Russell Johnston Adam Padgett English 1101 November 26, 2013

Formatted: Left

A Beginners Perspective on the Elements of Good Writing

Comment [AP1]: Good title

Good writing is the culmination of widely varying factors and writing techniques ranging from level of clarity to target audience to the basic informational content of the passage. While some factors may be more important than others, good writing cannot exist without the presence of all of them. In this essay I hope to address why certain writing elements must be present in order for a piece of writing to be considered effective. In the words of Oscar Wilde, Appearance blinds, whereas words reveal. When Wilde writes these words he addresses the fact that words without meaning or purpose lose their value to the reader. Words that only serve to dress up the passage serve no purpose to the overall meaning of the passage. Also, that words that do have purpose give the reader new knowledge. A paper without a thesis is simply a collection of sentences that does not accomplish anything. It is my assertion that only through writing with clear and understandable text, will the reader be able to, not only read the text, but also use those words to form critical thought. This assertion is not revolutionary rather it is very intuitive. When you read a piece of text, it is logical to say that there needs to be a level of clarity in order for the reader to comprehend what he is reading.
Comment [AP3]: Agreed. I like the phrasing here. Comment [AP2]: Okay, but isnt he talking mostly about the revelatory capacity of language?

Despite this apparently obvious notion, it is important to understand that clarity is the most basic, fundamental, and necessary component of good writing. Understanding your audience is equally important when you are constructing your paper. Realizing who will likely be reading your writing should affect you as a writer. Conversely, readers should understand that a writer might not be targeting them as an audience. For example, scientific papers are very specific and verbose pieces of writing. Someone who does not already have a strong background on the topic at hand may not be able to comprehend the writing. It is important for both the reader and the author to understand that this is not the fault of the writer. It is important for both parties to understand what are the intentions of the essay. In this case, the author seems to want to deliver a message to a very specific section of the scientific community. Someone who enjoys short story fiction may not even comprehend what mitosis is; much less enjoy a scientific paper on mitosis. One of the first questions an author should ask himself before writing is, to whom am I writing this to, and why. I think it is through this understanding, that good writing can truly present itself. Audience and clarity are closely related because of this. I try to build a full personality for each of our cartoon characters - to make them personalities. Spoken by Walt Disney during an interview in the late 1950s, Disney emphasized the use of personality in his writing and drawing. For many people their voice is just as important as their level of writing. I would argue that Walt Disneys early drawings were adequate at best. However, it was Disneys ability to convey personality and emotion through his drawings, that he was able to achieve worldwide acclaim and recognition. A writers voice can also influence tone. Often writers will use voice in
Comment [AP7]: Yikes. Comment [AP6]: I like your use of quotes here. Comment [AP5]: I like the discussion of this essay. Youre talking about audience while simultaneously talking about clarity (your thesis). Nice work here. Comment [AP4]: Sounds like a thesis to me.

order to affect the way a reader feels while reading the passage. Using voice as a technique to affect tone is incredibly important when it pertains the readers experience while reading an essay. I think this is particularly apparent when one reads a textbook. Often readers will quickly grow disinterested in the content and become distracted. I would argue that a textbook meets the first two points I made about clarity and understanding their audience, yet textbooks still fail to capture readers and effectively convey thought. Ideally, a good textbook (with good writing) will attempt to incorporate the personality of its author. If a textbook author were to somehow able to incorporate their voice into a textbook, I cant help but feel that students would be more comfortable reading the text. Returning to the fundamentals, good writers must conform themselves to grammar rules, demonstrate effective sentence composition, and proper paragraph structure. While it is true that writers may bend the rules and work outside of the bounds, they must still obey basic conventions. Part of what the makes language possible, is the standardization of grammar across a large volume of people. Simply put, if grammar rules were dramatically different for different authors and regions (within the same language), then it would be impossible to easily share and exchange ideas. When an author chooses to ignore basic grammar or disregard parts of the English language, then it becomes impossible for the reader to understand what the author is saying. This is closely related to clarity in an earlier paragraph. Without the use of proper grammar, the author fails to effectively convey their message. The last topic I will touch on is the informational content of any given passage. A reader will always appreciate a novel and interesting topic. Although your writing may
Comment [AP10]: So can grammar rules never be broken? Comment [AP9]: So are you saying textbooks, in general, are examples of bad writing? I think I need a little more evidence to get onboard with what youre saying. Comment [AP8]: Interesting way of entering this particular conversation.

be driven and personable, if your topic and ideas are simply reworded and rephrased versions of well-established concepts, then your reader will quickly become disinterested. One of the biggest reasons why TED talks are so widely acclaimed is because they provide a platform for new ideas and the exchange of those ideas. While these TED presenters may be personable, and they definitely are driven, their biggest appeal is their novel ideas. When we listened to the TED talk by Mike Rowe, my favorite feature of his talk was his ability to present a novel and creative idea in a personable way. This is what separates good writing (or in this case good speech) from bad writing. The ability to be personable and driven, while at the same time address an important and novel topic. In summary, good writing is a result of mastering several different and varying strategies. From clarity to personality to the type of topic being covered, there are several different factors, which determine the effectiveness of writing. While the topics I covered in this are not all inclusive of what it takes to be a good writer or to produce good writing, I do think that these topics represent the best techniques and policies to follow to create good writing. If a writer were to ignore these conventions, his writing would be considered ineffective, poor writing, or worse I suppose, irrelevant and insignificant.
Comment [AP11]: Okay, so personableness is important. Can you give more specific examples to better prove this point?

Russell, This essay seems to be largely about the importance of clarity and audience appeal in the context of writing. I really like your writing, in general. You write with a clarity and precision that serves your writing extremely well. Each paragraph seems to be actively supporting your central thesis here. But I think you lack the specific to

adequately argue and support your thesis. Give example and really discuss your point. I think the TED talks paragraph is emblematic of this. You need to prove to me the rhetorical effectiveness of those TED talks before you can use them as a discussion point. And you dont have to do much, just making a specific observation would help here. Again, specificity is key. Also, this is a little past the deadline, so Ill have to deduct points for that.