Reaction to "Writing Good English" by William Zinsser
What is your personal reaction to what you learned about writing from your peers and from William Zinsser? Did anything surprise or puzzle you? Do you strongly agree or disagree with any suggestion? Explain why. Answer in paragraphs (but not an essay). Write no fewer than 150 words and no more than 200. Due in time for Wednesday's class. Bring a copy, word processed, please.
33 comments:
Rules from today's class:
1. Know your topic.
2. Know your grammar.
3. Show your ideas.
4. Use language that is accessible to most.
5. Don’t drift off topic. (coherence)
6. Use logic; cause of effect.
7. Be interesting; Don’t be boring.
8. You can’t be all things to all people.
9. Take risks.
10. Avoid repeating words, but use repetition for effect.
11. Adjust to the situation as necessary.
12. Make it easy to imagine through description.
13. Don’t forget you have an imagination.
Although the student rules created in class do not exactly match William Zinsser’s, they are still useful reminders. This class has created a wide ranging and useful set of ideas that will also result in good writing.
As far as Zinsser’s suggestions go, no doubt you’ve guessed that I chose the article because I personally agree with him. It’s interesting to note that, within our communities, there are two such radically different styles: the Latin filled writing that seems to intentionally confuse us and the Anglo Saxon writing used so effectively by both President Obama and the Bible.
But most importantly for me are a few of the things he says: that there are “words that are in our bones”; that being yourself is the best way to represent your humanity; that “simple is good.” I hope, personally, that my students will heed Zinsser’s advice and, as a result, become better (and more human) writers.
—153 words
I have learned from all of my English teachers that I should use simple words in writing like William Zinsser insisted in his article. Actually, I am still not sure about differences between Latin and Anglo-Saxon because English is my second or foreign language, which I have no background of English history.
I assume that simple words (Anglo-Saxon words) are very direct, and look like the vocabularies for elementary kids. During the class discussion, we think more about the writing structure than the use of languages. Perhaps it’s necessary to be good at writing, but still it’s also that I should tell my point directly first, and explain later. When I write something, I realize I need to be brave and responsible to tell my thoughts about it. Like Zinsser said “the hard part of writing isn’t the writing; it’s the thinking,” it is a great challenge for me to express what I think, and how I say.
Even though I have all this matters, I just try to figure out how to combine them with simple words for a good writing.
– 182 words
The list of rules for good writing that the students made in my English 12 class is similar to the one that I have used in my writing since I learned how to write good writing in my writing class. On the other hand, a few of those rules are a good reminder which are also related to William Zinsser’s principles of writing good English.
Nothing puzzled me in the list of rules or William Zinsser’s talk. However, I was surprised by a couple of his suggestions that helps me to see good writing in a different way. One of them is that common nouns and active verbs give a greater impact than fancy words and long sentences in composing good writing. He says, “When you use those words, you make contact - consciously and also subconsciously - with the deepest emotions and memories of your readers.”
What most impacted me from his talk, which I strongly agree with, are his four principles of writing good English. They are clarity, simplicity, brevity, and humanity. Before, I always felt the pressure to use fancy words and long sentences when I was writing something. However, with his advice, now I know what is the main thing to focus on writing.
- 208 words
A good writer was never born over the night. It takes a lot for someone to write in second or third language, but it is not impossible to become a good writer. We all can read and write, mostly because we go to school or because we work, but what makes a good writer? A Good writer is someone who can not only encourage you to read a story but also someone who could easily touch your heart. Expressing feelings and emotion makes writing always strong.
While we are writing an assignment or an in class exam, everyone is trying to use high grammar words to impress the teacher, although Mr. William Zinsser said “Simple is good. Writing is not something you have to embroider with fancy stitches to make yourself look smart.” I totally agree with that, in fact being simple is always a good way to success.
As he also mentioned that he could not imagine to write in second or third language, which shows me how much pressure is on my shoulder as a second language writer, however giving up isn’t an option and with some good advices you always could come up with a good story.
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I learned many good ideas about “What is good writing?” in both inside and outside classes. In last Friday’s class, we had an opportunity to share our ideas such as “know your topic; Use logic” etc. Although I know those rules already, they are good reminders. They are the nutrition to my bran; I hope them will stick in my mind eventually.
