Sunday, November 8, 2009
Week 12
You have been writing your own essays for quite some time. What patterns have emerged in your own work? Do you love the semi-colon? Secretly or not-so-secretly over-use the simple sentence? Think about what stylistic devices you rely on most often, what traps you fall into, what tricks you'd still like to use. Go ahead, give yourself a little praise.
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I have always known I am QUITE chummy with punctuation...maybe a little too chummy. I am very colon and semi-colon happy, but I should probably try to restrict how much I use them. I also use the word "however" in virtually every piece I write; this isn't really a bad thing as long as I don't use it multiple times within one essay. "Myriad" also tends to appear quite a decent amount as well.
As far as topic goes, I write about things that I feel define me currently. I also tend to weave observations about other people into my work. But, I tend to avoid writing on my family because that would be an incredibly complex topic to tackle in one essay.
During this course I have gotten a hang of varying my structure more. I have mastered the short sentence. I also focus on creating good flow in the piece and ending with impact.
Like Sarah, I've also noticed that I do enjoy the semi-colon quite a bit. Because I tend to have really long sentences, I feel the need to chop them up more with the semi-colon; like I just did right there. Although I use it a lot, I manage to use it correctly so I think it's a benefit rather than a hindrance to my writing.
I've noticed that my story-telling skills have improved a lot over this course, especially with editing. I've been able to re-read my own work and be able to correct it in order to make a more cohesive essay.
The biggest trap I think I fall into is that I can use cliches a lot if I'm not careful. Because my writing style is pretty similar to my speaking voice, I tend to use already-established sayings. I try to avoid this as much as possible by using as many adjectives as creatively I can.
My writing has changed more than I thought this semester. I am more aware of my word choices when writing essays. I used to put different words in my essay as they came to mind, but now I am conscious of if the word is appropriate or not.
I also try to add some alliteration, repetition, or another literary device in my writing. I always thought it was weird when people put a rhyme or some alliteration in their writing, but now I like the way it sounds.
I have worked hard this course on my revising process, which I rarely did before taking this class. Revising and getting feedback from other people has really improved my writing.
Sarah and Erica I completely agree! The semi-colon and colon have become an important but overused tool in my writing. I think that they definitely their place in my work, but I need to make sure they they add to rather than overpower the structure/style.
I must say that I am the master of cheese!!! I have even thought about writing an essay on that. But in this class, I have learned how to use my cheesiness effectively.
Throughout my writing career, I have always loved the dependent clause (as you can see in this sentence). Therefore, it has turned up a lot in my recent writing, probably more than it should. Unfortunately I am also a little addicted to "therefore," "however," and "moreover."
This class has also helped me to use punctuality better. Semicolons and dashes have become my go-to-guys. I have learned how to effectively punctuate a long sentence and to realize when a long sentence is too long and how to cut it up. I have always liked long sentences but have been a little unnerved by short sentences. However, I have learned how to use short punchy sentences to my advantage.
I have never enjoyed writing much but this class has really helped me become a better writer, find something I want to write about and by extension caused me to enjoy writing.
My writing has definitely become more free in this class. In the past, I would always try to come up with detailed outlines before writing; I hadn't really written anything other than an analytical essay in a while! I've had a lot of fun re-discovering the freedom of "starts" and just being able to write about whatever is on my mind. This class as been a great way for me to remember that writing can be more liberating than picking apart literature word by word.
In my last essay for this class - and also for my last essay for another class - I found that I used the word "rather" a LOT. I had never really been aware of this before, but in editing both of these essays, I was struck by how repetitive I was. I was able to edit some of these "rathers" out of my papers, but it was interesting to see that this word seemed to pop up in my writing a lot.
One thing I think I'd like to master a little better would be the short, punchy sentence. I do tend to write in longer phrases, but I've been having fun experimenting with breaking them up.
