WEEKLY REQUIRED WORK
These are time sensitive. You do not receive credit if you write them after the deadline each week.
First, there's a blog entry (about 250 words) which will have you respond to a hopefully thought-provoking question. Each week, you must do the blog entry with enough time left in the week to be able to enter into dialogue online with your classmates. Write, reply, write more, reply more, and then write and reply more.
Second, there's a reading. There’s no blog entry associated with this. Just read.
Third, there's a written response to the reading. Your reading and writing on the blog must be completed by the SATURDAY (by midnight) of the week in which the reading falls. This entry should be a long paragraph. YOU DO NOT NEED TO RESPOND TO OTHER STUDENTS' PART THREE EACH WEEK.
I think these writing rules gave me a helping hand of what I can rely on when my instincts fail. When I write, I tend to doubt myself if I should add a sentence, take out a sentence, or change a word to sound more advance. A rule that stands out to me is "Say what he/she is proposing to say, not merely come near it" because I tend to direct myself toward the major focus, but do not elaborate why it is important. I lose focus of what I am writing about and move onto the next sentence or paragraph. The most important rules of writing is do not omit necessarily details, use good grammar, and employ a straightforward style. Explaining necessary details is important because the audience needs to know essential details that explain the motive of the story. Also, it is very important to use good grammar because you want the reader to understand your perception of your essay, story, etc. Finally, it is important to employ a straightforward style because if you're jumping from an introduction to conclusion to the body of an essay, it will confuse the readers and the readers will not understand the main focus of your essay.
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ReplyDeleteMark Twain's writing rules stood out to me because they were very detailed and specific in comparison to the other writing rules. In Elmore Leonard's writing rules, I know I have violated the one regarding exclamation points. I have a tendency to overuse them when I email or text people. Back to Mark Twain's rules, I thought the ones regarding corpses in writing were a bit funny. Out of the three passages of writing rules, I found Orwell's to be the most clear and straightforward, and I liked that. They seemed to be the most practical for use in everyday writing. My rules of writing are fairly similar. The most important thing to me is to make sure I clearly express my point.
I think these writing rules were helpful. I pin pointed a few that I tend to do when I am writing. I felt that the first reading I could pertain to a little more than the others. I always have to ask myself if the sentence sounds right or if i should shorten it by cutting words out. I remember being told in school that I always made run on sentences. I’m very bad at that when I could have said the same thing in less words. The Mark Twain rules, I will admit went over my head other than the use of good grammar and keeping it simple. My most important rules of writing is to not write like I speak. Never start a sentence with And and always know where to use punctuation. Thesis statements are important and should be supported by the body of the paper. Lastly, the structure of the paper should flow together. A great paper will always captivate the reader.
ReplyDeleteThere are rules in writing? Well there must be, otherwise we wouldn’t be in a writing class! Ultimately I believe everyone has their own set of rules and these rules distinguish a writer’s style. After reading the three different sets of rules, it was clear to me the style of each writer. Orwell has very specific rules that he uses in his writing. I can imagine what his style of writing is by his set of rules. Twain’s “simple, straightforward style” is shown in his list of rules. Leonard’s rules must be written as sarcasm, otherwise I don’t think I would be interested in reading his writing—I love exclamations!
ReplyDeleteAlthough everyone has their own set of rules (which is shown by the three examples given), I believe that there are some rules that are necessary. For example, writing must have a purpose. It must be interesting to the intended audience. The writer must include details that help the reader see a clear picture of the author’s purpose. This may be a simple as a note saying “I love you” to a spouse, or something as descriptive as a restaurant review whose audience my be a young man taking someone special out on a date for the first time. Using good grammar is also a must. I saw this saying on Pinterest that says, “Let’s eat, Grandma!” But, if you leave the correct punctuation out (in this case a comma), it changes what the sentence means. So, without correct punctuation it says, “Let’s eat Grandma!” This, my friends, is one reason why grammar is an important rule in writing! We don’t want to eat anyone’s Grandma!
In my opinion, a few rules in writing are necessary. Too many rules may take away from the author’s style, keep the author from getting his point across, or even keep the writing from being interesting to the reader. In these three cases, “all hell may break loose” and no one will want to read the author’s work.
my=may... I proofread it 3 times! I promise!
DeleteI think these rules of writing are very helpful when proof reading a paper. I have seen a few of these rules suggested in red ink when a professor has returned my graded paper. From those red ink marks it has made me become a better writer. One that stands out to me is the rule that says leave out the part that readers tend to skip. In my eyes I see that as leave out the "fluff." The "fluff" is like any unnecessary words or phrases, or anything that is the writing could do without. I know sometimes as students, we add in this "fluff" to complete the requirement of a 10 page paper but in the end it is better to have an 8 page paper that it direct and to the point rather than a 10 page paper that beats around the bush a lot. This may just be the scientific writer in me though!
