Tori Reynolds

Interpretation is Key Whether it is good or bad isnt an option really; good writing is about interpretation of the writing. You could ask a few people if they liked certain great known authors like Shakespeare or J.K. Rowling and you could get completely different answers and opinions on the writing. One person might say they love Shakespeare and think he is a great writer, but they might not like the writing of J.K. Rowling. The other answer might be that they are in love with J.K. Rowlings work but they cannot stand reading the work of Shakespeare. These opinions can be swayed by a few factors like structure, grammar, and the main message of the writer. The reader simply just knows if it is good or bad in their own opinion . If you cant understand it, it is usually bad to that person because it frustrates the reader and puts them off task from actually being engaged in the piece. But, to someone who understands the piece, they think it is good writing, even possibly great writing. For example Shakespeare, I absolutely hate reading his work because it doesnt make any sense to me, and it makes me feel stupid just attempting to read it and analyze the meaning of it. All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. -William Shakespeare Someone who likes the poetic and metaphoric feel of Shakespeares work would thoroughly enjoy and easily understand a piece like this one. It might be easy for them to define these
Comment [AP5]: What does this word mean in this context. Try to use clearer, more precise language. Comment [AP3]: Im not following your conversation here. Seems like several disparate things being presented here. Comment [AP4]: Okay, but I want to know what YOU think good writing is. Seems like youre building a beauty is in the eye of the beholder argument, but I want to know what you personally think good writing is. Comment [AP2]: Im still trying to figure out what you mean by interpretation. Comment [AP1]: Whose option? Seems like an unusual word choice.

Tori Reynolds

figurative sayings and put it into their own words in their head but I, on the other hand, do not enjoy that aspect of Shakespeares pieces. I like to read things that are direct and get to the point so I can actually understand what I am reading and can be aware that they are in fact speaking English. I would say I like the work of J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter series. She has a way of using detail throughout the whole story that can be understood fairly easily but creates a picture in your mind of what you are reading. He swung his legs off the sofa; he needed to see Hagrid with his own eyes before he would believe that he was alive. He had barely stood up, however, when a door opened and Hagrid squeezed through it, his face covered in mud and blood, limping a little but miraculously alive. In this piece from Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, you can read it easily and understand what she is trying to say without having to go back and read through it five or six times. I would say that I like her work more than I do of Shakespeares even though both of th em are considered great writers. J.K. Rowling has a more direct way of portraying a message than Shakespeare does even though they both do have meanings to them. Interpretation is all about being able to understand what the writer is trying to tell you, or the message of the piece. If you cant understand what the writer is trying to tell you then what is the point of reading it in the first place? All it is going to do is confuse you in the end! Writing is a choice and you get to decide what it is you want to read, or write. Unless of course it is assigned to you to read or write, then you are out of luck. Grammar is something that can affect the interpretation of a piece. Grammar can throw someone off while reading instead of trying to understand the piece and find out the message of
Comment [AP8]: Cant there be multiple interpretations of any given text? Comment [AP7]: Citation? Comment [AP6]: I like the use of direct textual evidence here.

Tori Reynolds

the piece. A few grammar mistakes can completely change the message of a sentence. For example, even a single comma can completely alter the meaning of a phrase; Lets eat, Bob versus Lets eat Bob. The first is simply calling to Bob and telling him to come eat while the second phrase is commanding them to eat Bob. They both use the same three words but the comma between eat and Harry make the message of the phrase a whole new story. Another example is when the writer uses the wrong word. If the writer means to say Theyre on vacation with their family but instead says There on vacation with theyre family, it throws the reader off and makes them think that while they were there on vacation instead of being told that they are on vacation. Grammar is one of the key factors to making or breaking the interpretation of a piece of writing. Correct grammar can affect the credibility of that writer in the end. If the writer uses bad grammar throughout their piece unintentionally, it gets rid of the trust we had for the author and causes the reader to not enjoy it. A writer needs to know what they are doing and keep that trust we had for them and maintain good grammar and a good structure. Structure is another thing that can affect the interpretation of writing. It is the layout of how the words are put onto paper. If a piece of writing is disorganized with sentences where they arent supposed to be it can become confusing. Or a jumble of paragraphs all over with no can make for one mess of a time reading. Writing needs to be correctly structured, depending on the style, in order to correctly convey a message to the reader. If the reader were to examine an essay, they shouldnt be seeing the words jump around along the If someone were to see the jumping words in an essay, they would automatically think that the writer was just lazy and wanted to take up enough space to make it so that their essay reached page.
Comment [AP11]: Oka, Ill give you points for creativity here :) Comment [AP10]: it seems as though youre developing a paper on the importance of clarity. Which I think is great, but I dont think I would have picked up on this based on your intro. Comment [AP9]: :)

Tori Reynolds

that four-page guideline the teacher required. This negative portrayal of the writer would make you think less of that persons writing, and in the end, you probably wouldnt like their paper all that much because that wasnt what the structure of the piece was supposed to be like. Structure of writing goes hand in hand with the style. Some styles of writing are more time consuming to read and to understand. For me, it takes me a shorter amount of time to read a poem because of the flow of the piece, but then I have to go back and dissect the whole thing and basically read it over and over until I understand the message of the poem even a little. For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride, In the sepulchre there by the sea, In her tomb by the sounding sea This excerpt from Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe, I could say it confused me. Obviously he loves this girl Annabel Lee but I dont know what the last few sentences mean. Poems are not easy for me to understand, therefore I dont like to read them. I wouldnt consider it bad writing but it just isnt my choice of reading because I cant understand the message. Edgar Allan Poe is a well-known poet and author whose extensive use of metaphors and figurative language makes for a great poem to many people, just not to me. I know that there is a story behind it somewhere, I just cant seem to find it.
Comment [AP14]: Isnt this the one about necrophilia? Comment [AP13]: Im not sure Im following this. Comment [AP12]: What does this mean in this context.

Tori Reynolds

In other words, it depends on what type of story the piece is. Rules can be broken in some cases, whereas rules should be applied to others. In something like a speech or essay, it is highly important to keep grammar and structure correct and to sound very intelligent. There are other types of writing where it would be okay to break these rules to make their work flow and sound interesting to the reader. Tori,
You have some really good ideas here. I especially like your conversation on the importance of clarity, which I think this paper is largely about. You seem to be largely keeping your discussion within the context of fiction and literary forms of writing. I want to know more about what guides you when you write. While I like your conversation on the literary stuff, can you give me more practical forms of writing? Also, there are several instances where you use language and certain terms that Im not sure exactly what you mean. Your conversation on interpretation is emblematic of this, as I think there is a difference between interpreting a piece and inferring meaning from a text. I would like for you to think of a clearer thesis and tighten your conversation around that much more specific, clear thesis.

Tori Reynolds

Works Cited http://www.oxbridgeediting.co.uk/blog/funny-grammar-mistakes-commas-619/ http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/947.William_Shakespeare Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling page 65 http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/annabel-lee/