From the reading William Zinsser’s article, I gained great knowledge on writing good English. He examples it very clearly to us like the good and bad nouns. The good nouns express everyday life, and the active verbs strengthen the article. One crucial thing is that Zinsser illustrates the beauty of using active verbs. I like the way Zinsser explains his four principles of writing good English by giving the vivid detail explanations. ( Brad taught it in his writing classes years ago)
“Writing is learned by imitation”, Zinsser writes. I agree. However, in his fourth principle, Zinsser says, “Be yourself”. Imitating from great writers is a long process, but first one should write what he or she knows—“show your idea”.
(183 Words )
My personal reaction on the set of rule from “writing good English” and ‘what is good English” is double .Firstly I notice the strong similarities between the two that state clarity, simplicity, humanity, accessibility and logic as basic in good writing. Secondly, I notice how despite their similarities the two set of rule are different. The rules from “Writing good English” mostly focus on journalism, while the one from” what is good writing” focus on imagination. These differences are surprising as they are supposed to be the definition of “good writing”. The titles, for example (what is good English” and “writing good English”), imply a decisive answer to writing; which is not so. If the basic set of rule seems to be the same, the writing would be different in other kind of major form, genre and field of writing. What William Zinsser considers “bad nouns” or passive verbs” would probably become very useful and insightful in poetry drama and novel. Even, the class definition of writing would in many form of literature be too broad. In fact, I came up with the impression that the given definitions of writing were too specific or broad to be considered as definitive. They are necessary rules but we need to know when to apply them.
212 words
My personal reaction after reading William Zinsser article is: excellent advise! William Zinsser in “Writing Good English” indicates five strategies for plain writing. Those are very different from my knowledge and skill of writing. I know two languages, Romanian and Italian; both of them are latin language. My teachers constantly recommended to use “long, pompous nouns, fancy words “, and sentences to show how my writing “sound important” for a reader. I am very surprised when Zinsser said, “Simple is good,” or when he said, “Short is always better than long.” William Zinsser ideas are astonishing for me because his principles of writing are more clear and understandable than writing strategies of my Romanian teachers. William Zinsser is right, and his strategies make English writing smoother and swifter for any reader. He shows us that simple and precise English writing can be lovely. Reader prefers to understand what one writes rather than appreciate her ability to use a grand vocabulary. Simple vocabulary and short sentences promote an easy read. I totally agree with the rule that William Zinsser suggest to all of us, “short is better than long”. I really enjoyed reading William Zinsser article, because it is very simple and plain writing. I will try to use his four principles of writing good English, “clarity, simplicity, brevity and humanity”.
(207 words)
The article" writing good English" written by William zinsser talks about four most important elements required to write a good english paragraph: clarity, simplicity, brevity, and humanity. These four simple elements greatly impact my writing style as I was taught to use fancy words and complicated sentence structures. For years, writing is my biggest pain because it is extremely important since people is it everyday in various situations, and is very hard to attract readers or make it influential.
However, after finishing up the article, writing seems not so difficult any more. Neither fancy words nor complicated sentence structure are demanded for writing a good paragraph. Moreover, making a paragraph more understandable to average readers is enough. Thus, I will start writing as the article instructed, to be more simple, more clear, and more understandable.
Writing Good English
English is my first language, so I thought writing would be easy for me.
I was wrong. From what I saw as examples the fancier the words the
smarter it sounds. I was surprised when I read in William Zinsser’s
article “simple is good”. I can see why now I thought that, as every
letter you get in the mail sounds that way.
The rules we talked about in class differ a lot from the rules in
William’s article. I do agree with William’s advice to keep your words
simple. When someone uses big fancy words, it makes it hard to
understand. You lose the interest of your readers. The rules from class
are great too. They make a lot of sense and are easy to follow for
anyone.
The part of the article I love is the four principles that William talks
about, “Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity and Humanity”. Be clear, be simple,
keep it short, and be yourself. That is great advice that I will follow
with all my future writing.
Tips for Good writing
The article by William Zinsser changed my thoughts about the essential skills of good writing. Most surprising is that I used to think good writing is all about using rich vocabulary and complex sentences. However, Zinsser makes it clear by using four fundamental words to describe good writing. Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity and Humanity represents” good writing”.
