Personal Reaction to Class Activity and William Zinsser's "Writing Good English"
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 rule or suggestion?
Explain why in a
paragraph of between 150 and 200 words.
Quote Zinsser twice and include at
least one quote from pages 1 through 7 in your answer.
35 comments:
Six Rules
Writing should have good structure.
Stay focussed while writing (avoid straying from the topic).
Titles need to be simple, clear, short, specific and reflect what is
actually in the piece.
Try to keep your readers interested by becoming more specific and using
details that you have predicted would be interesting to others.
(audience)
Coherence is important to good writing. Think of it as a “train”
and your good grammar and transitions are the couplings that hold it all
together.
Logic.
Use an accessible vocabulary that most of your audience will know
automatically. KISS (keep it simple sweetheart).
Prewriting is as important or more important than the writing itself.
Proofread; do it backwards; use a ruler to hide the other writing.
It has been interesting to compare your ideas with William Zinssers’s and ponder my reactions. Your first rule about structure (and in particular about coherence) is a good match to one of his, based on the idea that “You can solve most of your writing problems if you stop after every sentence and ask: What does the reader need to know next?” As far as Zinsser’s other advice, no doubt you’ve guessed that I find it compelling. 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 important 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 that my students will heed Zinsser’s advice and, as a result, become better (and more human) writers.
—172 words
Agreeable Advice
-Steve-
After reading, "Writing Good English." I was surprised about her original advices but agreed them. Zinsser said, "Latin words will strangle and suffocate everything you write." I thought it was weird to stop using part of english word. However, now, that was agreeable because some abstract Latin words were not commonly used among english second language people, so writing those words in the writing would limit the range of reader. On the other hand, our class agreed that writing with accessible vocabularies was good way in writing. I also agreed that it was convenient to use active verbs for reader because when you wrote, "The food was eaten by me," it looked awkward to read and emphasized "food". In addition, I admit that english writing need to be clear. For instance, Zinsser mentioned that she couldn't picture the word, "the affordable housing," in the sentence, "A major immigrant concern is the affordable housing situation." ;therefor, the sentence need to be clear. So, I can get useful informations in writing: abstaining use of Latin words, using active verb and writing clearly.
-179 words
What is "Good English"?
Reading and seeing William Zinsser’s perspective on “Good English” was an eye-opening experience. I agree with him on many topics. For example, Zinsser says, “What’s considered ‘good writing’ in Spanish is not ‘good writing’ in English”. English being my second language, it was quite hard to learn despite the fact that I was born in Canada. That -paired with the fact that I speak 3 other languages asides from English- can mess with my mind sometimes and I find myself confusing sentence structure, grammar, and vocabulary at times. If sentences were short and simple, I would probably not find myself (and others!) having this problem. Although I like Zinsser’s advice that “simple is good”, I disagree because it is not realistic. Writing simple sentences is ideal for anyone (especially foreigners), but realistically, intricate and advanced sentences are used in everyday situations such as: schools, banks, and letters. My favourite piece of advice that Zinsser gives would have to be “Be yourself. Never try in your writing to be someone you’re not”. This is so true because many people get lost in their work trying to portray a completely different character or seem more professional and their writing loses that special “touch”. Overall, I’m glad I got to see Zinsser’s insight and hope that my writing will improve by following his advice.
[220 words]
Pavi M
English 12
After hearing from my classmates and reading William Zinsser’s “Writing Good English” I have learn so much. One of the most interesting things I came across was how everyone from different countries have different rules to writing good. Mr. Zinsser wrote “When I asked him about Arabic, said ‘it’s all proverbs. We talk in proverbs. People say things ‘What you are seeking is also seeking you’” Also in Spanish language it’s good to write long nouns that express the ideas. Mr. Zinsser mentions it in his writing also “What’s considered ‘good writing’ in Spanish is not ‘good writing’ in English.” I also found that a lot of my classmate agreed on keeping it simple is key to a “good writing” and how William Zinsser also mentioned it in his article at the end “Short is better than long. Simple is good.” Overall it was a very fun and interesting lesson to learn. Not just in writing good English, but learning how other countries write also.
