Guidelines and Expectations---
(1)your blog post should be 250-500 words (do not exceed 500 words).
(2)your blog post should engage in conversation with the other bloggers. This means if you are NOT the first one to post you need to mention at least one or two of your peers’ responses in your entry i.e. you may agree or disagree with what someone else’s ideas of what good writing is. You need to cite this person in your response and note why you are citing this person (for example, Kara mentioned that good writing has three components, but I’m not sure I agree. I believe...). Don't forget to do this as it is part of the assignment.
(3) your blog post should respond to the following prompt:
(a) what is writing--the definitions, ideas, thoughts, expressions, etc--you associate w/ writing. What makes writing good to you? When you think of arguments and writing--what comes to mind? How do you believe you create an argument? What type of writer do you see yourself as? (b) create a list of 5-8 key terms you believe define good writing and/or good argumentation. By the end of this first blog post, I want you to come up with a definition of writing and argumentation that includes a list of key terms.
(4) your blog post is due by classtime on Wednesday, January 9, 2013.
Writing is the transition of taking thoughts in one’s head and turning them into written words. It is meant to organize one’s thoughts and give them to others in a more controlled manner than trying to speak of it on the fly. For writing to be good and to be persuasive it needs to speak for itself and not need the explaining of the original author to further discuss the point. A truly good paper should stand on its own. To create an argument one needs to take a stance on an opinion and then compromise their thoughts and evidence on the material writing in such a manner that it convinces the reader both with its evidence and overall flow of the material. Unfortunately, I see myself more as a commenting writer rather than a persuasive one. I am able to comment fully on a topic, but always seem to have trouble pushing past that barrier from simply stating an opinion and one’s stance, to truly making the paper be convincing to a reader and stand alone. That jump requires not only a certain kind of language, but a certain kind of writing style that does not force a thought upon the reader, but through the flow of the argument wins over the reader with evidence and style. Good writing is something that is difficult to accomplish because it requires certain prerequisites such as having a good flow of words that use the appropriate diction, but at the same time needs evidence to hold it up and power within the tone of the paper to truly convince the reader, but most importantly the writer must be knowledgeable about the material and must enjoy what they are writing about. There truly is a difference in writing between someone who knows and loves what they are talking about, and those who don’t. That difference exists even in the words of a paper.
ReplyDeleteTo me writing is being able to make your thoughts, opinions, and emotions into written word that people can understand. It gives a person the time they need to say the things they need to say, in a concise and organized type of manner. In order for writing to be good for me, it needs to be understandable and convey the feeling of the author, or allow me to experience an event they were writing about; it also is good when I can understand someone’s argument and be able to counter their argument if I don’t agree. To have a good argument paper I think one should be well informed about what they are writing about and be able to present the information in a well-mannered way, and not be condescending about the opposing view. I think I’m more of argumentative writer. I try to make my papers more about how I see certain views, but don’t try to make people believe my view. I think one of the most important things an argumentative paper is the facts; without facts the paper won’t be an argument paper, it would be an opinion paper. To make an argumentative paper effective it’s also important to address the counterargument. Another important aspect needed would be the tone of the paper, I think that you can’t sound condescending or like your view of the issue is the correct view. I think it’s important to also understand the audience that one is writing for. This could affect with the way that you could approach the paper, and help with word choice. Lastly, I think that the organization of the paper is key to the paper. Without good flow of ideas and facts can make the paper hard to understand or make sense of. I agree with DJ that if someone doesn’t love what one is writing about then it’s hard to get into their paper or to fully understand the point they are trying to make.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that its important to understand the audience.
DeleteTo me, writing is an activity of taking my thoughts, my emotions, my expressions, my feelings, and my opinions to compose text on a piece of paper. Writing is something people use to organize their thoughts and opinions. Writing, to me, is sense of freedom because when you are speaking, everyone can judge you but when your writing, its you own judgment. Writing is a way to share your experience, your story and your life with others. Writing is a form of communication. We use the act of writing whether we are updating our statuses on Facebook or sending a text or tweeting. Without writing, we would not be able to communicate with half of the world, especially in this 21st century. The communication and the freedom motivates me to write and motivates me to create an argument in my writing. Taking a stance on a topic or an issue and expressing your opinions can simply create an argument on a paper. Although I believe expressing your argument is sense of freedom in your writing, I agree with my peers that to have a good argument, one should be well informed about what they are writing about and one should present the information in a well-mannered way. I do believe I create an argument in my writing every time because I always express who I am and what I believe. I definitely agree with DJ, papers should be written with passion, written about what you want to write about. A good piece of writing should be organized into a proper structure, every argument should be supported by explanations, contain proper details using literary devices such as imagery, good flow of words and a proper conclusion that wraps the essay together.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you guys but I think when talking about the definition of writing in general it’s not only personal or academic writing. Writing is used in a lot of non-academic issues. Don’t get me wrong, it does not mean that I think that you guys are wrong. I just feel that when you guys took a more of a specific approach. Writing a check, a script or even doing homework. It’s is all forms of writing that does not necessarily involve expressing feelings and opinions.
