time I feel like I've nearly got "it,""it" vanishes, eluding me once more. I never realized how difficult it was to break the writing habits learned throughout life. "Themewriting" may not be good writing, but I fear it is the only kind of writing I've ever done. I believe that "theme writing" may still have value and that "themewriting" is undesirable because it fails to engage the reader and to communicate anything of substance. How does a writer communicate and engage a reader? Is it by using a
and reporting what's there , instead of protecting preconceived notions or projecting agendas or otherwise following some kind of "safe" path. "Themewriting" is what we've been calling everything which does the latter. The first example paper we read, the "3 E-Z steps to achieve success" one, is a perfect example of what I've come to consider themewriting. It takes on "success," which it acknowledges in the first paragraph is a complex and abstract concept open to many interpretations. It then says
trying to move beyond the theme one step at a time. Was I doing it again? Sorry, it's a difficult habit to break. What does it mean to move beyond the theme? I don't know. That is why I have come here tonight. When we first started talking about themewriting I looked at themewriters with disdain. There is no way that I could be one of those robots. I didn't want to accept the fact that I was a themewriter because I had always been successful in classes. I was super at sitting down the night before
Expository Writing I really don't have any idea on where to start this paper, where it should go, and how it should end. It seems that I'm having a slight problem grasping the idea of expository writing. It's like when you were a kid trying to make it all the way across the monkey bars. You want to be able to reach that next rung and you try very hard, but somehow you just can't reach it. I seem to be having that problem. Right now, as I write, I'm not exactly sure I'm reaching the goal of this
Jackson Hole It was going to be the time of our lives. Four buddies of mine and I went out to Jackson, Wyoming to do some of the best snowboarding of our lives. It was our chance to get away from home for a week and have the best time of our lives. The trip out there was extremely boring driving through Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming. Possibly the three most boring states in the country. When we got out there we were all very impressed by the appearance of the city. This was obviously a tourist
Muse or Method? My eyes cast a casual glance towards the clock across the room as I sit back down at my desk. With caffeine reinforcements at hand, namely the signature red, white, and blue can of Diet Pepsi I just pulled from the fridge, I quickly put away the mound of books that has grown since I came in the room at 4:00. After making a hasty mental check to reassure myself I am prepared for the next day of class, I review my lesson plans one last time, sit back, relax, and ponder just exactly
Good Usage and Good Judgement You are in charge of hiring one person for a business and you have in front of you 1,000 applications. How do you go about choosing the right person for the job? It is impractical to call all 1,000 people in for an interview in order to get a better idea of the type of worker they might be. First things first, you look through the applications. If one of the applications has a mis-spelled word- in the circular file it goes. That's life. If you don't care enough
My Photo Album Overheard at University College London: "Because when you write this way- with this pomp and circumstance covering for any substantive thought- you aren't fooling me"...... CRASH. "OUCH! Old son- you seem to have just thrown me out a window!" If I had been given this little lecture by Mr. Pomp and Circumstance, the previous scene is what would have been witnessed. I would have thrown him out a window for two reasons. First and foremost, he sounds like an obnoxious, holier
Voices, Voices Everywhere Having been told that her boyfriend had cheated on her, Marsha had come to a realization which she had always expected she would someday have to make: that being, the decision to end her relationship with Bobby, because she suspected that he could never commit himself to a monogamous relationship. She had previously dismissed her concerns about Bobby's fidelity after concluding that her "concerns" were just another example of her own insecurity. Maybe her dad was right;