Peer Review Recap Pt. 2

I haven't uploaded my essay yet, so there hasn't been any peer review.

What Would the Community Think?

Will's blog sums up a couple of my main reactions. The book is dense. There are many concepts which require more than a single cursory reading in order to apply them to my own writing. Also, I feel especially critical of my writing, especially because I know it's being read by at least one person who has read or is reading Williams' book. I have deleted several words and changed others in an attempt to make this post as concise as possible, and in doing so have erased much of my own voice from the entry, and consequently diminished my sense of ownership of it.

Several classmates noted the difference in format between the two books, which effects both how the information is (or isn't) absorbed, referenced and utilized.

I agree with Simone (if I understand correctly) that Strunk and White are far more pleasant to read and access. I would be more comfortable reaching for Elements of Style if I had a question or concern, but I think the two books need to be used in conjunction, big picture conceptual stuff (Williams) and detail oriented guidelines (Strunk and White).

Williams vs. Strunk & White

I'm almost bitter about having read so many awful, cruelly long and self-indulgent sentences.
The adult in me says, "Great, now you can stop the cycle of abuse.", but the petulant youth in me says, "Make them all pay, you had to read it, so you should have the freedom to do it yourself if you like." Then the rational, scrupulous voice in my head says, "What would be the point?, sure you could write annoying sentences which fulfill that occasional impulse, but why?"

I was about to say that it's more fun to write sentences with rigid structural rules, but....it isn't.
If you must first write a "no holds barred" draft in order to keep your ideas coming, do it! But don't be afraid to spend a great deal of time restructuring and re-writing afterwards in on order to bring the readability of your end result up to the level of your ideas.

I suppose the advice in The Elements of Style are much, much easier to follow whereas Williams' in depth look at readability can be overwhelming and even annoying. I would never recommend sitting down and reading the entire book. What I think works better is the format we've been using to get through this book. Reading a few chapters and then discussing them. I would actually prefer to have stopped and discussed each chapter or section, but I recognize that this is impossible and impractical in our class.

Strunk and White ma have been grumpier, older men, but that actually helped make the book more entertaining. I would say that Williams' book is far better, more useful and more in-depth, but also harder to use.

Revising with Williams

I didn't find anything in these chapters that I could not see myself putting to use at some point in my writing. Not everything felt like advice I could have benefited from in the past, and not everything sounded as thought it had been catered specifically for the type of writing I am likely to do in the future. More importantly, each of the topics are excellent food for thought and will help me think critically as a writer and to write with the reader in mind.

Some of my favorite bits were:

Building a cohesive paragraph:
Williams emphasizes clarifying your sentences not only by turning them into character-driven action phrases, but also by filling in context which you may take for granted, but other readers might not have the benefit of.

Each paragraph should contain an introduction in an appropriate place, such as the beginning, and then proceed to make its discussion.

Diffusing Strings:
By repeatedly using the best (most effective and accurate) words to describe the action in your sentences, you avoid confusing your readers by needlessly throwing in synonyms which will ultimately make it more difficult for your readers to absorb your meaning.

LMNTS OF SYLE

Yea, this is a pretty good book. This type of criticism was never welcome when I got it as a kid, but I think these are fantastic recommendations, which help ones writing sound so much more thoughtful, clear and literate. I would never want someones personal voice to become lost in the pursuit of "perfect" grammar, uniform sentence structure and vocabulary, but you can easily see how most anyone would benefit greatly from using this manual.

I happen to enjoy common misuse of words and phrases, because they're often funny, and they demonstrate that the speaker ultimately owns the language, not a textbook or a tradition. One of my favorite non-words, which I actually used to use, and then kept using because I liked the sound of it, was "irregardless". I still like that one.

That having been said, even I, a writer with an inscrutationable vocaballary, will benefit.

Ain't nothin' gonna stop me now but my innate inability to process cognatious thunk.

some links to other people's work

Recently, I've been exploring the musical stylings of Andy Jenkins, the differently talented brother of Thomas Jenkinson, AKA Squarepusher. This photograph is about 10 years old.


His music is quite interesting, it tends to sound something like this:

You can hear and download tons of his music for free here:

http://www.ceephax.co.uk/Music.htm

He also has an excellent collection of jumpers, (sweaters):

http://www.ceephax.co.uk/Ceedrobe%201.htm

Peer Review

I normally loathe group work, but peer reviewing is another story. Just having a 5 minute conversation with someone about a paper helps make the assignment feel like something that I've acknowledged as part of my life, rather than a task to be agonized over and then forgotten. Also, the suggestions of a friend or classmate encourage me to think of improvements as a much less daunting task. Looking at classmates essays also helps give me an idea what mine might look like. This way I'm less intimidated by the blank piece of paper in front of me. Marisa and Steve were very helpful! Good stuff.