ReplyDeleteGood writing to me is the type of writing that does not make you get bored when reading it. Some writers make you relate to their writings and some would try to make you laugh. Boredom to me is the gauge of reading.
I don’t consider myself a writer yet, but I think would try my best to involve as much comedy as I can in my writings.
My list of the key terms that define a good writing and arguments includes:
1. Correct: in terms of grammar and spelling.
2. Entertaining: it might be exciting, funny, scary or even romantic. Each type of writing is targeted at a certain audience and a good writer knows what his readers are looking for.
3. Well Organized: to make it an easy read; organizing chapters and following pattern in which they are not too long and not too short.
4. Convincing: this relates to the arguments. A writer cannot simply deny or disapprove a point without giving reasonable evidence.
WHAT IS WRITING?
ReplyDeleteWriting is language. It is visible communication. Writing is expressing your thoughts and ideas on paper. Writing allows people to uniquely speak their minds because it involves people using their own words to describe their own thoughts and opinions. I agree with HR’s statement about writing being “something people use to organize their thoughts and opinions” (HR). People have many thoughts, but it takes effort and time to structurally organize their thoughts on paper.
WHAT MAKES WRITING GOOD?
Good writing is writing that has descriptive adjectives and a variety of vocabulary words. Detailed writing that lacks wordiness is superb writing. Good writing is writing that rhythmically flows together even though it is not a song or a poem.
WHEN YOU THINK OF ARGUMENTS AND WRITING—WHAT COMES TO MIND? HOW DO YOU BELIEVE YOU CREATE AN ARGUMENT?
When I hear the word argument, I think about passion. Whether people are arguing harshly or angrily, arguing always involves a passionate belief. An argument is created when somebody states his or her opinion. Even if somebody agrees with the writer stating their opinion, there is always room for controversy. I agree with DJ’s statement: “the flow of the argument wins over the reader with evidence” (DJ). A person needs evidence to back up their argument. Without facts or proof, their argument can seem unreasonable.
Argument, in my opinion, is more likely to be created as a result of opinionated writing as opposed to factual or statistical writing. However, argument can be created in any situation. For example, after reading a factual article, a person could strongly disagree with some of the authors facts or evidence because they read different facts about the same topic elsewhere.
WHAT TYPE OF WRITER DO YOU SEE YOURSELF AS?
I see myself as an interesting, descriptive, and precise writer. I try to paint a picture for the reader or give them enough information to create images themselves. I also try not to drag on my thoughts or points because I believe precision is key in writing.
B) Key terms that define good writing:
Variety
Precision
Description
Imagery
Grammar
Expression
Adjectives
Key terms that define good argumentation:
Persuasion
Validity
Evidence
Passion
Opinion
Confidence
To me writing is the translation of thoughts and ideas into a visible, written form. I think that "good writing" can be understood by all audiences. The ideas of the author should be clear and concise and there should not have to be much explanation or even any at all. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of arguments and writing is argumentative writing and someone stating their stance/view on a topic. I think of someone arguing their views on certain political issues, social issues, etc. An effective argument would be created by stating facts and in some cases statistics to back an opinion or stance. I personally don't see myself as much of an argumentative writer, i'm more of a creative writer. I don't like being confined to one specific subject. I'd much rather explore many different ideas. The key terms I think define good writing are Clarity, Structure, Grammar, and Captivating. Clarity is important because if the ideas and thoughts of the paper aren't clear how is an audience expected to enjoy and understand the paper? Second is structure because without it there is no way to follow what the author is trying to say, no matter how good their point or idea is. Next grammar because without good grammar the paper loses all effectiveness. Lastly a good paper is captivating. It draws the audience in and keeps their attention the whole time.
ReplyDeleteThe definition of the word “writing” is “The activity or skill of marking coherent words on paper and composing text.” What this definition means is that writing is the action of putting coherent thoughts into words and then putting those words onto a piece of paper, or into a computer. In order for this writing to make any sense, or be relevant, the writer has to take an idea that they have and make a legitimate case about what they are writing about. They do this by citing a multitude of websites, books, and specialists and using the information from those citings to prove their point as being factual. As well as write a counter argument that talks against the writer’s idea. The writer then should point out why the said counter argument is faulty, or how it can’t be supported. In my opinion good writing is when after reading the paper I am able to understand what the author’s thesis was, and that I want to know more about what the writer has put into the paper. How I normally create arguments in my papers is I first research on the topic I am writing about. Then use that information to think of how the topic can be productive or —because most arguments are either you are for, or against something. However, one of the problems I have always had is making a counter argument that makes sense and that actually makes sense. Writing is something that is easy to learn but difficult to master. This is because that not only do you have to be good at making an opinion, you have to put that opinion into words that flow easily and that can make a case to someone who may not know anything about the subject of your paper.
ReplyDeleteGood writing requires things like:
Flow, focus, captivation, reasoning, consistency, proof, and opinion