Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Punctuation, Part 1

In the following post, I will be listing the three topics that I chose from the Rules for Writers "Punctuation" section. With these topics, I will be discussing how I can improve in these areas in my writing, as well as include some tips that I have learned while reading the corresponding chapters.

Caleb Roenigk. "Writing? Yeah." 03/20/2012 via Flickr.
Attribution 2.0 Generic License.


1) Building effective paragraphs: I always have felt that my paragraphs might lack the transitions, development and organization that they should embody, so reading this was beneficial. I do not struggle with presenting a main focus to each paragraph, but I do have trouble sticking and referring back to that point. To improve my writing, and while I am in the revision process, I can reread each paragraph to determine whether my main point is consistent throughout.

In addition to this, I should not include any new information or thoughts into a body paragraph just to add length. Lastly, I need to consider my overall "pattern of organization." The chapter listed a lot of ways that a writer could go about organizing each paragraph, and some of my favorites that I would like to experiment with are narration, comparison and contrast, examples and illustration and analogy. These would not only add variety to my paper, but it would help me organize my thoughts better. In order to improve my writing, I need to stick to my main idea and creatively develop each paragraph in an orderly way.

2) Sentence Patterns: I always try to vary my sentence structures, internally and externally, in a paragraph. This is not only to keep the reader engaged, but it is my own personal preference as both a reader and a writer. The chapter starts off with five standard patterns that I have never identified, but I use all the time. Later on in the chapter, different types of verbs are introduced, such as linking, transitive and intransitive verbs. I have never known that these were actually considered to be in a separate category; verbs are verbs. However, each are used for a different purpose. If I actively varied sentence patters and verbs, this would be beneficial to my writing as a whole.

3) Managing Information; avoiding plagiarism: This has been a common theme, both in class and in our separate blog posts. We have been taught and have practiced how to paraphrase and summarize, without plagiarizing, however, reminders are always helpful. I sometimes paraphrase an author's sentence, without mentioning him or including an in-text citation. The chapter reinforces this idea of paraphrasing vs. summarizing, and how effective the two are. Also, the chapter recognizes the need for quotation marks if there is a direct phrase or sentence taken from the author. These may seem like elementary and basic tips, however, if I am consistent with this, it will help me become a better writer.


REFLECTION:

After reading Addie's and Rachel's rhetorical analyses, I came up with a few ideas that relate back to these three topics. First off, these are all common topics that my classmates and I struggle with: maintaining focus on a specific point, varying sentence patterns, and avoiding plagiarism. These two writers developed their paragraphs very well. In Addie's paper, she writes, "To eradicate this issue in her article, as soon as she begins writing, Powell starts to build trust with her audience by appealing and relating to their values concerning media ethics through her critical and sardonic tone and dogmatic word-choice," (Stansbury 1). After asserting this claim, she sticks with her central thesis and continues to explain and analyze how and why the author might do this. As I read this, I reflected back to my own paper, and I realized I might lack that focus in some of my body paragraphs. Also, when Rachel paraphrased her author, it was very well-written and well-executed, but I think that she should paraphrase a bit more in her analysis. She writes, "Paul Knoepfler, a stem cell biologist at UC-Davis, shares his fears about the side effects of gene editing and designer babies giving the upper class an unfair advantage," (Bear 2). While this is an excellent introduction to a new topic or idea, this is not cited properly. I think she, and I, both have the right idea on how to paraphrase, but sometimes do not effectively carry it out. Overall, I learned that these three topics that I chose are things that not only I can improve in, but most of my classmates can as well.

--Jenny Bello

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