Since Dustin Heap did not publish his reading summary, here's one from another section. The comments are due this Friday, Jan. 23rd.
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Hi! It’s my turn to do the summary for the day, so here we go. “Sharpening”, the selection we had to read was from the same book we read about Engfish from, Telling Writing by Ken Marcrorie.
A lot of what Marcrorie discusses in this section expands on what he started mentioning in Engfish. Remember how Marcrorie talked about how we tried to make overly wordy sentences that didn’t really mean anything? Marcrorie discusses in this section ways to “sharpen” our sentences, or to make them sound better, and this process really will make our sentences sound less “Engfishy”.
One of the main points Marcrorie makes is using active verbs instead of passive verbs. Instead of using a lot of linking verbs like ‘is’, we should try to use action verbs that suit what we’re saying instead.
Example:-- Reading this section is assisting us in becoming better writers. (Passive verb phrase is assisting.)Versus-- Reading this section improves our writing style.
Clearly, the second one sounds a lot more convincing. It also cuts down on the number of unnecessary words, which was one of the main aspects of Engfish.
The other main point that Macrorie brings up is all the use of unnecessary words and the overuse of the pronoun ‘it’. Rather than beating around the bush by saying things like ‘It seems that reading this will help me’, Macrorie argues that we should just get to the point and say ‘Reading this will help me’. By avoiding all the extra words, we sound a little more authoritative, don’t you think? We also sound a lot more convincing, or at least that’s how it seems to me, and I can’t really think of any situation where we wouldn’t want to sound convincing in our writing.
Obviously, passive verbs and ‘it’ can’t always be avoided, but we should always try to avoid them in situations where we could be using better and more colorful words!
For discussion:What did you think about the article? Have you had any experience with writing that needs a little sharpening, or maybe have you seen instances in which you’ve used a lot of “its”, “seems”, and passive verbs yourself? (I know I’m guilty of it!) What do you think is the best way to try to avoid this? (Since these aren’t really errors, I know it’s a lot harder for me to catch myself doing it. I mean, I just used the word ‘it’ and ‘is’ in that sentence!) If you have any other thoughts, too, you can just put them here.
Thanks!--Laura Treat
20 comments:
Just by reading the first 3 pages of this article I could see eactly where the author is coming from. The expamples of a revision and the original helped show how some people do write. I never noticed this in my writing, but it is almost gaurenteed if I were to go back I would see it almost immediatly. This article goes perfect with Engfish. It helps expand the idea of how people are writing and how people should write. It also stressed the importance of revision after revision, which even though it is very time consuming, it can make such a difference in someone's writing. Cutting away all the extra fancy words to sound how we think the teacher wants us to sound would make each paper straight forward and to the point. It also will help people show emotion more than beating around the bush.These 2 articles so far are very helpful. I wish we were taught this more early on in grade school.
At the beginning of the article, I felt that I finally understood this idea of Engfish. I saw the negative effect it has on your meaning. I felt that I had a better grasp on the idea and could apply my new found knowledge in the future.However, as the article went on it became way more involved. Many words became associated with Engfish writing. It was hard to keep track of how one's writing can suddenly become Engfish writing. I then understood why he explained the difficulty of writing more efficently. I feel that this article did help me understand the topic more than I did before. Although, I have many more new questions.
I thought it was important for Marcrorie to explain that sometimes, in context, Engfish writing is necessary. I think that this is a important piece of information that we must remember. If Engfish has a purpose, use it. However, my thoughts on this subject are biased. I enjoy Engfish writing. I like all the words.
Reading Marcrorie's article, "Sharpening" really opened my eyes. Everytime I write a paper using Microsoft Word it shows errors. When I click on the error it almost always shows passive wording. I would always ignore it because I did not really know how to fix it. After reading this article, I now know how to avoid this problem. So hopefully in the future I can avoid this problem.
Daniel Sokolowski
This article was much clear compared to the original Engfish article. The article showed me where and how I actually use engfish within my own writing. This will make me more conscious on my future writings. I have a habit of writing a paper at the last minute and turning the paper in without proof reading it. I have always known proof reading is important to better my writing, and that revisions will almost always have to be made. But, catching the errors discussed in the article will cut back on future revisions.
Reading this reading I could finally understand what the differences are in peoples writing. There were many examples that taught me some new ways, of writing better. Revising your own writing can help immensely, while giving you perhaps even more ideas to add to your writing.
The concept of Engfish is something I think I have always been aware of without being able to name what was bothering me about some writing. In high school, we were actively taught to write in Engfish for the state writing test, which required copious amounts of "vivid" words for a good evaluation. Though I know I am guilty of writing in Engfish more often than I like, I never agreed with the way the state educators wanted me to write. While it's a good thing that students are writing and trying to please teachers with a language meant to impress, the students (and teachers and everyone else) have become conditioned to a bloated style devoid of meaning.
