Strunk and White: First Impressions

For simply being a book on the elements of style when it comes to writing, William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White did their trade justice with this 4^th edition book. I found most everything useful and helpful in terms of my own personal writing, and based on technology and the changing of the times, some things that were dated, if you will. A few points stood out in my mind nearing the end of the book. The one thing that I found that helps me with my writing more than anything was number two in the ‘An Approach to Style’ section:
2. Write in a way that comes naturally.
Obviously there are SOME rules you have to conform to depending on why you're writing, what you're writing for and who your audience is. Given those three factors you should always have a writing style that's natural. Trying to conform to a writing style that isn't comfortable to you can make writing much harder than it has to be. I liked the fact that it said "do not assume that because you acted naturally your product is without flaw." (That also ties into the Revise & Rewrite section.) Remembering that the phrases and diction I use in a paper shouldn't be second nature. Luckily for me, I make a point to expand my oral vocabulary daily and I think my writing has since improved. The few elements that I must play devil’s advocate for are numbers nice and ten in the ‘An Approach to Style’ section:
9. Do not affect a breezy manner.
10. Use orthodox spelling.
I think that text messaging has an enormous influence on these two particular elements. First, number ten, orthodox spelling. Acronyms and shorthand is all the rage these days. We’ve discussed in class that High School teachers are actually accepting work with different variations of this text message lingo just to get them to turn in their work. As I mentioned earlier, depending on who or what you are writing for, such unorthodox spelling may be appropriate and could even give some effect. Lastly, number nine, affecting a breezy manner. Personally, I think my writing style is somewhat breezy. So if I’m writing in a way that comes natural to me, these two contradict themselves. I like the quote from the book that said “This is an extreme example, but the same wind blows at lesser velocities…” I don’t think my style is as “breezy” as it could be, but a little breezy none the less. I think just like the unorthodox spelling, if done right, in the correct context and for an audience that might be able to better relate to it, it won’t hurt, and quite possibly could even enhance the quality of your writing.

Peer Review Recap, Part 1

I must say... I'm not sure about this whole Google docs thing. Though it does make it infinitely more convenient, and doesn't create needless extra copies of secure documents, there's just something about editing a paper that I can hold in my hands with a red pen like the good ol' days. One, the fact that it's online poses the problem of losing focus and clicking over to another firefox tab to check my email, facebook or what have you. Two, we already addressed the fact that reading anything on the computer makes you skim over the surface of a text rather than giving it the deep reading and attention any document to be eddited deserves. Three, half the work is done for you because spell check and grammar check make it obvious where the writer has made mistakes even before they post it to be revised. That all being said, I'm sure that continuing to use Google docs will change my current opinion. I don't think everyone quite has the hang of it yet which caused me to get minimal comments on the my first essay. However, the comments that I did get were thoughful and did help in fine tuning my paper.

Changing With the Times

I never really thought about it like this before, but until the "Invent your own technology" project, I have never written anything without some type of technology. It started with pencils and erasers, so as to be able to correct mistakes that were surely to be made. Next, once my handwriting had become much more my own than a replica of the standard alphabet, I started to use a pen. I didn't much prefer one to the other, and used both until the introduction of computers and word processed documents. I still write with pens and pencils when taking notes in class and such but nowhere near as frequently as I type. It's not that I avoid using them, but the convenience of such readily editable text, and the ability to do so many other things on the computer while I "write" always seems to make me plop down at my desk and open up my laptop...

What is style?

When I think about style, the first thing that comes to mind is fashion. More specifically, the way someone dresses and/or accessorizes to express themselves, that in turn sends a particular message to anyone that sees them. Be it "I have money" or "I'm a modest person," that's just their personal style. In much more general terms then, I suppose I would define style as particular method of expression, specific to an individual or group of individuals, that conveys particular meaning to a target audience. This being said, each writer has his or her own tactics and common practices that all add up to their writing style. Some aspects of various different styles may be borrowed and shared, but inevitably no two can be exactly the same.

Getting Started

Just makin' sure this thing works... GO BLUE!