ReplyDeleteSome of these writing rules should apply to everyone’s writing, such as using good grammar and writing to get to the point. Nevertheless, some of these rules should not be applied to all types of writing because there are many different styles of writing. Orwell says to “Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent”. This rule would be great for someone who is writing a novel or a short story. However, this rule would be ignored by someone writing a research paper because they would have to use specific scientific terms and definitions. One of Mark Twain’s rules says to be straightforward but someone who is writing a mystery novel would want to hide clues in their writing. If they are straightforward, then there will be no story. One of the rules that caught my attention the most was Twain’s rule, “use the right word, not its second cousin” because I tend to break this rule. Instead of using the actual word I was planning to use I use a synonym. I use a synonym to make my writing sound more elegant (in my opinion) or to avoid plagiarizing. The rules I go by when writing are to always proofread and if possible, have someone proofread my work as well. It is also important to make sure your writing has a good flow to it and does not confuse your audience. Sometimes when I write, my work doesn’t flow so I have to go back and add transitions or change the order of my paragraphs so my writing makes more sense to the reader.
ReplyDeleteSome of these rules I am very familiar with, and I also tend to use them for my writing. For example, in research papers I follow a lot of these rules because I want to write a great paper. When writing, I like to get straight to the point, and I do not like to use excess words. I do not use big words that I am not regularly familiar with. I feel like Rules 1 and 3 where very similar, in that they both have to do with mostly grammar. The beginning questions in Rule 1 are similar questions that I ask myself when I am writing something. Rule 2 was directed towards reading, or when you are writing a narrative. Rule 2 is almost as if it was giving you rules on how to write a good story. I feel like the most important rules for writing are Rules 1 and 3 because you could apply them to any type of writing, whether it be a research paper or a personal story. The most important rule to me when I write, is that I get to the point without adding extra words that do not belong. The next important rule is to have good grammar because I tend to forget about grammar when I am writing. Lastly, I make sure that what I write makes sense to the reader because often times I write thinking that the reader knows what I am speaking about.
ReplyDeleteI actually really enjoyed reading these rules. Some I have heard, others I have not but either way I have found myself following these rules while writing. When writing I follow some of these rules without even knowing it; since a lot of these rules have been drilled into my head from past english classes. Of the three readings we had I really enjoyed 'Twain's Rules of Writing'' which seemed to of added a bit of humor to the rules. This set of rules, although not straight to the point, seemed to give the reader more understanding of the rules of writing, the only problem being that Twain may of used some words that are not as commonly known any more. I did find the first and third readings to be really helpful and straight to the point, especially Orwell's. If I had to pick my most important rules of writing it would have to be to: 1) Always have a catchy title, 2) To think of the reader as someone who knows nothing of the subject, and 3) Always make sure your sources are cited.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading these rules. These rules are used by many writers and it shows who used them and who didn't. These rules were simple and can easily be understood. Orwell's and Twain's rules stood out to me the most. Orwell's rules stood out because he himself used the rules to write the rules and his rules were taught to me when I was in high school and college level English courses. Twain's rules stood out as well because of his word choice. Twain's rules in my opinion is satirical writing because of his word choice and how he explains the rules. My most important rules when writing are to keep my sentences short and simple. I try to remove sentences that are irrelevant or sentences that used to take up room or up the word count. I take out unnecessary words or replace them with words that are easier to understand. My main rule is to express my point and not go off topic.
ReplyDeleteIt is always nice to be reminded of old writing rules but it is great to learn new ones. I thought these writing rules were interesting and helpful. It helped me refresh my memory of some writing rules that I had forgotten about. From the three readings I was able to capture new rules that I can now keep in mind for the next I write. The reading that stood out to me the most is the first one by Orwell. These rules stood out to me the most because the rules were upfront and straight to the point. The questions it states that a writer may ask himself really captured my attention. They made me think and question myself if I do this when I write. I learned that when I write I should take the time to step back and ask myself some of these questions. One important rule I try to follow when I write is to make sure that my writing is understandable and clear. I like to make sure that I am getting my point across and the reader is able to capture what my ideas were.
ReplyDeleteIt's clear that these rules should be and may have been the guidelines writers had to abide by. However, these rules has actually reminded me of a few books who have 'rebelled' against these very rules. One of them is Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, which were a series of books I adored growing up. In one of the books, the author fills an entire page with the word 'ever'. And in another, he repeats a passage in the book to allow the reader, along with the character, to experience deja vu. In my opinion, the writer may have rebelled but it was done so for the greater good - the story and its audience. They were meant to capture a young reader's imagination and to allow them to feel like they're a part of the already odd atmosphere portrayed in the series.