(165 Words)
Eddy
Simple and Clear
It has been surprising to compare my group's ideas with William Zinsser's because our group mentioned similar points with Mr. Zinsser did. One of our ideas about "uses short simple words" is a good match to Mr. Zinsser's idea that "Short words are better than long words. Don't say currently if you can say now. Don't say assistance if you can say help." Using long words might be help you win some respects but also bring misunderstanding. Simple words can help readers to understand better and build more strong ideas if the writer chooses words more suitably. Our group also mentioned "Good writing describes the whole story clearly". This is also similar with Mr. Zinsser says "First, Clarity. If it's not clear you might as well not write it. You might as well stay in bed." The writer could use different strategies to lead the reader to the end to fully understand the whole story's meaning, but good writing makes things clearly. So, I was surprised after reading "Writing Good English" by William Zinsser because our group mentioned some of his topics such as "Short is better than long" and "Clarity".
-191 words
Reaction of Writing Rules by Zinsser
I benefited greatly from the rules of writing good English that are summerized by Zinsser in his talkto the coming students of Journalism. I like his idea about " Short is better than long, and simple is good." It’s important to use simple and clear words in our sentences-- especially in journalism writing-- so that the readers can understand clearly since they are from groups with different levels of education. When we open a newspaper or a website, the headline appears first. If the title is too hard to understand , we might skip it . Therefore, Zinsser used lots of words to describe the value and importance about his four rules of good writing : clarity , simplicity, brevity and humanity. Otherwise , I have my personal disagreement . Although that is useful in writing , it isn’t appropriate to all styles. There are still many decorative ornate descriptions in some famous novels , poems and legal documents. The authors used complex hard words and expressions because of the different situations. Not all Zinsser's rules can be used anywhere and anytime. A smart writer should adapt his works with different styles in different occasions just as we should wear formal dress in a magnificent dinner party instead of a T-shirt. That is my reaction of recommendation of Zinsser. (224 words)
Writing Good English
To compare our group discussion with William Zinsser's advice about “writing good English” is interesting; it helps me to think wisely in my writing. In our discussion, we suggest a rule and we think a good writing should follow it, which is “making word or sentence alive.” This rule is based on the idea of attracting the reader's attention. In Zinsser's notes, he mentions 5 times within two pages about living person should be in a good writing, so we can “picture” that. He says, “as reader we want to be able to picture specific people like ourselves.” This advice gives us a specific instruction of how to make writing alive. As far as Zinsser's other advice, they are very practical also. How to end a sentence is a problem for me, actually, I am afraid my sentence is too short to be good. When I read Zinsser describes the long sentence could stray us “into a wildernesses that seems to have no road back out,” I see myself in that midst. He suggests: “Let the humble period be your savior.” He also says no sentence is too short to be acceptable. What a wonderful and simple way to resolve writing problem! I believe by following certain rules, like Zinsser's, my writing will be better and “alive”.
(217 words)
Useful Writing Tips I Learned
Comparing William Zinsser's “Writing Good English” with our group members’ discussion is a wonderful experience. It gives me a different understanding of English writing. Some of Zinsser’s ideas are similar as our group’s opinions. For instance, Zinsser mentioned, “If it’s not clear you might as well not write it. You might as well stay in bed.” Our group members think clear topic or theme is the soul of paragraph. The writing would be spiritless if the topic is ambiguous. As well, Zinsser said “Short is always better than long.” Our group members think it is better to use short sentence. Long sentence with fancy words can be impressive, but it sometimes burdens the structure and confuses the reader. However, there is an idea never occurred to us. Zinsser said, “You can solve most of your writing problem if you stop after every sentence and ask: What does the reader need to know next?” In the course of writing a paragraph, sometimes we forget our original purpose. This insightful rule is a compass to direct us back to topic. All above, I appreciate the chance to learn Zinsser’s writing rules, and I will use these useful tips to improve my writing.
(200 words)
Una Cui
Which Rules Should We Follow?
