The article “How to Write with Style” was written by an American writer named Kurt Vonnegut. In this article, Vonnegut provides 8 timeless guidelines to direct the readers to build up their own way of composition. Therefore, in the following paragraphs, I will respond to several questions regarding Vonnegut’s guidelines, and relate it to my personal life experiences.
Firstly, when I was interpreting the article I had mixed opinion about it. Due to the fact, what it said were the things that I wanted to get along but never allowed during my high school period. For example, guideline #3 “Keep it Simple” sounds easy, but it’s challenging to me. I was told by the high school teachers “Using complex sentence construction” or “Use SAT words in your essay” to impress my reader (which is the examiner). However, personally, I don’t believe anyone enjoys reading an essay that’s all about showing off complex
The guideline I learned about how to write an academic paper makes sure your paper is based on 8 phases (Investigation, hypothesis, data collection, process data, conclusion, evaluation, reflection, and references), use of formal tone, and use the third person all the time. Just like what Vonnegut said it’s “revelation, accidental and intentional, elements of style.” It’s not meant to be pleasing the audience or express your emotion; the purpose of it is to objectively evaluate a historical event or a scientific experiment. They are 2 different kinds of guidelines in different fields and server for different purposes. I believe Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 guidelines will not be the only Bible of writing because writing is personal. Everybody can have their own way of writing all you have to do is grab a pen, tear off a piece of paper and scribble anything you
Relationships and Interdependence in the Works of Kurt Vonnegut While on the surface Kurt Vonnegut's works appear to singularly contain the pessimistic views of an aging, black humorist, his underlying meanings reveal a much more sympathetic and hopeful glimpse of humanity that lends itself to eventual societal improvement. As part of Vonnegut's strategy for enhanced communal welfare, the satirist details in the course of his works potential artificial family groups to connect the masses and alleviate the lonely.
Throughout the story Kurt Vonnegut uses figurative language in order to explain the extensive thought or pain George is going through. Time to Time bergeron’s “mental handicap” buzzes in his ear “ A buzzer sounded in George's head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm” (6) this smilie explains how whenever George’s get his mind starts to think more “intelligently” than everyone else the alarm goes off breaking his train of thought until his mind goes blank again. Also Kurt Vonnegut uses figurative language to explain the different sounds and noises george hears “ Sounded like somebody hitting a milk bottle with a ball peen hammer”. To describe Harrison he uses a similes to explain the sheer power of harrison “Harrison
Kurt Vonnegut, born on November 11, 1922, was an American writer. He was best known for his use of humor, science fiction, and satire in works such as Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Breakfast of Champions. Vonnegut was born into a family of three and enlisted in the United States Army while in college at Cornell. A while later, on Mother’s Day, in 1944, Vonnegut discovered that his mother had committed suicide. That same year Vonnegut was assigned to a new combat unit and captured during the Battle of the Bulge while serving as a private with the 423rd Infantry Regiment (Bio). Throughout his stay as a prisoner of war he was able to take up a position as a leader but was soon revoked when he spoke out to the German guard. In February of 1945, Vonnegut witnessed the Allied firebombing of Dresden, which destroyed the city. Along with other American survivors, Vonnegut was one of the few that survived the bombing in an underground slaughterhouse meat locker. The German guards called the meat locker “Schlachthof Fünf” which translated to “Slaughterhouse Five" (Wiki). After the unforgettable experience of the bombing the name stuck with the building and was soon his inspiration for his famous novel, Slaughterhouse-Five. Slaughterhouse-Five was Vonnegut’s novel written about the journey and experience of a young solider named Billy Pilgrim. Vonnegut makes the biggest event in his novel the bombing of Dresden to make the novel a semi-autobiography because like Billy, Vonnegut experienced the horrible bombing personally. The main character, Billy Pilgrim portrays the experiences that Vonnegut went through while he was a suffering POW. It is clear after reading the novel and essay written by Vonnegut over a forty y...
“On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft” is not written in the traditional textbook format. The structure of this book works as an educational tool is because it offers a personal look at how writing has affected one successful novelist's life. Each section of the book contains something important about the craft of writing. The book also includes a great deal of about the personal impact writing has had on Stephen King's life.
J. A. Reinking & R. von der Osten, R. (2007). Strategies for successful writing: A rhetoric, research guide, reader, and handbook (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentiss Hall. ISBN: 0-13-189195-2.
“Style” strives to explain how writers can improve clarity, cohesion, usage, and elegance to become a more effective writer. This book is not meant to be read once, for the full potential can not be achieved unless it is absorbed several times. Packed from cover to cover with real life examples ranging from the worst imaginable to greatly improved, Williams provides a detailed explanation of how to transform any writers work. Charts, graphs, and diagrams may add some confusion but can be helpful for individuals who depend upon visual aids.
