Zinsser on Style
“Still, we have become a society fearful of revealing who we are. The institutions that seek our support by sending us their brochures sound remarkably alike, though surely all of them– hospitals, schools, libraries, museums, zoos- were founded and are still sustained by men and women with different dreams and visions. Where are these people? It’s hard to glimpse them among all the impersonal passive sentences that say ‘initiatives were undertaken’ and ‘priorities have been identified.’” (My bolding. “On Writing Well”, Page 21)
This piece of advice from Zinsser, urging people to write personally, truly resonated with me. When I started looking into colleges in 11th grade, I asked for advice as to where to go. The responses? “Pick the college that feels right for you.” “Look for your best fit.” “Aim high and don’t settle.” While all “nice” advice, none of these sentences meant anything.
This issue was compounded by the media sent to me by various colleges. The sheer quantity of information I received on a regular basis via email, snail mail, and my high school’s college guidance department was overwhelming in itself. However, even when I could force myself to shovel away a little from this blizzard, I never encountered anything worth reading. Statistics and facts that I could easily look up on my own and general statements that could apply to dozens of other colleges were all that these brochures ever contained. There was never anything “human” to them.
And then I got the first piece of useful advice: “Why don’t you visit a bunch of colleges and just see which ones you like?” This didn’t come from my college guidance counselor– the closest thing I got from her was “Visit because they keep track of it and it may help your application blahblahblah…” It came from my mother: a 4th grade teacher.
Writing with humanity is essential. Without it, all writing falls flat.
One response so far
I wish that I could put as much humanity and individuality into my writing as I do into my speaking and ranting. It would deviate from the standard and dull formulaic writing shaped by guidelines and requirements that are prescribed by teachers and add some fuel to the fire that always burns!