Lauren
No matter where we come from, composing well-written essays is our goal; thus, the title “Writing Good English”, written by Zinsser, catches my eyes in a second. I can't agree more with his incredible tips: using Anglo-Saxon active verbs and four rules- Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity. During valuable discussions in the class, our peers also admired his point "Simple is good." However, I'm uncertain about his suggestions. Zinsser insisted that "get rid of every element in your writing that's not doing useful work." I was confused by the definition of "useful" because information could be essential or unnecessary depending on our perspectives (as a writer or reader). Additionally, this teacher requested the international students to not "say anything in writing that you wouldn’t comfortably say in conversation.” Nonetheless, those story telling methods have different approaches in delivering our views. In writing, we need to describe more details with delicate expressions whereas we can speak with some body languages instead of specific words. I'm only a humble student; Zinsser was an expert; therefore, perhaps my analysis on his idea was incorrect. In spite of those puzzling statements, his article would phenomenally assist me in my future composing. (197words)
Principles of Good Writing
The group discussion and the handout about William Zinsser's advice to writing gave me idea of what is good writing . It is amazing that other countries has their own way on how to make a good writing. One of the group member said “ In China, we don't change the word to past tense or present tense, it's always the same and we add the time to make it past or present tense”. In Iran, they usually use: metaphor, simile, personification, and hyperbole. We also talked about some rules that we all agreed – simple and short- which is also similar to Zinsser's advice. I strongly agree with Zinsser's four principles of good writing. These are Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity. The sentences should be clear and easy to understand. Be simple and direct so that it is not long. Zinsser also mentioned “writing is learned by imitation; we all need models”. In this matter, we should not forget his fourth principle ( humanity) and be yourself. The rules of good writing in other countries are unique, but we can make it simple and short if we will follow Zinsser's four principles.
188 words
William Zinsser, by demonstrating writing samples, detailed examples, and a few questionable ideas has made the six rules easier to understand. He’s stated that Latin and Angelo-Saxon words are two main sources that form English and says, “The words derived from Latin are the enemy—they will strangle and suffocate everything you write. Also, he’s encouraged us to use simple, ordinary words by saying, “Don’t say currently if you can say now. Don’t say assistance if you can say help. Don’t say numerous if you can say many.” His idea of using words that are "in our bones"(including, boring ad tired verbs) contradicts with my teachers’ advice—strong words make a writing come alive! I believe, Writing simple is good if written in a literate way with or without Latin words; Latin words are the inseparable part of English and must be present to complete the language. I’ve learned from Zinsser’s valuable thoughts and will try to enhance my writing skills by following some of his rules.
--176words
Good Writing
After reading the long writing by William Zinner on “Good Writing,” I have learned several good writing techniques. For instance,I learned that what is considered good writing in other languages might not be considered good writing in English. As William Zinner mentioned : “what is considered “good writing” in Spanish is not “good writing” in English.’’ This surprised me the most because it taught me that every language has different style of writing. Mr Zisser’s suggestions are really inspiring and motivating. He states that “Simple is good” but most writer use complicated and intricate sentences for their official letters. I think such people are trying to show off their language skills but our class agreed that simple writing is the best way to communicate with a reader for better and clear understanding. He writes “be yourself’, although some people try to represent a different character to prove themselves as of better character.I completely agree that being yourself in your writing is the best tool to clarify your identity and your personality .He mentioned that “one thought per sentence”. I agree that it is essential to give one thought per sentence to avoid reader confusion. I will try my best to follow his meaningful advice and suggestion to improve my English writing.
215 words
I was eager to read the eight pages handout by William Zinsser about “Writing Good English” because he mentioned a lot of logical points on how to write a good one. During our discussion, we mentioned some of the tips William Zinsser pointed out but not as sensible as his advises. I was really surprised such that writing simple sentences with short words are more acceptable. I raised my eyebrows in disbelief with the information I read since in the Philippines, sentences with fancy words are more admirable. Further, complex composition is considered a good written output. This is clearly the exact opposite to the teachings of William Zinsser. He kept the notion of simplicity is the best policy when it comes to writing. Another thing that amazed me was the fourth principle which he relate writing to humanity. As per quotation, “Don’t lose that person by putting on airs, trying to sound superior.” Among all of the quotes he mentioned, this one had to be the most striking line to me. Writing is like a living human being: by simply being yourself, ceasing vanity, and letting go of whatever fear you have. I embedded these words in my brain cells and hoping in the long run I can be a better human story teller thru effectively composing my own piece.
(220 words)
While reading "Writing Good English" by William Zinsser, I found myself nodding in agreement to many of the suggestions he made. I noticed that in our group discussion we came up with some rules that even he stated. Zinsser wrote "Readers only process one thought at a time, so give them time to digest the first set of facts you want them to know. Then give them the next piece of information they need to know, which further explains the fact." Which ties in with our rule that coherence is important to good writing, to think of it as a "train". One thought ties in with the next and so on. For Zinsser's fourth principle he says "Be yourself. Never try in writing to be someone you're not." When I read that, I had to stop and think for a moment. I think that is a very powerful suggestion. Once you try to over extend your abilities, the audience gets lost and whatever point you were trying to prove in your writing gets misconstrued in a mix up of words. He states in the article three to four times that "simple is good." and I couldn't agree more. Through simplicity readers will be able to clearly see the point of any writing.