Even though my peers and I came up with some important strategies of good writing, our strategies don’t exactly match Zinsser’s, who wrote about making the writing more interesting and simple. Zinsser mentions two styles of writing; the Anglo-Saxon which involves the “active verbs” and the Long-Latin sentences filled with “long nouns and passive verbs”. Zinsser states,” Simple is good, make the Anglo-Saxon verbs your best friends and avoid the long -Latin nouns”.
I personally agree with Zinsser’s ideas of writing good English because it’s straight forward and simple and become better writer in the future.
-160 words
In his article, William Zinsser cleared the vagueness about writing good English. He mentioned two writing styles: the Latin and the Anglo Saxon. He promotes the Anglo Saxon style that is simple and straight forward, also used effectively by Bible and President Obama.
I strongly agree with William Zinsser’s comment about “the hardest part of writing isn’t the writing; it’s the thinking”, because the biggest problem for the students is how to organize their ideas in form of good writing. I also like the idea of writing short sentences with period instead of making long sentences with the help of commas.
After reading this article, I believe that I have found the solution of my writing problem, and I have learned that it’s not necessary to use typical words to impress reader. In fact, being simple is the more expressive way of writing. William Zinsser’s four principles: clarity, simplicity, brevity and humanity help us to become a better writer in future.
-161 words
William Zinsser’s speech is very powerful for me to know about “Writing Good English”. Before that, I use passive verbs and more adjective in sentences. It seems as Chinese language. I do not know English’s essential requirement. Zinsser brings me to a new writing region. I am strongly agreed with clarity, simplicity, brevity, and humanity in sentences. It is an essential for English writing.
Nowadays, I will try to use Zinsser’s rule and suggestion. I found out that many stories and newspaper are using active verbs to describe and to announce. For me, it is a guideline for reading and writing.
But most importantly for me is humanity in writing. It is included the idea, concept, expression and thinking. Those are taking times to study and to practice. I must keep Zinsser’s advices in mind. The advices absolutely can improve my writing.—142 words
My personal reaction to what I learned from my peers is that good writing is based on standard criteria that we the students discussed in class on September 21st, and they were good reminders to keep in thought for future writes.
In the article for writing good English by William Zinsser I was surprised to know that the writing style I have at the moment is not so good, because I break many of the rules he gives like, making my entry too long and getting too complex in my vocabulary by using words people don’t use in a conversation.
I strongly agree with all of the rules we as a class brainstormed together and the five that William Zinsser mentioned in his article, because they are all standard and simple rules that any student can get better at by just practicing.
After I read the article “Writing Good English”, I feel the author, William Zinsser, is talking about something that as if I have already known, but much more than what I knew. His article gives a lot of good examples to illustrate his best tools and four principles (Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity), which I would recognize as a big help to my writing.
I used to use long, complicated words instead of short, simple ones because I thought it could add points to my writing. I feel a little surprised when I learned that the best tools for writing good English are short, active verbs and short Anglo-Saxon nouns.
I agree with William Zinsser that “The hard part of writing isn’t the writing; it’s the thinking.” When we are writing, we are talking to someone else through a paper. In addition to using the basic writing skills, we should put our feet in others shoes, think about what the readers want to know.
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I totally agree with the rules for writing good English mentioned by the class. They are basic reminders that we should keep in mind when we write.
As to Mr. Zinsser’s talk, he emphasizes on “Simple is good.”, “plain English”. It
reminds me that one of my English teachers said (about one year ago), “Don’t use
common words like good, nice, and beautiful in your writing. Try some other
words which are more specific and meaningful.” These two ideas sound contra
and make me feel puzzled at the beginning. Maybe they are talking two different
things: Mr. Zinsser advise us to use short verbs and nouns to bring out clarity and
vigor; the teacher requests us to learn more adjectives to create a vivid
imagination. Both are helpful suggestions. Anyway, we usually start from simple
when we learn, so “Simple is good.” and “Short is always better than long.” make
writing easier.
Hopefully I’ll keep all the rules and advices I learn in mind and practice accordingly
to improve my English writing.
