“They’ll turn us into writing robots”, a student contends against the use templates influencing the structure of their essays. (10) In the book “They Say/ I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein insist that the use of their relevant templates provide tools that will enhance the readers writing skills. These templates provide an exemplary format that one can use when writing an essay. Graff and Birkenstein suggests that, “Instead of focusing solely on abstract principles of writing, then, this book offers model templates that help you put those principles directly into practice.”
Zinsser advises writers to strip their writing down to the "purest parts" so as not to confuse or lose readers' attention. To help students and writers learn to soften
William Stafford’s style of writing cultivated me in many ways. Throughout this piece, there has been many cliffhangers which want you to keep on reading. There were always questions such as, “what is going to happen next?” or “I wonder why this is happening.” Every question has an answer and all of mine were solved throughout the entire following of the writing.
As I was reading Melissa Duffy’s “Inspiration, and Craig Vetter’s “Bonehead Writing,” I found myself connecting with Vetter’s paper more than Duffy’s. I found that the presentation in “Bonehead Writing” to capture my attention, and that Vetter’s feelings about writing was similar to my opinion on writing. Through his wording and humor, I think Craig Vetter wrote the best essay. I find that the wording and presentation of an article or essay influences my opinion of the writer, and it affects how I receive the idea they are trying to present to me. Craig Vetter uses a blunt approach to convey his idea that writing is nearly impossible to teach, and describes writing as “A blood sport, a walk in the garden of agony every time out.”
GEORGE GINZBURG. George Ginzburg is a holocaust survivor. He was born on the 25 of February1923 in Zoppot Poland. His parents were Russian immigrants that escaped from the Russian revolution and settled down in Berlin. George grew up as a Berliner, but it wasn’t until 1938 that George and his family had troubles with Nazi’s.
Authors use rhetorical strategies to express themes in their writing. Different rhetorical strategies help convey different themes with varying degrees of effectiveness. One way to determine the effectiveness of an author’s style is to compare their works to another. In order to determine whether Nancy Mairs or James Baldwin is more effective, it is necessary to evaluate the two side by side.
After reading the first chapter, writing with Style, from “Thinking Well”, by John R. Trimble, he made it seem as if he was writing about my writing when he explained a novice writer. Trimble explains how a novice writer would write by giving examples of how their style of writing looks like. For example, Trimble explains how new writers unconsciously write and how they are not aware of their egocentrism. He states what a novice would have to achieve objectivity, empathy, courtesy and social sensitivity in order for him to have a readable style. Trimble then discusses what makes a veteran writer and how their thinking process reflects their writing situation.
In the article, “College Pressures,” William Zinsser discusses the many struggles college students face while trying to focus on their studying. He convinces the reader of his point by using different types of rhetorical strategies. Zinsser’s usage of the rhetorical strategies such as getting straight to the point, quoting, paragraphing, the use of word pictures, and choosing a title was effectively done in his article to persuade his reader of the struggles faced by college students. The author did not waste anytime getting to the main point in his article, which is effective because it makes me interested in what he had to say.
Writing is an essential part of an individual’s success. Writing comes in many forms, and it is not only used in an English course. It can be an email to a college professor, a resume, a lab report, a hotel review, etc. There are countless forms are writing, and it is important to understand how to approach each piece of writing. Writing is part of an individual’s daily life, and understanding the importance of rhetorical knowledge, genre knowledge, and audience awareness with make it easier to approach different types of writing, and ultimately improve one’s writing skills.
Everyone’s An Author with Readings by Andrea Lunsford, Michal Brody, Lisa Ede, Beverly J. Moss, Carole Clark Papper, and Keith Walters; is about how everyday writing is very closely related to academic writing. This book discusses The Need for Rhetoric and Writing, Genres of Writing, The Role of Argument, Research, Style, and includes Readings. The text also bridges the gap between Facebook and academic writing, showing how some tactics students use in social media may also be used in their academic
Writing About Writing, A College Reader. Ed. Elizabeth Wardle and Doug Downs. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 481-495.
In the novel Jasper Jones the protagonist Charlie is faced with racial aggravation towards his friend Jeffery and his family. As the story progresses, even though they seem small at the time, these racial stereotypes have cruel and unfounded aggravation. Silvey uses a range of language techniques to emphasise how unjustified the racial aggravation is. Jeffery is considered a racial outsider by the villagers and this is evident by the way they treat him.
Mark 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.
Specifically, one can respond with either simple agreement, simple disagreement, or agreement and disagreement simultaneously. Via this idea, along with the help of another template, the writer can identify an issue, map some of the voices of controversy, introduce a quotation, state one’s own argument, and qualify said argument. They restate their main idea, that the templates foster the writer’s abilities by ingraining in them useful literary tools. The last argument that Graff and Birkenstein make is that their templates do not stifle creativity, but instead allow for its growth.
Over the course of the semester, my main goal was to become a more precise writer and develop my identity as a writer. According too, the Portfolio Letter assignment sheet, becoming a better writer consists of precise planning, draft and revising. It also includes understanding a variety of academic genres by examining the basic characteristics that defines each type. In order too efficiently meet my goal of becoming a better writer, it was very important to have my work evaluated by others and myself as well. The use of rhetorical knowledge, critical thinking, reading and writing all are the important aspects in this course.