Satire in American literature has evolved in response to the development of the American mind, its increasing use of free will, and the context that surrounds this notion. Satire is the biting wit that authors (labeled satirists) bring to their literature to expose and mock the follies of society. Satirists can be divided, however, into two groups with very different purposes. One type mocks simply for the enjoyment of mocking. These satirists are found almost everywhere in the world, on every street corner, household, and television sitcom. It is the second type of satirist who is a strong force in the world of literature. The satirical author will mock to heighten the reader's awareness of the problems that threaten to destroy the world that they believe has so much potential. They do this with the hope that their satire will encourage others to better society. "I have often hoped that the arts could be wonderfully useful in times of trouble" (32) says the writer who is perhaps the king of this second type of American satire, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Vonnegut uses his literature to help guide a disillusioned America, in which free will has been fundamental since the writing of the Constitution. As a humanist, Vonnegut uses the idea of free will as a constant motif in his writing. He believes that every soul has the freedom to do anything, but that the problem with society is that people lack direction. Free will, used as a theme in Timequake, is an enormous responsibility. Acknowledging the free will that one has also involves accepting the responsibility that is necessary to use this privilege in a way that will benefit humanity. In several essay...
Kurt Vonnegut was born on November 11th 1922 in Indianapolis, Indiana. His parents, Kurt Vonnegut Sr. and Edith Leiber Vonnegut were hit particularly hard by the great depression and his family was financially unstable for most of his childhood. Vonnegut studied at Cornell University, where he double majored in chemistry and biology. Shortly after graduation, Vonnegut enlisted in the United States Army and was deployed to Germany once America entered World War II. Around this time, Vonnegut’s mother committed suicide. Vonnegut was deeply traumatized by the event and never truly forgave his mother during his lifetime. In 1944, he was captured by Nazi troops and placed in a prisoner of war camp in Dresden, Germany. Vonnegut was a survivor of
The Mind of Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut is one of the preeminent writers of the later half of the twentieth century. His works are all windows into his mind, a literary psychoanalysis. He examines himself as a cog in the corporate machine in "Deer in the Works"; as a writer through the eyes of Kilgore Trout in several works; and most importantly, as a prisoner of war in Slaughterhouse-Five. Vonnegut created short stories and novels that dealt with events in his life. One of the most obvious self examinations is in "Deer in the Works".
“Style is how you write, and you write well when you are interested. A writer’s own interest in the story is the essential thing. If there is a flash of warmth in him it is repeated in the reader. The emotion is bigger than style.
We would do research on a subject or a person, and write about them. We, once again, were not allowed to be unique in our writing or think creatively or critically. This is the time when I was taught the five paragraph essay. As stated in Gray’s article, the five paragraph essay is detrimental to students’ writing. This format for writing is damaging because it doesn’t allow students to express their own ideas about a topic. It does not allow for any creativity or uniqueness in a paper. In tenth grade, I wrote many papers for my English class, but I never once got an A on them. I was led to believe that my writing was weak because I could not relate to what I was writing about. I did not have any emotional connection to the research papers I had to write, and it made it harder for me to write them. I had grown up not being allowed to think critically, and therefore, my papers in high school lacked creativity and deeper
The strengths in my writing are my organizational skills, grammatical construct, and my work ethic. Organizing an essay is a very natural process for me. I always follow the basic guidelines for the structure of an essay, which state that one must have an introduction, thesis statement, body, conclusion, and a works cited when needed. The “Are Helicopter Parents Entering the No Fly Zone?” essay, “Animal Cloning—How Unethical Is It?” essay, and the “The Clean Water Act—Is it Successfully Reducing Water Pollution?” essay all have a proper introduction, an informative thesis statement, a body, great conclusions, and works cited pages. Formatting the essays is an integral aspect of organizational skills. Each new paragraph is indented, the font is twelve-point Times New Roman, the sentences are double spaced, and the headers are correct.
Is it not on the normal we hear about PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from former veterans go through. They struggle to keep calm and collected visiting through flashbacks from war and maybe other memories that may not be true. Facing trying to have a normal life after being a prisoner of war (POW). Kurt Vonnegut writes using the setting he seen in his life, making a war drama from a first person experience making it fictional at the same time an autobiography. Being free from war is just illusive according to Kurt Vonnegut. Even though I never been to war I see him trying to show that war hinders us mentally through encounters in war.
One must remember that writing style is not something that just happens, but rather something that is developed. With the help of guides like Elements of Style, or books like Style Toward Clarity and Grace, one can begin to develop one.
I have learned many things throughout the course of the term, including such things as: how to write an essay and how to improve on essays that I have already written, how to locate and composite better research through the use of numerous resources found at the campus library, the internet, and the “Common Sense” textbook, how to cite research, examples, and quotations properly within the contents of my research paper as well as document it accurately according to MLA standards. Through the exploration of the “Subjects and Strategies” textbook, I have learned nine different methods used when writing an effective essay and how the different writing styles affect the overall theme and tone of the essay when used properly. This past semester, I have encountered many difficulties when trying to write these essays, but through the use of the textbooks, the aide of the instructor, and once I was able to classify the different types of essays and styles, I found them possible to overcome.