(212 words)
NANCY NGUMO
Good Writing
Comparing my peers’ opinion to Zinsser’s advice about,“Writing Good English” greatly refashioned my reasoning. I was puzzled when Zinsser mentioned that,“Good Writing,” in Spanish is not what is considered “Good Writing” in English. For instance, according to Zinsser’s advice, Spanish writers use long sentences and melodious long nouns that express a general idea. Apparently, using adjectives and decorative language destroys good writing In English .First, I agree to Zinsser’s and my peer advice that,“ Simple is good”. For instant, a writer should avoid using complex fancy word that make it challenging for any reader to comprehend. Second, the reason why I slightly disagree is because, “ Simplicity,” does not apply to other languages like Spanish , also I f you write plain English in some other part of the world, people will think you are stupid .Zinsser’s advice on, “ Writing Good English” is a powerful tool for writers. If people can take heed of his advice, it will absolutely enhance their writing skills. I will surely use his advice to improve my writing.
179 WORDS
I have obtained special tools for my writing from “Writing Good English”. My small group members and I agreed of the importance of simplicity in our writing, but we didn’t know clearly how to get it. However, William Zinsser promised me through his prose, “If I could write an article using only active verbs, my article would have clarity and warmth and vigor.” He pointed out the power of active verbs in my English writing. In fact, I had thought, many figurative expressions (adjectives, nouns) might help my poor English writing look better and stronger although I missed the power of active verbs in my sentences. Now, I realize that without the power of active verbs I can’t have a clear sentences with vigor in my English writing—“No momentum, no push.” Moreover, he gave me a better understanding about the beauty of short, active verbs through Thoreau’s sentences. It clearly showed us that “Short is always better than long.” Hence, I will focus to practice my English with my “best tools” from Zinsser to keep simplicity with vigor in my English writing.
Words 191
An Effective and Practical Advice
Group discussion and William Zinsser’s “Writing Good English” were very useful and practical for me. In the group discussion, most of the members mentioned about grammar, structure, and simple words. I was surprized that we had similarities quite much although we had different background. Throughout William Zinsser’s article, I realized my English writing style: almost used simple “Anglo-Saxon” words instead of suffocating and strangling “Latin” ones, often used passive verbs, and tried to express what I meant more than one in one sentence. Furthermore, comparing my classmates’ writing and mine, mostly I was disappointed, frustrated, and discouraged about my writing because mine was too simple, the flow of writing was not natural, and there was limited point of view. Despite the weakness of me like those, he gave to me hope that I can improve my writing skills through his advice: “short is better than long,” “Simple is good,” and “The Anglo-Saxon words will set you free.” His advice and group discussion were effective and functional for my writing.
-171 words
Writing Good English Reaction
After I read the “Writing Good English” handout, it was interesting and surprising to compare my group ideas with William Zinssers's. This is because what I learned about writing from my group discussion had one similarity to Zinsser’s. For example, one of Zinsser’s rules is “Short is always better than long.” had a similar idea from my group. We thought people using fancy long sentences to impress readers. If it isn’t done properly, it will confuse the reader. I was surprised, but strongly agree with Zinsser’s rule about “Simple is good. Most students from other countries don’t know that. ” because I was the one of them as I thought using simple sentences would make me look stupid. Also, I agree with his idea about “Be yourself.” because I usually try to write more literary and more complex sentences to make myself more like a native English writer. However, I don’t believe it works because I usually end up using the wrong words. I found Zinsser’s advice to be very useful and hopefully it will help me improve my English writing in the future.
--188 words--
After reading William Zinsser’s tips, I have found not only similar points but also surprised points compared with what we were discussing in class. First of all, we all agree that organization is an important element for writing. In fact, students do not have good essays unless they are well-organized on their writings. Zinsser said” [students] go out on the story, and they gather a million notes…and they come back they have no idea what the story is about.” Although they have interesting ideas, deeply understanding about the topic, they may easily get lost if they do not know how to organize their works logically. On the other hand, I was quite surprised when Zinsser advised that “[Using] short, plain, action verbs…would [make your writing] automatically have clarity and warmth and vigor.” As other students, I thought that it is better to use long, academic words because they show a higher ability of English usage. However, I may be wrong. Thanks to his advice as well as my classmates’ advice, I have had different views about how to write well in English, and I am sure that these useful rules will significantly help me improve my writing skills.