I have realized that there are a few things which I commonly employ in my writing: sentences beginning with conjunctions, commas, colons, semi-colons, and repetition. In general, I can keep these things in moderation, but it’s something that I need to be aware of. My tendencies toward more complex sentences are balanced by the occasional short, punchy sentence. I like to use different punctuation and one of my tricks is to italicize certain words.
I would describe my tone as being pretty matter-of-fact and less focused on description, except to set the scene. There is often the juxtaposition of what I’ve felt and what I’ve thought in my essays. This makes my perspective fairly moderate because passionate emotions are tempered by logic, even if they were not at the time. On the other hand, I'm unapologetic and I don't dilute my point with qualifiers. As Mary pointed out, I've written a few times on 'MA social justice.' I would still like to play around with form more and see what else I'm capable of.
(I'm glad the commenting this week doesn't have to do with our articles because my writer didn't have anything for this week)
I tend to take advantage of short sentences. They convey information simply, straightforwardly. I think i manage to avoid them to excess, though.
I have tried to avoid some of my favorite punctuation this year -- the dash, paren, semicolon -- but sometimes they are quite necessary. I especially don't want to offend my favorite author; of semicolons, Kurt Vonnegut warned: "they are transvestite herm-aphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college."
These are traps i am trying not to get caught in.
I am quite a fan of my long sentences. During first drafts, almost the entirety of my essay is comprised of them. It's my job during revision to chop them up and make the sentence structure vary. My essays have really varied from one another, from very serious to very flippant. I was challenging myself with not writing two similar pieces this semester; I think I succeeded.
This semester I really learned how to convey a message in my writing without losing my voice. My voice in my writing is distinct and does shine through. I'm also very happy with how I learned to use the semicolon and colon in place of the dash, and with how much more concise I can make my writing.
I love commas. I put them in places were they are unnecessary, but often times they make things flow better. I also often use the same word too many times, once I like a word I wrote, it becomes over used in my essay very quickly. I have also now come to like short paragraphs, before I used long ones but during this class, they have become shorter and shorter... I think that is good... I think.
My topics have been random but I found that they all mean something to me. They are usually chosen depending on how I am feeling that day or that hour... Problem with that, is that sometimes I lose interest in what I am writing fairly the next day...
I am now trying to use a thesaurus and expand my vocabulary as well as picking topics that I can see myself focusing on for long periods of time.
I like to play with tone in order to communicate my ideas. I think the reader will always bring more to a piece of writing than the author. It is is my job to prompt the reader in the direction of my thoughts. Because my tone is somewhat intentional, I think that it can lose some authenticity, and generally veers toward a mildly haughty tone. See what I mean kinda?
Anyways, I also love the specificity of the word. Every word has a definition, a connotation, a sound, and so a specific use. I get caught on which word would be perfect, and can sometimes lose myself in a sentence because of that.
I've noticed that I write in an epic style. It seems like the way I write is meant to be in a speech or lecture to a large group of people.
Because of this, the process of writing takes a long time for me. I want to make every word count, and not sound like a jabbering idiot. It leads me to not write essays or personal expos responses until the last minute, because I want my writing to thunder through the ages.
Iv'e realized during this class that I am actually a good writer. I've never really thought of myself as having a very creative writing style, but during this class I started to discover my voice as a writer. I've also discovered the short sentence. Like many others, I've noticed the balance that can be created with the combination of long voluptuous sentences and ones that are short and sweet!
I also realized that I have this weird obsession with analyzing middle school. Probably because it was so awkward, but I've really enjoyed writing about it. I can't wait to take more of these kind of writing classes in college. I'm very inspired.
What I have noticed about my writing is my voice. I tend to be really sarcastic and downright mean in my essays. But this has made me really say what I feel and explore myself and how i feel about certain topics. I think my writing is very true to my own voice, and this past semester has taught me how to use my voice without overpowering the general idea. I also have learned to use the semi-colon more generously, but what this class has really helped me do is write about myself. In the beginning, my fear was that I would sound egotisctical writing about myself, but I learned that writing about oneself is really quite fun and not necessarily a self-absorbed affair. I have learned how to embrace my voice and myself through my writing.
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