Strunk and White: First Impressions

After reading Strunk and White's, The Elements of Style, I was intrigued with the information in the book. I felt the book was a fairly easy read and the information wasn't overbearing to comprehend. As I was reading, I realized that there were answers in this book to many of the questions that I had as a writer. This is a little book, but I feel that is useful to have for writers of any level. I feel that the book is conveniently small for writers to have in any place, and easy to look up information as well.

There were several "elements" mentioned that I felt are useful for me to have as a writer. The element that caught my attention was chapter 4, which was a list of words and expressions commonly misused. There are a lot of words listed that I commonly misuse, and honestly didn't know the correct meanings. For example nauseous meaning sickening to contemplate, and nauseated meaning sick at the stomach. I have always used these words interchangeably, not knowing the difference in meaning. In Chapter 4 I liked that the words listed were written with examples of how they were used incorrectly, and the correct way to use these words as well. I felt this to be most helpful.

There were a few elements that I found unhelpful for a writer, or just couldn't understand. Chapter 3 discusses the matters of form. I found that some of these were dated. The discussion of margins isn't of any help, since most writers use a word processor with margins already set. Also, I don't feel that there is one correct way of writing titles, headings, or numerals in a paper. I feel like there are many correct ways, other then the ones stated by Strunk and White.

Overall, I found that this is a useful reference book for any writer, or student to own. I feel like this is a book that answers questions that many of us have. I don't think that there are exact rules for each element of writing, but I do feel that there are useful examples in this book that a writer can always refer back to.

Peer Review Recap

The first assignment of the ENGL328 class was to invent our own writing technologies, without the use of any tools such as pens, pencils, paper, computer, basically any sort of technology. We then had to write a 5-6 page essay of how our invention process went, what we learned after writing text without the use of technology, and connections to class readings as well.

Once the essay was finished we were to submit it online to Google Docs. I have never used this before, but felt it was very easy to do. We were placed in small groups of 3, which I liked, and then share our essay with the people in our group. I thought it was cool that we could share our docs with whomever we wanted, rather then with the whole class. I never peer reviewed someones paper online, I have always done so with a hard copy. I felt like this was much better and easier to use. There were a lot of tools available to use (such as spell check, word count, thesaurus,etc.) in which I wouldn't have readily available with a hard copy in front of me. I felt like I was able to say what I wanted in the documentation much clearer then I would have on a hard copy trying to scribble and point weird arrows everywhere. I also liked that I was able to get feedback from two different people, and see which comment was from whom, so if I had any questions about it, I was able to ask that person.

The only issues that I had with using Google Docs, was that because it was live, I was confused if the person has already reviewed my paper, or were in the process of reviewing it. I felt like that was hard, but once I learned that if a person just reads the doc, it will tell me it's reviewed by that person, when this necessarily isn't the case. Now that I know this, I will need to have a little more patience waiting for my reviews from my peers!

My Writing Technologies

I have been able to read since I was about four years old, so I don't have a memory of what it feels like not to be able to read. I also have been writing since I was at a very young age as well. I have always enjoyed reading and writing, and always felt that it is the 'norm' to be able to read and write. I grew up in a household where both of my parents came to this country at an older age. They had little education from the country they grew up in, working and providing was more important at the time then school and education. I can remember teaching my father to read and write in English when I was in the third grade. My family was not big on the new technology of using computers, and so I was not familiar with a lot of technology other then the incorporation of it in school.

Now that I am in my fourth year of college I have become very familiar with several writing technologies that I use all the time. Before I read the articles in this class, I honestly wouldn't have said that using a pencil or pen to write was a 'technology' tool that I use. I was so used to writing with pencil on paper, that this actually seemed old fashioned to me. But, this is definitely a tool that I use all the time. I like to write notes in class, brainstorm on paper before I actually type an essay, because I like to see work in my own writing. I feel if I see information in my handwriting, I will comprehend it much easier. I also use the computer all the time for several writing tools. I definitely use word processor for my essays or any professional documentation. I use email to keep in touch or ask questions with my peers or co-workers as well. I have used the Internet for for writing tools as well. I have taken an online course where everything was discussed online. I have also used caucus and blogger for class discussions. I have used Livetext to post some of my writing work to be seen and read.

I feel as though I have become familiar with new writing technologies and use these tools for my advantage. I do feel that these tools have helped speed up the writing process. I feel as though information is much more convenient and easy for me to find. I try to avoid using emails as a way to catch up with a family member or an old friend. I get so busy, and am so used to being able to keep in contact with the world from my computer screen. I feel as though it is much more personal to keep in contact with a person through written letters, phone conversations, or physical visits.

What is Style?

I believe that each person has their own distinct touch to the piece of work they are composing. Writing is a way for a person to express emotions, such as joy, anger, or even grief. Writing can also be used as a way for a person to share stories, experiences, and knowledge with others. I believe that we use writing as a form of speaking to one another and our voices are heard from the words being read off the paper. I don't believe that a writing style is necessarily "good" just because there are no grammatical errors. I believe that a Style is developed through the author being sincere in the words written on the paper, and the reader being able to hear the voice of the author as if they were speaking to one another.

I also believe that Style is developed from the society and culture the writer is living in. I believe that the topics and issues written are developed from a person's surroundings, family, emotions, beliefs and life experiences as well. For example, we just finished discussing a selection from Plato's Phaedrus in class. In this reading, there were jokes about homosexual relationships between a younger boy and an older man. This was seen as normal during this era by the Greeks, which is viewed quite a bit different now, in several ways.
Writing Style is developed by the writer and is as unique as the sound of each person's voice.

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