Writing Style
I hear inner Strunk and White voices of “don’t overwrite”, “write in a way that comes naturally,” and so forth, going through my head. I have visions of endless Williams examples and illustrations on clarity. I see weeks of blog writings flashing through my memory. From all of this, I now own and believe in a firm and personal definition of what style is and what good writing entails. William Strunk and E.B. White’s book The Elements of Style, along with Joseph M. Williams’s book Style Toward Clarity and Grace helped lead me to this point, which is: what is the point?
What really matters when we consider the style of writing? What makes good writing good? Every writer could collectively sit down together and never come up with an answer to these questions because every writer has a different opinion on what matters. As a writer and a reader, I believe what really matters in style is the affect a piece of writing has on readers. Although every reader is different in the way a piece of writing impacts her/him, there is still an unspoken knowledge that all readers want to come away from a piece of writing a changed person, with a challenged view on a subject matter, with a new interest, or a passion for a previously unknown matter. What is the point? The point is that style, no matter how it is presented, needs to have an affect on each and every reader. No writer wants to sit down and hear echoes of their seventh grade English teacher pounding messages of “use correct grammar and punctuation!” or “watch your spelling!” in their brains, restricting them from all creativity. For that
matter, no reader wants to pick up two pieces of writing from two different writers and se...
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From these books on style, I’ve learned that the content of the writing is not as important as the presentation of it. If a piece of writing is clear, concise, understandable, and formatted well, a reader will be affected by it. Of course the content is important as well, but the point is no reader will want to give a piece of writing the time of day unless they are attracted to it in the first place. If they are attracted, they will be affected. Style is personal and unique, but style can also follow guidelines which will in turn help a
writer to fulfill her/his purpose and make the life of a reader less complicated and more enjoyable.
Works Cited
Strunk, William Jr., and E.B. White. The Elements of Style. New York: Longman. 2000.
Williams, Joseph M. Style Toward Clarity and Grace.Chicago:The University of Chicago
Press. 1995.
Since the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) inception in 1906 there have been laws in place to protect the amateurism status of its student athletes. Over the last 100 years the NCAA has morphed into a multimillion dollar business. The success and revenue that student athletes have brought the NCAA and its member institutions has sparked a debate of whether or not to compensate players for paying. Research in the field has focused on the debate and reasons to pay players and reasons not to. There has been little attempt to assert the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of the student athletes. The purpose of this study is to examine what the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of the student athletes towards NCAA amateurism laws. Informal face to face interviews with Division 1 student athletes at universities in Indiana will be conducted to get an analysis of the attitudes, opinions, and feelings Division 1 student athletes have towards NCAA Amateurism laws.
“Walt Disney was a man who changed people's life, and imagined new things and never gave up on his dreams. Walt Disney inspires people not give up on their dreams just like he never did when people told him he couldn't. Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago Illinois, to his father, Elias Disney, and his mother, Flora Call Disney. Walt was one of five children, four boys and a girl.” (Brad A.)
“Introduction to the Holocaust.” United States Holocaust Museum. United States Holocaust Museum, 10 June 2013. Web. 15 April 2014. .
The Roman Empire was able to extend its boarders and create a civilization based on the cultural belief that they were the civilized people and all others were barbarians. Though many of the people in Rome were not well educated the elites in the Empire “would pass from forum to forum, s...
“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.
Lochman, J. E., Boxmeyer, C. L., Powell, N. P., Qu, L., Wells, K., & Windle, M. (2012). Coping
Avant, D. & Sigelman, L. (2010, May 28). Private security and democracy: Lessons from the us
Timothy E. Pytell, (2003). ‘Redeeming the Unredeemable: Auschwitz and Man's Search for Meaning’, Holocaust and Genocide Studies 17.1 89-113.
College athletes paid due to the miss education opportunities ,injuries, and being able to support their families with their income potential. College athletes are often considered to be some of the luckiest young students in the world. Most of the time they’re riding on full-fledged scholarships that cover all the costs of school plus, they are in a prime position to make a reputation for themselves in the sporting world and prepare for the big leagues. However, there are a lot of problems with how college athletes are treated, and many students, coaches, team owners and organizational members (such as those at NCAA, or the National College Athletic Association) are demanding reform.Athletes are producing revenues not only for the schools, which gives these students scholarships, but also for shoe companies, television networks, and the conference in which these
According to the Webster’s New World Dictionary, the definition of style is “a characteristic manner of expression”(612). Usually words such as personal, individual, and unique also come to mind when we think of writing style. I have always associated writing style with belonging uniquely to one individual, meaning that everyone had his or her own style. After reading, “Style Toward Clarity and Grace” by Joseph Williams and “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk and E.B. White, I realized that style is not as unique as I thought. In fact, as I stated in my blog space, “writing has certain rules and elements that must be incorporated in to our writing in order to make our points clear to those we want to read it. Since these elements and rules are common to all writing, then style and good writing bring forth new meanings.”
Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5th, 1901, in Chicago. He was the fourth of five children, having three brothers, Herbert, Raymond, and Roy, when he was born. In 1903, parents Elias and Flora added a daughter, Ruth, to the family. Elias worried about big-city life, so the Disney family moved to a farm near Marceline, Missouri, in 1906 (Jaffe 7). Walt’s job on the farm was to take care of the animals, many of which would inspire his famous characters later in life (“Walt Disney”). These beloved animals were also the subjects of Walt’s first sketches.
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.
Muller, Filip. Eyewitness Auschwitz: Three Years in the Gas Chambers. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, n.d. 123-133.
In order to produce a piece of well-rounded writing, it is a known fact that every author must be able to assemble, grease, and apply the many moving pieces of literacy throughout his work. These tasks, while being vital, do not at all necessitate that a particular technique or procedure be followed for their completion. Thankfully, writers are free to use their own methods to invent, revise, and discover. Speaking for myself, I certainly have my own writing method.
Shirur, Anand. "Evolution of Money by Anand Shirur." Evolution of Money. 07 Dec. 2013. .