(198 words)
One of the writing rules my classmates emphasized is to “use an accessible vocabulary that most of the audience will know automatically.” This rule coincides with William Zinsser’s good writing principle --“Brevity.” In his examples, those many words Zinsser opposed are either long with more syllables or obscure Latin words. He strongly recommends the short Anglo-Saxon words, which are active and clear to the audience. Zinsser has impressed upon me that “Writing is talking to someone else on paper or on a screen.” So he suggests writing something only when I would “comfortably say in conversation.” Reading over Zinsser’s this article is like approaching into a treasure house. Among his golden advice I find a diamond lesson that “writing is learned by imitation.” I am sincerely convinced of his view, especially after I have been struggling on learning English writing many years with confusion and frustration. By following Zinsser’s guide, I am confident that my English writing will be aiming to his standard of writing good English – “Clarity, simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity.”
It's very different to compare William Zinsser's advices to writer and our group's six rules. After reading Zinsser's article, I'm deeply aware of the long way that I need to go before I get success in writing. There's only one similar idea between Zinsser's and ours : simple is good. Luckily, one of my group members mentioned, " make easy for your readers." I understand her meaning is just as Zinsser's advice, " simple is good. Writing is not something you have to embroider with fancy stitches to make yourself look smart." I really appreciate those words above. Because sometimes I worried about that my writing was rough if I made it simple. I remember my English teacher has taught me before these two points which are same as Zinsser's:" short is better than long. " and " one thought per sentence." I'm sorry I can't handle these tips very skillfully even I have already known them. But the best fresh air for me is talking about long Latin nouns and Anglo-Saxon active verbs. This is my first time to learn the knowledge about English history. I'll remember that "long Latin nouns are enemy." and " Anglo-Saxon active verbs are your best friend." I totally agree with Zinsser's advices . And those tips are my savior. I'll practice the treasures in my writing.
216 words
Sarjeevan Kaur English 12
Writing Good English
I learned several things from “Writing good English.” During the reading, I got surprise with many things, which one I didn’t know before like “I considered “good writing” in Spanish is not “Good writing” in English. I realized one thing, we cannot improve it without rules. I find many rules and I am agreeing with it. “Short is better than long; simple is good”. Long writing makes a mass in our sentences and make them confused also. Its makes our sentences weaker. “JOHN SAW THE BOYS” (pg-3). This sentence is short and simple so we can understand it very easily. “THE BOYS WERE SEEN BY JOHN” (pg-4). This sentence is longer and weaker than first sentence. “Anglo-Saxon active verbs are best friends; Long Latin nouns are enemy”. I agree and feel grateful to learned English history by William Zinsser. William Zinsser advices will help me to improve my writing skills and its helpful for me in my future.
-158 words
As a second language is English, I learned a lot from William Zinsser about “Writing a Good English” because he mentioned a lot of things that new to me. One thing strikes my attention is the principle when doing a good writing according to him. Simplicity is very important in good writing and we Filipinos believed that simplicity is beauty. As I read the principle, simple sentence with short words helps the reader understand the idea and they keep their attention on it. Long sentence might confuse the reader on what they are supposed to point out. As William Zinsser said, “Simple is good.” I may apply this to my writing that it is simple but meaningful. Writing can be described as humanity as he mentioned on his fourth principle and I agree that being yourself keeps you different from other and every person is a unique individual. I hope in a long run I can use the logical way of William Zinsser and may improve my writing by using his four Principles of writing.
-175 words
Rakhima Smazova
English 12
Since I haven’t participated in the group discussion about “What is good writing?” I couldn’t compere group’s ideas with William Zinsser’s advice to writers. However, it was very interesting to read the handout “Writing Good English” by William Zinsser. He not only understands how difficult it is “to learn to write comfortably in a second-or third or fourth-language”; he also illustrates helpful tools for those in need. I really enjoy the structure of his explanation on how to write correctly. For example he stated that “short is better than long”. At first this took me by surprise, but as William explained later I realized how short words create powerful images. The most important lesson that I took from the article is that each sentence must contain “one thought”. I contemplated about this for a long time and I came to a solid conclusion. Ever since I was a child all the famous books that I have ever read, all of them had one thing in common. Each separate sentence contained it’s own idea. Truly fascinating how simple and short sentences could create very powerful ideas in the human mind. I wonder who does more work the writer or the reader? (200 words).