English being my first language, I assumed the article “Writing Good English” by William Zinsser would hold little interest to me after I read the first page. I wish I came across this piece last year while in my Communications 12 class as I realize that it could very well be the most important writing lesson I can absorb to date.
Using Mr. Zinsser’s suggested techniques and the set of rules we came up with in class discussion, it would be interesting to review all my previous work for possible editing. I know that my instincts lead me to use large words which over-complicate sentences at times. Am I writing a story or a letter to the board of directors?
I foresee myself reading this article again and again, and plan to do so before I write any further literary works. Quoting the author, “writing is learned by imitation”.
(149 Words)
After reading eight pages of “Writing Good English” by William Zinsser, it automatically let me comparing with the rules which created in class on Friday. Two different definitions of writing good English are not exact the same, but both help me realized, known how to get better on English writing field.
I did get surprised by Zinsser’s article when he mentioned there are bad nouns and good nouns. I had never thought nouns could classify good and bad before the day I read “Writing Good English”. But then, I started understand what he meant by his clear examples. Bad nouns: the nouns which are unable to picture as well as Latin noun. Good nouns (Anglo-Saxon): the nouns express everyday life. I did also get confused when he used Latin and Anglo-Saxon for explanations. I couldn’t understand where the relationship is (perhaps I’m as second language speaker and never learn about English history).
I couldn’t more agree with Zinsser’s four principles: Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity. When I was in English 9, my teacher had always told me “KISS – Keep It Short and Simple”, and KISS was locked in my mind after that. And now, KISS matches with simplicity and brevity.
203 words
After listening to the classes’ ideas and reading William’s ideology, I feel partially divided on this issue. Many of the ideas from the class are restatements or slight variations of Williams’s cornerstones. For example, knowing your topic (#1) or grammar (#2) and showing your ideas (#3) are variations of clarity. Rules like “be interesting” (#7), “take risks” (#9), “Imagination” (#13), and “You can’t be all things to all people” (#8) are variations of humanity. However, William has a point, which is that our language has become so undefined and abstract that it no longer truly represents the original idea or thought. What truly surprised me was the down to earth tone saying that we shouldn’t write like stuck up egotistical elitists who are clueless about what they’re writing. That tone quickly created a sense of understanding between William and me. I strongly agree that brevity is sorely needed in modern writing after having countless novels boring me to death with endless details and minute actions that have little meaning on the overall whole. As said by Mikhail Kalashnikov, “Things that are complex are not useful, things that are useful are simple.”
191 Words
I think that the rules we came up with in class are all good, and they blend well with Zinsser’s rules. It all makes for good writing.
As I read what Zinsser had to say, I discovered that I use passive sentences in my writing. I did not understand what Passive sentence meant, until he pointed it out in some examples. My favorite comment is when he talks about a sentence being clean. Do not use extra or unnecessary words. “It’s all clutter”. I love the description of it being clutter, which is so true. It just makes it hard to read. His rule about Brevity is a bit confusing. When he says, “short words are better than long words”. An English teacher taught me the opposite of what Zinsser mentions. To use a Thesaurus and find fancier words with the same meaning, like numerous instead of many, to build up vocabulary and creativeness. I do agree with trying to keep the sentence short, but if a long word fits me, I will use it. Brevity is a fancy word for brief.
I love writing, and I will apply William Zinsser’s rules, to help me perfect my writing skills.
After discussing writing experiences in other cultures and reading William Zinsser’s, I make sense with writing good English. I strongly agree with William Zinsser’s four principles of writing: Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity.
When I have to strive on to find the long pompous words to embroider my articles, William undoubtedly encourage me that I can write good English without florid words. William shows many examples of writing by using short active verbs: plain Anglo-Saxon. They activate our five senses and make our article being clear and vigorous.
Another different way William gives me is simple and brevity. His examples of Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama persuade me that the simple and short sentences are the best in many situations.
The most important for me is humanity. He says: “Be yourself”, “Your product”. The reader can see who I am not somebody else by reading my article.
William points out an easy and right way of writing good English, I am no long afraid with writing.
