Ultima Style

I've learned many things about my personal writing style from each of the writing classes I've attended in my four years at Eastern Michigan University. The most important lesson that I've learned is that good writing is not easily achieved. Writing is a complicated practice; one that must consider many aspects. Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style" and Joseph Williams "Style" are two resources that can guide a writer through the the rough waters of turgid writing and into the tranquil bay of clear effective prose.

In "Style" Williams focuses each of his chapters on a specific topic and this technique presents the information in an organized and useful manner. However, there is one topic that I was surprised to see that Williams neglects to dedicate a chapter to-context. Context is of the utmost importance in writing. Context determines what one is writing, why it is being written, and whom it is being written for. Without context the rules outlined in both "The Elements of Style" and "Style" would be useless.

Each of these books discusses at length the issues of clarity and conciseness. I felt that these hit home with me as I have a tendency to string thoughts out more than necessary. Usually I make this mistake by employing the help of common slices. The books suggest that writers avoid such excesses by limiting the use of nominalizations and meta discourse. Since reading each I have found myself seeking out and eliminating nominalizations where possible.

Another aspect touched on in “Style” that I feel is vastly under appreciated by writers is the use of metaphors. I find metaphors to be particularly interesting because they give writer’s the ability to better express themselves by creating visuals in the mind’s of their readers. Furthermore metaphors can be used to express a difficult emotion. For example, if someone is upset they can certainly say such but simply by stating that their upset may not give anyone else more than a general glimpse into that person’s feelings. Here a metaphor such as, “I feel like a rat in a cage,” may more effectively communicate their true feelings.

By far the most important thing I’ve taken away from either of these books or any writer class is that revision is key. To write is one process of writing, to re-write is another. Through editing good writing can be achieved. Without it most writing would remain unclear and nearly unreadable.

Strunk and White: A Mixture of Usefulness and Annoyance

The Elements of Style makes for a good reference book; something to turn to when in doubt about a certain grammatical rule. It is not, however, a book I would simply pick up for a bit of leisurely reading. As you can see the title of this blog entry is Strunk and White: A mixture of usefulness and annoyance. I'll focus first on what I found to be the useful aspects of the book.

Rule 13 struck me as important. This rule reads, make the paragraph the unit of composition. The paragraph is vastly under appreciated; without such a structure the relationship between writer and reader is altered greatly. Not only that but the very process by which texts are created would be changed; whether that change be for the better or worse is anyone's guess.

I also found Rule 14, which concerns using the active voice, to be quite useful. The active voice can be a great tool when a writer wants to communicate a strong message. Consider the example provided in The Elements of Style.

I shall always remember my first visit to Boston.

or

My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.

Anyone with even a slight grasp of the English language will be able to recognize the inherit flaws in the second example.

Rule 20: Keep related words together. This rule serves to make sure that readers do not become confused by word order. If related words, as Strunk and White call them, are not put in proper order then the meaning of a sentence can become distorted. Consider the following example:

You can call your mother in London and tell her all about Geroge's taking you out to dinner for just two dollars.

or

For just two dollars you can call your mother in London and tell her all about Geroge's taking you out to dinner.

In the first example the reader may be inclined to believe that this George treated someone to dinner for just two dollars and if one were to interpret the sentence in this fashion they would be incorrect. By rearranging the word order in the second example the meaning becomes clear.

Section IV of The Elements of Style entitled Words and Expressions Commonly Misused is concerned with precisely that. Undoubtedly parts of this section come in handy but others seem to dip into a pool of absurdity. Strunk denounces phrases such as enthuse, feature, finalize, hopefully, insightful, among others. He seems to posses a vendetta against words that end in ize. I feel if a word, no matter how inappropriate Strunk may find it, successfully communicates it's intended meaning then any amount of ize-ing doesn't matter.

At times Strunk's rigid writing rules cross over into comedy. His description of the word nauseous and pseudo-use of saltwater taffywise left me laughing. The author's interjections of humor were not, however, enough to outweigh the annoyances that continuously popped up throughout the book. His dislike for the use of the word type is even more ridiculous than his rant about words that end in ize.

I thought the most useful part of the book was section V An Approach to Style. Here, Strunk or White, offer some thoughts to young writers concerning style. The authors suggest that young writers find their own identity or style while operating within a system of already accepted rules. Strunk and White even leave room for improvement to writing rules or at the least accept that over time rules of writing will change.

Personal/Professional Website

A work in progress, at times the progress is so slow you don't even notice it happening.

Personal/Professional Website

Intro to Joel, his writing experiences, and idea of style

I am Joel Adkins, a college senior studying Telecommunications and Film with a Minor in Writing. I was born and raised in Southeast Michigan and began attending Eastern Michigan University in the fall of 2001. I am a passionate cynic, a die-hard hockey fan, and drawn toward creative endeavors such as filmmaking.

I enjoy writing very much and therefore have had many writing related experiences. In high school I thrived in such classes as Creative Writing, Mythology, British Classics, and other courses of the like. During my time at Eastern I have enrolled in various writing courses to fulfill the requirements of my Minor. Among those courses, those that have impacted or influenced me most as a writer are English 225: Intermediate English Composition, English 424: Technical Writing, and lastly a scriptwriting class attended in the winter of 2003.

When I first read Jonathon Swift’s A Modest Proposal I thought it was truly brilliant. A satirical piece regarding overpopulation and starvation in 18th century Great Britain, Swift sarcastically suggests that children be killed and eaten in an attempt to cure both maladies. Swift lays out his plan with such precision and authority that it still has the power to infuriate paranoid right wing zealots to this day despite the fact that the entire work is an exercise in satire. Swift has often served as an inspiration while I write, depending of course on the intended purpose of what I am writing. I am also fond of the descriptive, dark atmosphere that Edgar Allan Poe was able to successfully create in many of his short stories and poems.