End My Tragedy in Writing
Writing in English is a painful process with tragic ending for me. I am not comfortable to write in English, but I want to recognize my problems and improve it to have a comfortable room writing good English. From group work, I know I use to write in English as I write in Chinese ("the langue I were born into"). So, I have to erase my old principles and follow a good structure and coherence using English to produce a good writing. After reading "Writing Good English", I learn four principles of good writing: "clarity, simplicity, brevity and humanity". It makes me surprise that how easy to follow the principles and gives me positive power to write. I ruined my writing with long and complex sentences to try to catch my readers' attention. I will try William Zinsser's suggestion -- "be yourself; don't lose that person by putting on airs, trying to sound superior." I hope these principles truly guide and help me to change my writing. (167 words)
Amy Ramirez
Sensible Writing
At first, I became interested about his meaningful lifestyle, meeting and helping people from different cultures. Then, after further reading regarding William Zinsser’s,” Writing Good English” I gained a lot of beneficial information about the principles of “good writing.” I realized some of the common mistakes in my own writing style. I strongly agreed when he said that “the hard part of writing isn’t the writing; it’s the thinking.” As an immigrant it’s challenging to come up with an idea in English words with a correct grammar and punctuations, because it’s not my native language. Though it’s seems hard, I was motivated when he suggested that “you can solve most of your writing problems if you stop after every sentence and ask: What does the reader need to know next? “Hopefully, I will master most of the rules and techniques that Zinsser discussed, so that I become a better and straightforward writer. In general, I had fun knowing William Zinsser even though it’s only thru his writing (he seems reasonable); I’m grateful to learned new skills about “Writing Good English.”
-180 words
William Zinsser's "Writing Good English" came to me as a pleasant surprise and I felt the question I had during class discussions was solved through his writing. For example, one of the class rules during group discussion is "Try to keep your readers interested by becoming more specific and using details that you have predicted would be interesting to others(audience) “ and I was wondering “How?”. William Zinsser showed me a detail like “One thought per sentence.” Also The biggest difference that I felt between the class rules and Zinsser's rules was that class rules were like a computer's hardware while Zinsser's rules were like a software. For example, most of the class rules focused on the outward appearance of the sentence, such as grammar, structure, logic, focus, prewriting and proofread while Zinsser's principle focused on the heart of the sentence such as clarify, simple, brevity, and humanity. When I read Zinsser's thoughts – such as "Simple if good", "short is always better than long", "writing is talking to someone else on paper or on screen"- it cleared my mind a lot. I will keep in mind his rules to be a better english writer.
-192 words
My reaction to Mr. William Zinsser’s advice to journalists was definitely a surprised one. I didn’t think someone like him, who has years of experience with writing would say things like “short is always better than long” or “don’t say numerous if you can say many, don’t say facilitate if you can say ease.” Usually we are taught that as we go higher in education-- especially with English-- there is a certain way of writing and a certain effort that you must have, that is to use bigger words, long and more eloquent sentences . So for him to tell me to do the opposite, it really does leave me surprised. I agree with most of the rules that he had mentioned but I did not agree with “Simple is good” because I had got in trouble with a previous teacher because of my “simple” writing. She told me to stop playing it safe. But I hope to use Mr. Williams advice because I did find most of it to be extremely helpful.
173 words
William Zinsser Opinions
In the article of “Writing Good English” by William Zinsser, I strongly agree with his valuable advice because he opened my eyes and used many real examples. He explained the difficulty of writing in simple language. In addition, he explained “Writing Good English” from different point of views as he visits many international students and he asked them about their home languages and problems in English. The place of his advice that I paid my attention to is that he says, “Never try your writing to be someone you’re not.” This is exactly the right point and we do not need to follow footprints of others. In addition, most of his advice about writing good English was similar with our group rules. He mentioned about the using of structure in writing, simple and clear sentences, short words, and coherence of good writing. Last Wednesday our group discussed about the continuity of sentences as he says on page seven of the article,” Writing is liner and sequential.” In conclusion, I learned the useful rules and advice of William Zinsser and I will try to follow some of these rules in the future to improve my writing.