ReplyDeleteOk, now I need to read the "Lemony Snicket" books. I keep hearing about them and I've never read them!
DeleteReading these rules give me sort a bit of a relief because I honestly have been taught so many ways of writing. Every teacher or professor had their own teachings when it comes to writing but there are always the main basic of it. It was difficult to understand the proper way of writing because I was taught by certain teachers, for example, that you cannot use the same words more than once or you cannot use the word "things" or start with sentences with because and then I'd have a different teacher telling me vise versa. It does help a lot reading these guidelines because it does indicate the most important parts when it comes to writing. One that stood out to me was using good grammar from Mark Twain's section. I've always had a problem with grammar and I know I still do. However, I still learn everyday when it comes to english. The third reading was straightforward. I love that it just gets to the point and you don't have to over analyze what they are trying to tell you. It tells you things you should avoid and what the right thing you should do when it comes to writing.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading the rules and realzing how many of these I personally have violated!!!! I do feel that the excalamation point is abused in grammar today when it comes to social media. That leads me to a question I have asked myself, is it ok in the light of social media to express emotion at the cost of bad grammar? Another rule that stood out to me was Mark Twain's rule "Say what he is proposing not merely come close to it". This could not be more true in regards to research papers, I feel many of us are guilty of giving a short explanation of what we are writing about instead of just saying what the research told us. I couldn't tell you why this is done, but it has happend and I don't think its done intentionally we were probably not asking the right questions while putting the paper together.Each reading in its own way explained different yet practical ways to assure we are writing to the best of our ability, and not just giving half the effort. Writing is an art that everyone can do, and it is an art that has been ignored for being to "difficult", but with these rules as guidlines anyone can be a writer.
ReplyDeleteCorrection: exclamation. I already failed the rules.
DeleteI find these rules extremely helpful. I speak three different languages, so writing happens to be my weakest subject. My grammar is not as great as it should be. I tend to go too in depth in details of one subject and not enough in another when making an argument. I tend to go off topic and add side comments when they are not necessary to have. As a matter of fact, a lot of the rules mentioned I have broken. So, having these rules as a guideline should help me a lot not only in this class but for future needs as well.
ReplyDeleteI found these writing rules to be an interesting read. A lot of Orwell’s rules for writing were taught to me growing up. His rules get right down to the point and make for a good basic writing guideline. I still utilize his rules when writing a paper, especially when I hit page limits. As for Twians, I found it to be extremely ironic and it had a lot of unnecessary works...even though he said not to do that. I enjoyed reading it because it was clever. I liked that he had a classy way putting sentences together and I feel like that’s not very common from writers in his era. I wish I would have read more satirical works. I think my favorite and the one that stands out most for me would be the last set of rules by Leonard. I laughed probably more than I should have at it. I think it would be fun to follow his rules and see how the paper would pan out.
ReplyDeleteI think my most important rules fall into Orwell’s rules. The schools basically ram them down students’ throats their whole lives. So it can be hard to write free verse poetry and prose. At least, it was hard for me to do so when I took CSUB’s Creative Writing course.
I haven’t taken an English class in three years, so these writing rules really helped to jog my memory. The rules from reading 1 are rules that I have heard of before and are ones that I have tried to use in my writing my whole life. I think that reading 3 stood out to me the most because they are rules that I hadn’t ever heard before. Don’t use the word suddenly or don’t use more than two or three exclamation points are the rules that really had me going back in my mind of past writings I have done, and made me wonder why a teacher had never told me not to use before. The second reading was a little bit harder for me to grasp, but the main rules I got from it were using good grammar and to omit necessary details. When I write I have a hard time just getting to the point, especially when there is a word count limit. I think that this is common in college papers for those that aren’t great at writing because they know they need to have a certain amount of words to pass so they tend to ramble on just to meet the requirements. I know this is something that I need to work on in my writing. I think the most important rules of writing are to not start a sentence with and or because, know what words are appropriate to use and where, and when to use commas or semicolons.
ReplyDeleteI actually enjoyed reading these rules, but I didn't know that writing had certain rules. What caught my attention from the first reading was the rule of "if it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out." I tend to always add extra words when I do my writing assignments because professors leave comments about that. They say I use extra words that I don't need to and that is one of the difficulties I have in writing. In the second reading, rule number 13 stood out to me because I found it funny when it said, "use the right word, not its second cousin." That is also one of my weaknesses because I try to make my writing more interesting by not trying to repeat the same words, but that's when I start using the wrong kinds of words to replace that one repeating word. From the third reading, of course the examination rule stood out to me because I also sometimes use them when I don't need to. I feel like if I don't put it at the end of a sentence where I'm trying to express how I feel, it makes it seem like I'm not excited at all. I really hope that this class will make me a better writer because writing is not my strongest subject.