I found this article very interesting. I've never really given much thought to "sharpening" my writing skills. The same goes for using active verbs instead of passive ones. The way a student is taught, is the way he/she is going to write throughout life, until corrected. At least, that is how it is in my case. As for it and is, I find it difficult to NOT use them in sentences. I'll have to train myself to use other words, that will take some practice.
The part of the article that addresses revisions, is something that I read carefully. I am guilty of rarely revising a paper. It's never hurt me in the past, but I think it would be wise for me to break that habit.
Good Article! I've been bamboozled! As if writing a paper wasn't diffucult enough. I thought that's what my teachers wanted. I've been told that I need to expound on whatever the topic was. Now I realize that I am guilty of using "Engfish". In as much as I try to "sharpen" my papers, it's hard to correct something that I unconsciously do. While writing this blog I've been fighting the temptation to use "Engfish". If mastered,"Sharpening" will make my points clear and concise thus avioding unnecessary words. Thanks Mr.Marcrorie.
I've learned a lot after reading the article "Sharpening". I find this reading to be useful in every day writing, and would recommend this to anyone interested in writing or sharpening their skills. I am a person who uses a lot of these errors discussed in this reading. I tend to use many "unnecessary" and "weasel" words as the author mentions. A good way to avoid usage of unnecessary words might include proof-reading, and revising sentences. So far, "Engfish" and "Sharpening" have given me a better understanding in writing. Now I can be aware of dull and boring words that have no meaning and are of little use.
After reading this article I have come to the conclusion that I, myself, am completely guilty of using too many words to try and get my point across. I'm sure this comment will be littered with unnecessary words; that is just a habit that I need to try extremely hard to break, and after becoming aware of its categorization ("sharpening") I definitely will pay more attention.
After reading this article I discovered that I have been writing like that for quite some time. In college most students are plainly just trying to fill up the paper and not really thinking about what they are writing. This will change the way I write and force me to revise my writings more and try to sound clearer.
After reading the article, I realize that I fall into the category of people who use extra words when not needed, only to make their papers seem longer than they really are. That sentence alone most likely is way too long than what it should be. However, reading “ Sharpening” I get a better understanding of what it will take in order to make my papers in the future more clear and to the point. I admit it will be hard to break the habit, but now that I’m aware of what I’ve done for so long isn’t the correct way of writing I will be conscious to avoid from making the same mistakes in the future.
This article was very interseting! After reading the article "Sharpening" I have realized how much I truely do use the words, "it" and "is". Before reading this article I really was not aware of how many times I say it, or is. I guess before I just overlooked the words because I was so used to using them. I think after this reading I will be much more aware of how often I use these words and try not to use them as much in a paper! (It is going to so hard)!
As for the part of the article about revising, I have learned it is best for me to have someone else read over my paper after I have fixed it to where I think it is perfect; because by this time I know what I am trying to say and I usually look over the simplest errors!
I understand completely what this article is talking about. I typically find when writing a paper that I have to go back through and "sharpening" my papers. I always find that I get wordy at first, mostly becuase I have these ideas in my head that I'm trying to properly translate onto paper, and the sentence structure gets sloppy in translation. I think it is important to use active verbs rather than passive ones becuase it cuts a lot more straight to the point, and it is much more readable.
This whole Engfish thing is very interesting. Opps I mean this Engfish thing sparks a lot of intereset. Im sorry I had to correct myself. I never realized how much a sentence could change just from the removal of a two letter word. Reading and comparing them reminds me of comparing name brand to off brand items. The off brand items may get the job done but having the name brand item just looks feels and sounds so much better. I wonder why I have never heard of Engfish before? You would think Americas educational system would not chizzle into your brain rules of grammar and in turn have you sounding like a robot.
I believe this article was easy to understand. The examples provided were easy to comprehend. I know I write sentences and I have to go back and rewrite them because I found a way to shorten it. This was a very good article to read because it is helpful. I am really learning something thanks to these readings. I agree with the student who said these things should be taught in elementary school or even high school. Elementary school would be better because the students would learn it sooner and pick it up faster.
This article ties in with engfish. I now clearly see what the problem with engfish is and the point that sharpening makes. I am guilty of using too many passive verbs and a lot of it's in some of my past writing. Action verbs always have more impact when it is possible to use them. I have read many articles, some of them assigned by professors, that take all day to say something that could be summed up in about one to two paragraphs instead of dragging things out to two to three pages in some cases. I think the reason so much of this goes on is in some cases professors and/or bosses expect a certain length out of an article and students/employees focus more on just saying enough to fill up the requirements with "filler words" instead of filling their writing with straightforward sentences. I wish I had been made aware of this sooner so I could have made my writing skills even better.
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