“Writing Good English”
It was fascinating comparing William Zinsser’s idea of “Writing Good English” to my group. As for English being my second language, I totally agree with the rules that we came up with my group: topic should be clear, organise your work, and writing should have a good structure. After reading Zinsser’s suggestion, I took a step back and asked myself, when I write, is my writing clear to my reader? Do my readers understand what I’m writing about? I agree with Zinsser advice “Simple is good” and “Short is better than long.” I believe this will improve my writing. However, one of the most powerful, and helpful advice to me would be, “Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity.” which are the back bones of a good writing. This taught me that I need to write not only to impress others but myself. Writing is a way to communicate with your reader, just like the way the Bible is written. I learned that great writing takes time, focus, and practice Zinger’s “Writing Good English” not only will help me to become a good writer, but it also, encourages me to always be myself. I hope that my writing will improve and become better written. 202 words: English 12.
Zinsser and Me
What I believe is a good writing? My golden rule in this respect is: keep it as simple and clear as possible and be yourself. What William Zinsser believes the principles of a good writing are? Clarity, simplicity, brevity and humanity. I was thrilled to discover that I share the same ideas with the famous American writer, although my native language- Romanian - is a Latin language. “The words derived from Latin are enemy- they will strangle and suffocate everything you write.” , said Zinsser and I understand why sometimes I get stuck when I am writing in English trying to translate from Romanian. I always have asked myself why I tend to complicate the things that are meant to be simple. I have just found the answer. The only thing that has confused me is the Zinsser’s third principle – brevity; I was taught to use synonyms and to avoid repetition, therefore, when Zinsser advice us:”Don’t say currently is you can say no. Don’t say assistance if you can say help. Don’t say numerous if you can say many.” I would tend to exclaim, like the young woman from Nigeria said, “Oh, Mr. Zinsser, you are so funny”.
(198 words)
After reading William Zinsser thoughts about writing, I got surprise how easy he explains what makes writing good in English. I strongly agree with him that writing should be simple and short. I wish every teacher get this idea, so students do not get nightmare when it comes to writing. Personally, when I start writing, I get fever because of thinking so much how to write long sentences, use big, big words to show that I am not stupid. As one of student of Zinsser told him , “If I wrote [simple] sentences like that, people would think I am stupid.” I always get low mark in my writing sometimes because of using simple words, missing commas or writing short paragraph. I know most of punctuation rules and commas rules, but when I start writing I mess up because of too much stress. From now on I would not say my writing is bad those how are saying that is not true I will read them William rules about writing. When writing is so simple, I do not understand why we are making it so difficult for us. I really like the sentences that Zinsser wrote, “simple is good. Writing is not something you have to embroider with fancy stitches to make yourself look smart.” In closure, I totally agree with William’s rules, for making writing like piece a cake. (230 words)
Reading William Zinsser’s “Writing Good English” I learned so much on how to create cleaner, clearer writing. Some of the rules that were discussed amongst my group were similar to Zinsser’s. Our group agreed that good writing should be made easy to understand for the reader, and that it should have structure. Zinsser says that good writing is clear and simple and to keep our writing linear. Nowhere does Zinsser talk about titles or topic sentences, yet one of our group rules was to have a good topic sentence and title. I found Mei’s teachers take on writing interesting. The teacher told her that “The conception is like a human skeleton. You can’t mix it up. The details should be filled into the skeleton so the writing is vivid.” Two things stuck out to me from Zinsser. He talks about not using long Latin words, he says “The words derived from Latin are the enemy-they will strangle and suffocate everything you write.” He talks at length about using active verbs and explains that “momentum is given to a sentence by active verbs and the sentence is pushed forward by them.” I have never had to think about what good writing is. Zinsser broke this concept down elegantly and clearly. I hope to use his rules in all my future writing.
220 words, March 8, 2016
Andrea Kirk
A children's play can easily reflect their life and their characters. There were different doll houses to represent their different social situation and affect their characters. Tina's doll house is smaller, without animals and not furnishing, it showed Tina's family was not rich. So Tina is more defended and moody to their family's situation. Katya and Tina were childhood friends and both lived with their mothers without fathers. The similarity made them become the best friends, but the difference made them break their relationship. Tina was sensitive to talk about her father and became moody because her father was her secret and shameful memory. Also we can know she was bossy and self center from she asked her mother to get what she wanted. But Katya wasn't a this kind of personality person and admired Tina's courage. Katya's assumptions made herself feel they were in different group. For the kids, they are not easy to accept their difference, so their relationship was frangible.(163 words)
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