Throughout both Units 1 and 2, we have been working on style. We will continue doing some things with style throughout the term, but in the spirit of taking a break, I thought we would pause to do some review.
Please review these pages on style to refresh your memory:
- Style: Introduction
- Style and Translingualism
- Style: Words
- Style: Words and Register
- Style: Sentence Length
- Style: Sentence Type
- Style: Punctuation
- Style: Punctuation Practice
- Style: Coherence
Comment below, on one element of your style as a writer that you would like to keep working on this semester and why. Take about 100 words to explain.
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This one would easily be punctuation. I don’t really stray far from periods and commas in my academic writing. However, the last reading annotation gave me some pause and it really does feel like human emotion can be taken out if I don’t vary my punctuation. I was relieved that I could use questions and quotes in my Literacy Narrative to help drive some points across.
I would like to work on the length of my sentences. From the exercise I did in the previous learning module, I saw that my sentences were varying in length. I did not notice that earlier and couldn’t explain why they were so varying. Although I make my paragraphs coherent in my writing, I think I can one-up that by making my sentences coherent in my paragraphs. I can start by looking at the lengths of my sentences to see if any adjustments can improve coherence.
I would like to work on my Sentence types that I use in my writing. I tend to use more compound sentences in my work, but I would like to definetely try to mix in other types to make my writing flow much better. I am working by reviewing these module pages and looking up examples online how to change the style in different pieces of literature.
I would like to work on my introductions more. I always have a hard time writing thesesis and and starting off all of my writing. I never know where to start and normal just give a background to what I am talking about. It is much more powerful when you can start a paper with an argument/ idea or thought and I rarely do so. That is something I would like to improve on so that my papers can come out more refined, professional, and complete.
I would like to work on my word choice. This is because I struggle with choosing the right word in the context of what I am trying to write. More then often I find myself using the Thesaurus to look for “better” sounding words. The reason for this is not to sound scholarly but because I think each word is equally important in the context of the main concept. Ceritan words assert specific emotions and it is hard to separate the connotations of words just so the syntax of the writing works. However, it is important to do that. I want to learn to put less focus on using emotionally complex word choice and focus more on being coherent.
One of the elements that I would like to keep working on this semester is how style applies to sentence types. This is because sentence type plays a significant role in determining whether one’s audience will remain engaged in reading a text or not. The problem here specifically stems from the fact that it is difficult to differentiate between complex and compound sentences and this subsequently affects their utilization in a piece of writing. If I can learn the differences between these sentences, I will be better equipped to produce excellent pieces of writing.
I would like to work on coherence. I do try to pay attention to punctuation and formatting but sometimes in doing that I forget to make sure that my work flows. The way you say a sentence or sentences can really change a reader’s understanding of what the text is saying. When explaining something in depth maybe shorter sentences need to be used to break down what I am saying. If I am summarizing a series of events longer sentences can be appropriate. Basically I just need to work on writing in a way that makes sense to the audience.
One style I want to continue learning about and using is words. Using the right type of words and when is essential in all writings. Being able to use the correct word choice in an essay can take an average essay and put it over the top. Without proper style of words an essay is incomplete. I would like to further learn how to utilize the style of words for all writings I will have in my life.
I would like to improve the way I approach the reader, I know this is crucial, specially in certain genres. Giving it a more personal touch, in a way that the reader can fully understand what I write from my perspective. I would also like to have a better understanding in the proper use of punctuation, sometimes I’m insecure about the type of punctuation I use and I have been trying to use semicolon more but I’m still unsure if I’m using it correctly.
I will like to keep working on style through my words. I do not mean this to sound like I am trying to be more scholarly and intelligent, but rather less boring. When I am reading a certain text, I like to see a variety of words. When I see too much repetition of the same word or phrases, (without it being intentional) I get bored and most likely will not take much from it.
I think I would like to work on my puncutation. I geel like punctuation helps the reader feel like they are being talked to rather than just reading. That’s always been my goal with writing: I want to make it feel like I’m having a conversation with my reader. I feel like puntuation can really give a piece of writing some personality. If used correctly, I think it does a great job at making the reader read with a bit more ease.