Insights on Style
A writer sits down on his hickory brown leather upholstered chair in a lowered den of a cape-cod house in the country. He slips his bifocals up the ridge of his nose and pulls his typewriter with both arms to a comfortable typing distance. He is now ready to write and write with style. He has in mind that his certain eloquence will provide cohesion, concision and elegance that will be clear and concise so the reader will be able to determine exactly the message he is portraying. He begins with the intent to be clear, concise and understood.
Making an impression on a reader is the idea I have about style. When a completed composition is read, there should be a feeling of understanding and comprehension about a certain idea, thought or consciousness. But, “Who can confidently say what ignites a certain combination of words, causing them to explode in the mind (Strunk and White, pg. 66)?” This is true in most cases; it is not the combination of words that cause a mind to stir but the way it creates thought and stimulus that create an explosion. There is a conscious effort required to give a work of writing style. Two major contributions to the subject of “good writing” are the books Style: toward Clarity and Grace by Joseph M. Williams and The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White. Before I explain about what it is I gained from these two books about style I want you to get an overall, summed-up insight to the books. Strunk Jr. and White have an idea and knowledge of “good writing” and call it style. In their book, The elements of Style, I can depict it like this: they give you the paint, paintbrush, canvas and the tools and say “This is what style is made of.” Williams, in his book paints a picture and says “this is style,” leaving the color out and letting that be determined by the reader. “We visibly organize essays, articles, reports, memoranda into paragraphs, subsections and major sections to signal readers that we have finished developing one part of an idea and are moving to another, to a new thought.
Kamara, Mariatu and Susan McClelland. The Bite of the Mango. New York: Annick Press Limited, 2008. Print.
Writing with Readings and Handbook. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2013. 52-57. Print.
In the play Antigone, created by Sophocles Antigone is a foil to Creon because their personalities contrast. This makes Creon a Tragic Hero because he thinks that he is a god but in reality he is a mortal upsetting the god's and he will eventually meet his demise. At the start of the play the reader is introduced to a character named Creon, who is the king of Thebes, the previous king, Eteocles, was killed by his brother Polyneices. There is a law arranged by Creon, so nobody could bury the body of Polyneices but Antigone, the sister of both Eteocles and Polyneices, wants to bury her brother and is willing to risk her life to bury him. She eventually gets caught and is sentenced to death by Creon.
What is the definition of style? Is there an exact way of interpreting style individuals create in their writing? What is the importance and function of style in the writing process? Does style really matter? Before encountering books such as William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White’s “The Elements of Style” and Joesph M. Williams “Style Toward Clarity and Grace” I had not put much thought into these questions. My main focus was to get my writing assignments completed, turned in, and out of my mind. However, these two books create a whole new outlook on the world of writing for any individual who can open the cover and their mind.
“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.
I agree with what Allen states in the article “The Inspired Writer vs. the Real Writer” because of how much my writing skills had evolved over the years. When I first started in high school, I believed I was a horrible writer and I struggled a lot just to write a few paragraphs. However, after determination, and several trials and errors, I was able to improve greatly on my skills. In Irvin’s article, “What is ‘Academic’ Writing?” goes over the myths about writing. When I first started to write essays, I believed some of the myths that Irvin talks about in the article. Such myths were the five paragraph essay and the use of “I.” However, the more experience I gained in writing, the more I realized how the five paragraph essay is more of a suggestion. The format might had helped when I first started, but I had grown apart of it now. In addition, I had learned how the use of “I” is situational. In some of my past essays, I have used “I” to help develop my essays. In Bunn’s article “How to Read Like a Writer,” it mentions the importance of Reading Like a Writer. When I first started writing essays in high school, my essays were cookie cutter. The essays were not imaginative and lack literary devices. However, the more I payed attention to how an author writes, the more creative my essays become. I am able to include methods that give creativity in my writing,
Antigone was willing to die and sacrifice her life so she could give the proper burial to her late brother Polyneices. By being a martyr, she knew that her life was not as important, so dying would not be such a problem for her. “And if I must die, now before it is my time to die, surely this is no hardship” (page 208). Not only did she accept the punishment that Creon had given her, but also the fact her brother had a proper burial and she has no regrets in doing so. “But if I had left my brother in death unburied, I should have suffered, now I do not” (page 208). This quote partially explains further as to why she did what she did. If she hadn’t buried her brother, her conscience would have been telling her that she did the wrong thing, consequently leading to her suffering. Having taken the dangerous action of burying her brother and going against Creon’s orders and knowing the consequences, she must have accepted the fact that her death would not mean much compared to what she was doing for Polyneices. “This death of mine is of no importance” (page 208). This quote shows her understanding and acceptance of the
War. It is something that is always there like air. Even though at times it is not seen, it is present and active. Maybe it is in different parts of the world, but it just may be right around the bend. No matter where one is located, fighting bloody battles is one thing always occurring. Little innocent children, their fathers and mothers, and all sorts of relatives are perishing due to the effect of the endless wars. In the book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah, a young boy of twelve is recruited to become a soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone. Beah’s village gets attacked by rebels and forces himself to become separated from his family. Food becomes scarce as he and his rap friend wander from villages
My analysis over the development of my writing throughout this semester. I will assess many aspects of my experiences with English 1301 up to this point in the semester. I will explain the ways by which I have blossomed as a writer during this time. I will provide brief examples of my work to show what I am basing the evaluation of my writing on. What my conceptions of writing were, at the start of, the semester and compare it to what they are now. I will clarify how my work this semester reflects the concepts of writing and reading we have been working on and studying in class. I will tell about what and how particular reading assignments have been influential in my growth of creative ideas. Lastly, my interpretation of what it means to be a writer, and how my experiences this semester has influenced my opinion on writing.
Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New York: Farrar, Straus and
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.
Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Elements of Literature. Ed. Edwina McMahon et al. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1997.
Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Elements of Literature. Ed. Edwina McMahon et al. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1997.
Heller, Agnes. "Julius Caesar." The Time Is Out of Joint: Shakespeare as Philosopher of History. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002. 311-335. Rpt. in Shakespearean Criticism. Vol. 115. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 16 Dec. 2010.
Dr. Shook’s critiques directed me to revise for the lack of transitional phrases between main ideas within my essay, as well as my tendency to compose run-on sentences. Accordingly, I inserted transitions that connected the major points that my essay touched upon. In order to do so, I used phrases such as “furthermore” in order to create a better flow without compromising the important ideas that were essential in regards to properly communicating the context to my audience. By commencing the process of revising my first essay, I developed the understanding that one of my shortcomings as a writer at the beginning of the semester included compiling numerous ideas into one sentence, consequently making it too “heavy.” By taking corrective action, I separated sentences that surpassed three lines into two entities. I found that Informal Assignment 10: Writing with Clear Style, assisted in improving my understanding of how my style of writing assists in communicating to my audience. Initially, I failed to realize that clear communication is of the utmost importance in regards to becoming an astute college writer. I entered English 101 focusing on incorporating words with over three syllables to intelligently convey my argument instead of focusing on how clearly my argument will be received by my