Rules For writers, My Choice; Chapter 16, Wordy Sentences

The main points of Chapter 16 are redundancy, repetition,concise and inflated words, simple sentence structure and reducing clauses to phrases and phrases into single words. These guidelines help to make sentences clear, concise and meaningful.
A wordy sentence is neither long or short. Sentences are wordy if it can be condensed without losing the meaning. Chapter 16 says these types of sentences are usually redundant, over using modifiers that add meaning to the words used. Repetition can be useful for effect but many times a concise version works better. "Rules For Writers"explains empty or inflated sentences such as, "I think that", or, "It Seems To Me" are unnecessary and can be removed without losing meaning. This chapter gives the reader a list of concise and inflated words to show how using concise words fit the structure of a sentence, tightening it. Strengthening the verb is also another way.
I have been practicing rereading my essays for different purposes and this is one I notice is important. I have a tendency to use phrases such as, "I think that", and find it completely unnecessary and does not add a thing to my sentence structure. I keep that list of concise and inflated words with me to use as I proof read my work. To prevent redundancy I have found the thesaurus very helpful for words that mean the same but are not repeated in my writing. I am more thoughtful when I write and give more information now without taking the reader on a roller coaster ride of words that mean nothing.

Dialogue Week 10

“Then the spotlight finds the Merry UnBirthday child. Of Course it’s the cutest one in the studio”.

This creates such a negative self image when you are this young and unfortunately it happens to all children of all races. Kids think they have to look and act like what they are seeing on TV and the movies to get noticed or loved. Lovey is very critical of herself and her family life, even though she loves them very much. She is made to feel that way by some of her peers and her teacher’s. Even today we have this image of blond, blue eyes and thin is the norm. Lovey has more than just a societal image to quash, she has a family life that is genuine and loving but she knows she has to learn other ways in order to live within the socially excepted boundaries that are expected if you want to succeed.
I chose this particular sentence in “Happy Endings” because it reminded me so much of when I was a little girl. I was chubby, had overly frizzy curly hair and wore clothes that my grandmother made us from material that came from clothing at the Goodwill. Even though I did not realize about the goodwill thing until later in life, I still wished I had clothes from the store. Most of all I relate to Lovey because I to watched Shirley Temple movies and felt like if I just looked like her I would be more popular.

Summary; Rules for Writers Chapter 48, Week 9

Chapter 48 in Rules for Writers says you must evaluate all arguments for logic and reason. Some of these are; fallacies, generalizing, analogies,assumptions, deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, emotional appeals, and judging opposing views.
The text gives us examples of how to determine what are reasonable arguments or otherwise known as logical fallacies. Fact gathering and making a decision from these facts are, according to the chapter, generalizing(inductive reasoning) and has to be determined by evidence gathering. Analogies compare the similarities of two things that are different such as arguing facts in court by opposing counsel. If we assume something is true without checking proof of it that is called an assumption and it is sometimes used in writing depending on its merit of importance. Another example in chapter 48 is deductive reasoning, taking facts and put them together to establish a connection. There are 3 stages of deductive reasoning, called a syllogism; Major premise, minor premise and the conclusion. The text goes on to say, emotional appeals may be legitimate or can be unfair. for instance, a legitimate appeal would be politicians appealing to their constituents that the change they are looking for will happen if they vote for them. Unfair attacks as an example would be based on bias, someone who might have an ax to grind on a particular group or may have a different belief on a subject. In the end we see from this chapter that judging fairly on opposing views builds credibility.
Using the steps in chapter 48 will help me to make better critiques of my own papers and others. I will be asking these questions of myself as I write to make sure I am evaluating and making reasonable arguments about the content and never assume what I write is truth without getting different viewpoints and opinions by searching out the evidence. It makes sense when you write that the content of your writing has legitmacy and critical thinking.

