I can read a passage and recognize the writer's claims and comprehend the techniques he or she uses to convey the message
Megan Catalano's Use Of Strategies In Writing A Personal Essay
1597 Words | 7 PagesWriters use strategies in personal essays to make a connection to readers. Even though readers aren’t necessarily right next to the writer, writers write their personal essays as if the reader were there. They are able to reveal their deepest thoughts within their writing, as readers can relate to it. Phillip Lopate states the importance of strategies in his anthology, “The Art of the Personal Essay.” In his anthology, Lopate mentions that the use of strategies used in personal essays are similar; however, those strategies can portray different themes that the author doesn’t state.
Stephen King Reading To Write Analysis
741 Words | 3 PagesI should have been opened up my eyes to reading and writing because I want to be a teacher, assistant. I always liked working with kids, and I will like to be a great assistant. Since there's no way to become a teacher assistant or even a teacher without having reading and writing skills, I will have to read and write more often. It is like King says "If you want to be a writer, you must do to things above all others: Read a lot and write a lot" (72, 73). If I want to be a teacher assistant or maybe a teacher one day I must ameliorate my reading and writing.
Kurt Vonnegut: A Literary Analysis
2045 Words | 9 Pages“The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal”1 is a statement that in the mouth of the American writer should sound at least victorious. However, Kurt Vonnegut in the opening line of his dystopian short story Harrison Bergeron creates a highly ironical declaration, which he later ridicules by the following story. The author who gained his fame by writing the novel Slaughterhouse-Five, describes the world supposedly equal and free, but entirely bound by the laws that command the lives of people. That describes also fairly well the second short story 2 B R 0 2 B, which title refers to the famous phrase “to be or not to be”2 from William Shakespeare 's Hamlet, as mentioned in the text, “the trick telephone number that people who didn 't
William Zinsser's Writing Style
419 Words | 2 PagesIn this short passage by William Zinsser, Zinsser used compare and contrast to inform the readers about his personal opinions of being a writer. Due to different understandings and opinions on how to be a good writer, Zinsser decided to use compare and contrast in order to present a clean and detailed differences to the reader about how different people’s writing style can vary. By doing this, it would be extremely helpful for the readers to distinguish the differences of each writing style, see the benefits and disadvantages, and ultimately gather enough information to decide which style fits them the best. At the panel with Dr. Brock, Zinsser gave the audience a broader view of different writing styles and how they contribute differently.
Irony In Kurt Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse Five'
1076 Words | 5 PagesStorytelling has been the epitome of human expression for thousands of years. Along with musicians and artists, talented storytellers use their work to share ideas with others, often in an effort to evoke emotion or to persuade people to think similarly. Every element in a story is carefully crafted by the author in order to communicate a desired message to his or her audience. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut incorporates irony into the story to express his belief that fighting wars is illogical.
Summary Of Don T Lower The Bar By Leonard Pitts
1930 Words | 8 PagesMany objects are made up of smaller ones: all of the bricks that go into one Lego structure, the various ingredients that make up the cake, and the many gears of a clock. Like these objects, a writer's style that he uses to persuade his audience is constructed the same way. A writer uses many rhetorical devices - the parts- to make one style- the whole piece. One writer that has a specific style is Leonard Pitts. Pitts is a journalist who writes editorials for The Miami Herald.
Comparing King's Essay, The Joy Of Reading And Writing
877 Words | 4 PagesIn the essays, “Reading to Write” by Stephen King, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, “Learning to Read” Malcolm X, and “Learning to Write” by Frederick Douglas have three things in common. In each essay Reading has contributed towards the authors life leading to benefit from learning to read, allowing them to leave a legacy behind. In each essay the authors has thought their self how unlike Frederick Douglass. For Stephen King, reading has done a lot for him. King stated, “Every book you pick up has its own lesson or lessons, and quite often the bad books have more to teach than the good ones” (221).
Similarities Between Frederick Douglass And Mark Twain's Writing
119 Words | 1 PagesMark twain’s writing as well as Frederick Douglass writings have many similarities and differences. The similarities and differences come from the tone of their writing and the language of their writing. Some ways their writings are similar is because they are both in first person narrative writers. They both use the words I and my in their writings.
Nicholas Carr's Essay 'Is Google Making USupid?'
492 Words | 2 PagesHe supports this argument by citing a study conducted by students who have attended The University College London. The study proved to us that we no longer thoroughly read material, rather we just skim over most of what we read. From the convoluted works of the late 19th century, to the material of present day, the way we write and comprehend
Dana Gioia On The Importance Of Reading Essay
1509 Words | 7 PagesThis outlook is reflected in national surveys, the number of literary non-readers in the United States is starting to outweigh the number of readers and, this has slowly been proceeding over the past 20 years (Gioia 421). Reading is a fundamental part of life. It’s a major way of expression, imagination, learning and being the best person
How Has Reading Changed My Life Essay
1154 Words | 5 PagesThroughout the years I have realized that reading has changed my writing skills. From my earlier years to solely writing what my teacher would want, to now actually putting my own point of view and how I feel into my writing. It’s the same as when I am reading a book and I put
More about Kurt Vonnegut's Essay 'How To Write With Style'
Keith Gilyard's Essay 'First Lessons'
654 Words | 3 PagesWriting Analysis: Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer
1124 Words | 5 PagesKurt Vonnegut Rhetorical Analysis
59 Words | 1 PagesA Rhetorical Analysis Of Seattle Versus The Homeless
1421 Words | 6 PagesMegan Catalano's Use Of Strategies In Writing A Personal Essay
1597 Words | 7 PagesStephen King Reading To Write Analysis
741 Words | 3 PagesKurt Vonnegut: A Literary Analysis
2045 Words | 9 PagesWilliam Zinsser's Writing Style
419 Words | 2 PagesIrony In Kurt Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse Five'
1076 Words | 5 PagesSummary Of Don T Lower The Bar By Leonard Pitts
1930 Words | 8 PagesComparing King's Essay, The Joy Of Reading And Writing
877 Words | 4 PagesSimilarities Between Frederick Douglass And Mark Twain's Writing
119 Words | 1 PagesNicholas Carr's Essay 'Is Google Making USupid?'
492 Words | 2 PagesDana Gioia On The Importance Of Reading Essay
1509 Words | 7 PagesHow Has Reading Changed My Life Essay
1154 Words | 5 Pages