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About Me
- Prof. Lignelli
- I am a University Professor of ESL at Howard Community and Montgomery College. I often teach at Anne Arundel Community from time to time as well. I have taught various levels of English from Elementary to University. I have a MA in TESL from Inter American University of Puerto Rico. I look forward to seeing each and everyone of you in my class!!
An effective writing style, in addition to the elements of content and organization, is necessary to produce good writing. Style is an elusive but essential feature of all texts. An author's individuality, his persona, is expressed in the words he chooses to use, his sentence patterns, and his selection and arrangement of details. It is each writer's personal style, thoughtfully executed, that breathes life into a text and involves the reader. The writer's personality must permeate the writing, so that the reader and writer share a type of mental dialogue, a communication, through the text. Developing ideas adequately and organizing them logically are important writing elements, but these are not enough alone to hold a reader's interest. Standard American English, following the accepted rules of grammar, and logical organization are expected in any form of writing, but it is the writer's style that distinguishes correct writing from good writing.
ReplyDeleteWhile every writer must strive to develop his own personal style, a good writer must learn to vary his style depending upon the writing situation. Just as an interviewee might choose to dress conservatively in a navy suit and tie for a job interview, the writer must decide what style is appropriate for the writing task. For example, a personal, breezy, casual style which is perfect for a letter to a good friend would not be appropriate for a business memo or a sales report. Likewise, a strong personal style which calls attention to itself would be a poor choice for an essay examination in which the instructor is interested in the writer's ability to write intelligently about a subject.
An appropriate style is deliberately created by a writer and, when well executed, promotes effective communication. One device used to create style is the voice the writer projects in the text. Sometimes writers use strong, distinctive, personal voices to create an intimate or emotional rapport with the reader. For example, a narrative about a life-changing situation might be written in an intimate voice using emotional, colloquial, or conversational language to communicate a sense of personality. On other occasions, a writer may wish to create a feeling of objectivity, focusing on the ideas conveyed rather than the personality behind them. For instance, a sociology student writing about gang activity and its effect on schoolchildren would use more detached, formal, impersonal language and an academic tone to focus attention on the ideas presented rather than himself as a writer and student. In this situation, if the writer created a strong, personal voice laden with opinion and colloquial expressions it would interfere with the communication of ideas and facts .
Our language grammatically defines three voices in the use of pronouns. These are:
ReplyDelete1st person pronouns--I, we, me, us, my, mine, our, ours
2nd person pronouns--you, your, yours
3rd person pronouns--he, she, it, they, his, her, hers, its, their, theirs, him, them
Using the first person pronouns in writing creates a personal, intimate style of writing which focuses attention on the writer as a part of the text. Appropriate in many situations such as narrative and letter writing, using the first person referent creates a more casual style of writing which is emotionally appealing.
On the other hand, the third person pronouns, or third person voice, are usually preferred for more formal, academic writing and used for addressing a general audience. In this situation, the writer de-emphasizes his personal voice, choosing instead to focus upon the topic or subject he wishes to discuss. The author who writes in the third person voice is not voiceless; rather, he chooses a relatively anonymous public voice, one appropriate to a more serious, academic writing situation.
The last group of pronouns, the second person, consists of only one word, you, and its possessive forms. This is the least effective voice for any writer to adopt, as it gives the text a preachy, lecture-ish quality, especially when referring to a general audience of readers. You is a pronoun that is properly used in direct address, but more often improperly used as an indefinite pronoun aimed at a general audience. Beginning writers are advised to eliminate the pronoun you from their essays to avoid the repetition and tone it creates.
The effective writer usually uses a consistent voice throughout an essay and specifically within one paragraph. Unwarranted shifts in voice can be confusing and annoying obstacles to clear communication. Here are some examples of pronoun shift:
Shift from third to second person:
If a football player works hard, he has many chances for financial aid, and you might even be eligible for a full scholarship.
Shift eliminated:
If a football player works hard, he has many chances for financial aid, and he might even be eligible for a full scholarship.
Shift from first to second person:
An empathetic friend is one to whom I can tell my most private thoughts. This kind of friend still knows when you want to be alone and respects your wish.
Shift eliminated:
An empathetic friend is one to whom I can tell my most private thoughts. This kind of friend still knows when I want to be alone and respects my wish.
Here is some more info:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/style.html