"Writing about Fiction and Literature" Purdue's Online Writing Lab; Extra Credit

“Writing about fiction”, a topic of the Purdue online writing lab’s main ideas are; close reading, developing a thesis and pre-writing. The lab states that highlighting key passages and phrases when reading fiction is important, because, fiction usually consists of several points and themes. Make sure that you are not over highlighting only key points and ideas. Using a notebook like you would a journal to evaluate a story’s meaning and commenting on it can be very helpful after close reading, which is also being active in the process of reading. Purdue also says making notes is about asking questions, making comments about key statements in the writing. Developing a thesis comes after close reading and making notes in the margins so you can generate ideas of your own. these ideas could be a character or a particular period of time, and elaborating on them. The lab also talks about pre-writing to review, research, and evaluate a piece of fiction. Focus on the detail to be discussed, make lists, and identify evidence by using outside sources, like major events, people, which will help you to eliminate and narrow your focus. Another sub-heading in the online lab is, quoting which is using a sentence that will help you to analyze a point, writing in your own words what already has been said is paraphrasing, which usually comes in the conclusion.
Purdue’s online writing lab also discusses “writing about Literature” the main ideas are; The introduction, literature topics and formatting. The introduction gathers research that will help you make the argument that your interpretation or evaluation is valid. The lab also shows how to make a debatable thesis by showing the how, why, and what that unifies your points for the thesis. Do not use generalities; be specific in your statements. Narrow down what it is you are asking or clarifying. Purdue also say that finding a topic can be one of many choices, for instance; Characters in a piece of literature, historical events, political issues and analyses, these are just a few topics that can be used. Your own thoughts should be the major part of your essay, using secondary sources in your research such as the internet or library. Avoiding dictionaries and encyclopedias, use scholarly sources to back up your evidence. Formatting your paper; It is important to underline, use quotations which introduce or explain a thought that comes from a key phrase or passage, also your last name and page number. MLA format is the universal citation method according to Purdue.
Purdue’s online writing lab has given me information to use to become more skeptical of my own work of writing. I have started my own journal of note taking on my thoughts during reading. I know that rereading is going to benefit me because this way I will be more analytical of the piece I am reading by asking questions and noting the phrases that pop out at me. Narrowing down my thoughts and making lists of my ideas will also help me to formulate a more organized paper. I have, and will continue to use free write as a means developing my thesis ideas. I like the idea of quoting a sentence because even though I may not use it in the final paper I will use it to critically think about what I see as the meaning behind it. I liked the part of Purdue’s lab that discussed the how, why, and what, for a debatable thesis when writing about literature and just those questions alone can give me a great many points that will be helpful for unifying my thesis ideas. I have taken the library literacy class and now I am so thankful I did. I can go anywhere in the library at the JC and get the information I need, especially helpful on MLA citing. I know this will help me to be a better writer but most of I know that critical thinking, using your own thoughts and ideas are paramount to writing a good paper.

Week 8; Essay 2 Dialogue, "Common themes"

“Shooting Dad” and “Coming Home Again” have a common theme; however there are comparisons and contrasts to both essays. Family, culture, parent- child dynamics, adolescence, Identity, independence and love are some of the same themes that run through these essays. Both of these families are living in America, however one family has immigrated here from Korea and the other are born in America. “Coming home Again” is a story about a connection of a son, (Chang-Rae-Lee) and his mother and “Shooting Dad is a story of connection of a daughter, (Sarah Vowell) and her father.
Sarah Vowell gives the reader a vivid account of a typical day in her family life with humor and tells the reader of strong opinions that family members have. Chang-Rae-Lee sets a different scene and the reader can tell very soon that it is going to be an emotional account of his mother’s illness. The comparisons of the family unit, Sarah’s, and Chang’s Identity, bonding, and similarities to parents charge through both essays. The differences of the two are very clear also; how the family unit expresses themselves, their different cultures, and home life. In the end both authors find that they are more like their parents then they realized and look back with fond memories and love.
Both essays reminded me of my own mother and father. They are aging now and I am reminded that they will not be here much longer. My dad and I had a very close relationship growing up and we always talked, my mother, not so much. My dad’s memory is slipping and it pains me to think one day he might not remember me. I take everyday as a gift and I think both of the characters in these writings did the same. To Sarah, it was the memory of going with her dad to shoot the cannon. To Chang, it was cooking with his mother as a young child. These were defining moments in their lives even though at the time they did not know it.