-168 words
A piece of writing full of vocabulary (with huge and complex words) always catches my eyes. Sometimes, I don’t get the meaning of some long pompous words, but still used to consider it a well organized and sophisticated approach of writing. Conversely, I’m surprised to know that how simple and short words can make any writing effective for reader.
I strongly agree with Zinssers’s suggestion of using Anglo Saxon writing, which is mainly based on short active verbs. On the other hand, Latin writing emphasizes passive and long verbs, which creates obscurity in writing. He further says, “Active verbs give momentum to a sentence and push it forward”; I also believe that a sentence having short active verbs maintain its simplicity and keep rhythm in reading. Similarly, writing is a powerful tool to reflect the facts to the reader, the more you are natural, the more you are impressive.
All four principles of writing good English: Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity, define the fundamentals to progress in writing. I believe, by adopting these rules I can achieve depth and warmth in my future writing. However, I’ve learned that expressing ideas with simple words can make all the difference for writer.
___200 words
William Zinsser piece about good writing taught me a little more about English history and a good writing. I used to know that English is an international language and it came from Britain or England. After reading Mr. Zinsser lecture I learned about the two main sources of English, Latin and Anglo-Saxon.
I found it funny how Mr. Zinsser described the Latin words, “Enemy words.” I am surprised by his rule of good writing which is completely opposite what I used to know. I was thinking fancy and long word or sentences make the writer look more professional, but it wasn’t true.
I agree with Mr. Zinsser, “Short is better than long.” and “Simple is good.” Short and simple words or sentences are easy to understand. I remember one time, I got a mail from a bank and it was full of long sentences and complicated words. I used dictionary to understand the meaning of those Latin words. I hope everyone follows Mr. Zinsser’s rule (Anglo-Saxon words) on their writing. It’s clear and simple.
-174 words
I like the idea of William Zinsser about writing good English. He tells exactly what I feel most time when I write in English. In order to deliver easy messages to wide range of people, we must write “clearly, simply, concisely, and humanly,” according to his suggestions. It is fundamental rules of English usage in our modern world. Old way of English, Shakespeare’s writing style, Latin style writing looks more beautiful and musical; however, this is not as strong as the Anglo Saxon writing. Hence, if you write simply, you will attract more audience. I guess the purpose of good writing is making the readers to follow, not to make you look smart. As long as I remember those simple rules, I will not be a friend of Shakespeare’s. One of his quotes regarding good English writing is “There’s no sentence too short to be acceptable in the eyes of God.” It is strongly agreed and makes me worry free of writing English.
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Steven Kim
Our In-class discussion was a good approach for reading Writing Good English. We talk about a part of logic which Zinsser worried as “death of logical thinking.” He says writing is linear and sequential, not from random images on a screen; he corrected my misunderstanding precisely.
Understanding English in Latin and Anglo-Saxon was interesting, and Zinsser’s analysis in “suffocating” Latin words was helpful to choose words for writing later. It was funny when he shortens such long sentences on letters from a private club or his old school. Also, I found explanations about some questions, drifting in my head for a long time, in his comparisons in good/bad nouns and active/passive verbs.
I like Joe DiMaggio’s story and passages from Slouching Toward Bethlehem because they give me clear pictures with simple sentences. I learned that “short is always better than long,” but how I can adapt it in my writing especially when I’m a messy writer? “The hard part of writing isn’t the writing: it’s the thinking,” and organizing simply which is true. (173 Words)
After reading William Zinsser's talk about writing good English, I was interested in what was said about how some people could write with such long syllable words, which did surprise me and honestly, I had a few laughs hearing about using unnecessary words with his own translation attached for anyone else to understand. Zinsser had a point about sounding pretentious with the words that were not critical to have for such readers that could just be satisfied with the simple translation, like when his broker's letter really said "It took longer than we thought it would to make our office operate better", that letter had a lot of huge words but was better off being simplified for a more effective response.
I did strongly agreed that we, the readers, would like "to picture specific people like ourselves" so that we can understand from the first time we read into something that wanted to be mentioned to others, and by using the rule given about using good nouns that are short and simple, we can grab the attention of our audience.
Ryan Parker
180 words
Not everyone is exactly alike. In my opinion it comes naturally for some people and for others it’s just an idea; however by hard work and practice you can succeed. No good writing ever comes from those who are unwilling to write.