ReplyDeleteMark Twain's fifth rule stood out to me. When I've tried to write fiction, I've struggled with dialog. While I talk everyday, it's very difficult to write spoken word without it sounding written and wooden. Overall, I found Twain's rules entertaining to read and feel they apply very well to writing for an audience rather than for ones self or a professor.
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ReplyDeleteRules in writing are very important because they serve as guides that help us become better writers. I think each author of the reading assignments this week gave their own take on how writing should be presented. Everyone has their own styles, although it is necessary to keep the main focus on the important rules such as staying on topic and writing clearly. I know many writers who attempt to use extensive vocabulary and it ends up confusing the reader. Rule six of Twain’s Rules of Writing caught my attention as it is very true. If an author describes a character, then we have that description to base our opinion of the character, but if the author was not true to his description then the reader becomes confused. The most important rule of writing for me is grammar and punctuation. I struggle with punctuation quite a bit because I’m used to placing commas in random places. Keeping a writing assignment short and clear is also a very important rule in writing for me. I’m drawn to writing more words than needed to express myself because I often have a minimum amount of pages to write. This is something I can also improve on as I pursue to become a better writer.
While reading these reading rules I was surprised by some of the different opinions between the authors. The one example that stood out at me was the difference between describing characters. Twain's opinion was that characters should be described in full as to let the reader understand who the character is and his or her actions but Leonard's opinion was to "avoid detailed description of characters". I enjoy reading books with a lot of description of the surroundings and the characters so that I can picture the scenes and characters in my head to see the picture the author is trying to create. Some of my more important rules of writing are using correct grammar, and creating writing that is not only enjoyed by myself but also by others. my writing all around is not good so a rule I try to use not dragging on my sentences with too many commas or wordy sentences.
ReplyDeleteI found the essay, “Politics and the English Language,” the most interesting to read. While I was reading the excerpt from the Orwell essay, I realized that I usually use a long word rather than a short one at times. I feel that the reasoning behind this is because I believe it will help make my papers longer. A rule I should follow is the question, “could I put it more shortly?” Many of the papers I wrote were longer than it should have been. As a student, one thing that can stress me out is when a writing assignment has to be longer than eight or more pages. When I do the assignment, it causes me to write a lot of unnecessary information to reach the page limit. The first four questions that were stated in the essay will be something that I will take to heart from now on. I have read essays that were utterly atrocious in grammar and format, and I find it embarrassing when I have done it. My most important rule of writing is to read the essay out loud when I am finished. By doing so, I can see where in the essay I might have made some errors.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading these rules there were some that I was not aware of. I found these rules very helpful because now I will keep these rules in mind when writing. Before being exposed to these rules, I feel that I would never ask the question "what words will express it." However, now that I have read these rules I now know that I will analyze what I am trying to say first and find the specific words that will help my readers understand my writing. One of the rules that caught my attention was "Could I put it more shortly?" I am used to describing everything in my riding and find myself being repetitive and constructing run on sentences. It is very difficult for me to write something short and straight to the point. That is why the other rule that stood out to me was Elmore Leonard's "don't go into great detail describing places and things." I tend to describe things thoroughly when writing and go into great detail contributing to my run on sentences. Therefore, from now on I will pay close attention to these bad habits to help improve my writing.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading these rules. They point out some of my weaknesses when it comes to writing. There were a couple that stood out to me. When I write, I don’t ask myself any of the questions a writer asks according to Orwell’s essay. The one that stood out to me was “Could I put it more shortly?” I tend to go on and on when I write. After I proof read, I always find long sentences, that can potentially be run-ons, and I delete them. I do this often. Another thing that stood out to me was keeping my exclamation points limited according to Elmore Leonard’s rules of writing. It is hard for me to write without them. I feel as if they help covey a stronger message. Some rules that are important to me when writing are to try and keep my writing in the active tense. This is the hardest thing for me to do. I also try to avoid detailed descriptions and making a sentence to wordy. I will definitely be using these rules when I write. I hope to become a better writer along the quarter.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to Orwell regarding the questions that every writer will ask himself. I always find it difficult to start writing without having a plan. In my head I have to ask myself similar questions before being able to start writing or starting an assignment. The question “what am I trying to say” is the one I can relate to the most. This questions has many possibilities and often times I find myself thinking about the assignment for quite some time before actually starting. I am aware that I often write too much nonsense, I try to be short and straightforward, but end up rambling. I found Twain’s rules of writing to be funny. Rule three was the funniest one, “the personages in a tale shall be alive, except in the case of corpses, and that always the reader shall be able to tell the corpses from the others.” Leonard’s rules for writing should be emphasized more online. I read a lot of reviews online regarding product reviews especially beauty products and often times the reviewers will use too many exclamation points. When I read, “keep your exclamation points under control” instantly I thought of a lipstick review I read last week.
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