Harold Defends The English Language

Writing is a powerful tool for communication and connection. As an extension and expression of the mind, writing is as much about the mental processes of the author as it is about the final marks laid to paper. As we write, we hold in mind our own thoughts on the work, anticipate the reader’s thoughts, and think both in concrete and abstract ways in order to accomplish the task at hand. Whether an academic research paper, a novel, or text message to friends, writing seeks to engage, persuade, or impress concepts upon an audience. Like language and other art forms in general, the practice of writing is ever-evolving and is subject to cultural and contextual influence, expectations, and conventions. Each writer holds a theory

In chapter 3 of Everyone’s an Author, the main purpose is to discuss the writing process and its components. The chapter emphasizes the idea that practice makes perfect and it may take time and patience to find the writing process that works well for you. In order to find a writing process that leads to you working the most efficiently, one must approach their writing and take note of the habits they make, and analyze whether or not they work well.

Writing varies from a text message to a novel. Writers often have a difficult task in creating a piece of work that truly identifies the meaning of good writing. Every good writer usually starts with the basics such as genre, audience, rhetorical situation, and reflection of the piece. Throughout this semester, we have gone through all of these key terms in great detail with each new assignment that has come our way. In doing this, not only as students but also as writers, we have come to create our own theory of writing. Every writer has a different theory of writing though most are very similar. Now, at this point in the semester after doing countless journals, in-class exercises, and final assignments, I think I have figured out my own

The intention is to write in a manner that is easily understood by everyone and is appropriate to their reading skills and knowledge, clear and direct, free of cliché and unnecessary jargon.

In their book They Say I Say, Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst outline strategies writers can use to avoid common mistakes often seen in academic writing. The book thoroughly outlines the different components that make up academic writing, such as initially summarizing what others have said before, responding with original ideas, proving a purpose to the writing, and connecting the writing in a logical and eloquent manner.

Every author has a different writing style in comparison. They convey their messages in multiple ways; using different tones to evoke certain moods on their readers. Some authors use a few different ways to catch their audiences attention; persuading them using logic, ethics and emotion.

It is very important for the audience to have an understanding of the message the writer is trying to say. Singman’s article is full of different techniques which make her article intelligible for a majority of her audience. The techniques being used make the argument of the article more effective After writing this essay it has helped me to view writing differently. The way we put words together can make a huge difference to your audience. This is the reason why we need to be for careful with our word choice, depending on what we want our audience to take from our writing. We also need to understand that not everyone will be able to understand if we do not put it in a format that is clear to the

Throughout this semester I’ve been able to grow as a writer, I’ve come to understand how rhetorical strategies come into contribution when it comes to expressing yourself as a writer. One thing that has come perfectly clear to me is that there is different forms of writing and each form can express and show different meanings.

Although many writers and speakers have their own different styles of delivering what they desire to

      Additionally, another weakness that I had when coming into English 101 was that I was a selfish writer. Like Trimble said, “His natural tendency as a writer is to think primarily of himself- hence to write primarily for himself.” (Trimble, 4) I was a writer who only cared about impressing one type of audience my professor and not writing to prove a point or expand my knowledge to several other audiences. However, after writing several unsatisfying essays I had come to realize that my style of writing was too narrow and boring. In this realization of writing I discovered that what matters the most is pleasing your audience (many not one), and

In today’s society one would not be able to communicate effectively with the world if writing was not involved. People all around the world send emails, texts, and letter to numerous amounts of individuals each second. Talking on the phone is slowly becoming a thing of the past while the writing side of technology is taking over. The meaning of writing is changing in society. Writing used to be specifically for academics or the occasional letter to a loved one. As time has passed writing has taken more forms and more meanings. In the world we live in now writing is classified as texting, emailing, instant messaging, and even comments or tweets on social media. Although writing has these multiple new forms, it still holds its academic side strongly. Everything with meaning in turn affects a person’s day to day life. Writing has the effect of making one more intellectual. Writing has become a bridge between communication and the cultures and people of today’s society. It gives way for different options in stating sentences or phrases. (Olson). Each affect should change with age. As a person grows older, their writing styles should mature and take on a more professional aspect.

We justify and organize our writing all the time. We don’t realize how language is important to us. In the beginning of the chapter McEntyre explains “like any other life-sustaining resource,language can depleted, pollutes, contaminated,eroded and filled with artificial stimulant” ( McEntyre 1).We are using langes like it has meaning anymore. It is just there for us to misuse and forget about it. We are wasting the passive words and polluting them by ignoring. Later in the chapter McEntyre talks about a reliable language.The reliable language with three steps to stewards of words. The steps that are deepen and sharpen for our reading skills. The only thing we read is text, or required books to get a grade on. The reading skills are slowly decreasing. The second step is making our speaking and listening clearly. We have have a habit of ignoring, or interpreting people when they are talking. Second steps tells us to listen and speak carefully which follows through the third steps. To particles our words to deliver a good speaking and listening

Simplifying out writing styles benefits us in a myriad of ways. Streamlining out writing process allows the writer to get straight to the point and permits us to get our point across. The less bulky the writing, the clearer and more concise the writing becomes. This is a section of writing in which I am still improving. Additionally, through proof-reading I am able to cut out a portion of the filler words that are not necessary.

As a student in English 526, I worried at how well I would manage the assignments, particularly in regard to my writing. Over the years I have considered it to be my weak point, but throughout the course my confidence increased. Librarians are excellent at using the passive voice and I am aware of how important it is to use the active voice in research writing.

In 1956, Paul Roberts wrote an essay called, How to Say Nothing in 500 Words. Despite the year it was written the essay is still found to be very useful. In the essay, Roberts states that even though issues or subjects may change throughout the years, “the principles of good writing should remain constant” (Roberts). He provides a number of important recommendations and suggestions to help a writer successfully develop an essay. Robert wrote a great literature piece consisting of his opinions, rhetorical strategy, and similar writing problems that people like I face.