What makes the writing good? I think good writing is when the writer takes you deep into his / her world.
Reading through “Writing Good English” by William Zinsser I read many interesting things that he had mentioned through his experience with foreign students. I totally agree with him when he says, “English it’s plain and it’s strong, there are many ways of using it wrong”. I also agree with him when he states, “It may also be cultural and political”. In some countries you could get in trouble if you use some word either because of its culture or political views and that scares a lot people. They can’t write what they have on their mind and that become a habit to them. I think no matter in what language you want to write whether in Arabic, Spanish or English if you have a strong imagination you can achieve success. It’s just all about unlocking your inner creative mind.
[202 Words]
When I finished my reading for William Zinsser suggestion for a good writing, it made me think about the difference between my first language “which is Arabic” and the English language. I noticed from checking my previous writing in some sentences I was thinking in Arabic and writing in English. The main point that I want to write about was understandable but it was not good as I imagine it.
Now I have another rule to add to our list; which is Think in English and write in English.
I totally agree with William Zinsser, when he said “the biggest problem that paralyzes students is not how to write; it’s how to organize what they are writing”, then he talks about a million notes and a million quotes. It made me go back again to my previous homework and read some of them again. And there they are the a million notes and the million quotes need to be organized.
Frankly speaking I know most if not all William Zinsser suggestion. Almost all the teachers tell us to do that. But he spoke about it in a different way.
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I remember when we made our own list in class on Friday of thirteen points to be a good way to write good English. But when reading this article today, there were also four principles I found to be helpful as well that I didn’t really know it existed until reading the article. And it was said on page four by Mr. Zinsser himself, they are Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity.
English being my first language I always thought writing would be easy, but apparently it isn’t for some (like me) while others have no problem at all. After reading the eight long pages of “Writing Good English” by William Zinsser there were a lot of good points that I really liked. The most important thing I have learned from Mr. Zinsser’s article is his four principles.
Therefore, I believe anyone can be a better writer when it comes to Writing Good English if we can use the four principles and the other thirteen tips.
-165 words-
Reading this article helped me see how I can be a good English writer. It provides us with a lot of valuable advice and shows us that even though it is not easy, anybody (no matter where you come from) can write good English following his advice.
I like the way in which Zinsser points out, that usually we define “good writing” accordingly to the culture and political issues in the countries where we come from. This point made think about this country (Canada), and agree and at the same time disagree with Zinsser when he says that “Latin derived words are the enemy”. Sure they might be the “enemy” but it is almost impossible to avoid them because they are so embedded not only in the language but also in the society of this country.
Finally, I agree with all the rules he provides in this article. Especially, with the rule of “humanity”; I believe that we should always try to be ourselves. I believe that William Zinsser’s “simple tools of the English language” are truly a treasure if we learn how to use them correctly. I hope that now, I will be a better writer following his rules.
-200 words
After reading about how to write good English from William Zinesser, I feel clear and confused the same time. I discovered that the English language has both Anglo-Saxon and Latin roots. I found it was pretty confusing for me to figure out the difference between these two words. However, I do have some clues about four principles of writing good English according to him, which are Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity and Humanity. It sounds pretty easy to follow these principles, however, I do not think it is easy to do so. I realize the hardest part in writing good English is learning how to make the words easy for the readers to understand as well as simple and strong.
Since English is not my first language, I will face more difficulties than those who have been spoken and written English since Grade 1. William also found it is rather hard to write in a secondary language. My writing skills will have to improve a lot. Good English grammar and vocabulary are still a huge challenge for me, and the most important part is to think in English while I write in English.
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Yi (Lisa) Zhang
Maryan abdi
What is good writing?
throughout my years of school I’ve learnt the six basic rules to good writting would be ,inserting comas, periods and capitols in each sentence. Helps readers understand where a sentence starts and ends. Proper grammar. Improper grammar can confuse people. Having quotations in your writing helps you prove your point. Keeping your vocabulary simple. Having to many hard words can over complicate your writing. Keeping your audience interested. Try and add personal experiences that will grab reader’s attention. Strong start and finish. The start is where you try and prove your points. The end you summarize them and tell us why. All these rules make you a good writer.
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