For homework due on Monday, Dec. 7th, please read the short article posted as a Picasa slide show HERE. It is the chapter "Sharpening" by Ken Macrorie.
Then, post a comment of 100 words or more on this blog (as a comment; not as a new thread). You should ponder about the following questions:
a) Does your writing require sharpening when the composing process is done?
b) Do you bother with sharpening after finishing a composition, or do you submit it "as is"?
c) If you were a teacher, how would you teach sharpening to high school students? Can it be taught at all, or is it a natural gift?
d) Imagine you were the editor of a newspaper or a scientific journal, and you are sharpening the incoming contributions of different authors. What other benefits than a better read could sharpening have for your newspaper/journal?
In case you cannot comment to this blog because of password difficulties, you can also email me your comment. On Monday, you should have three 100-word comments accessible (either on the blog, or in emails; if you printed them out, you will have to retype them in class for an activity).
Our three 100-word comments are:
1) your personal opinion about "ENGFISH"
2) your personal opinion about "Word Order"
3) your personal opinion about "Sharpening".
In case you miss this Friday's class, you have to do all of that at home and have your texts ready for Monday. There will be no make-up for the activity on Monday, since this is the last in-class assignment before our final exam coming Friday. Remember that we do not meet in finals week!!!
For Monday: bring a pencil or a colored pen, and if you have, a pocket calculator! If you don't have one, you can use the calculator of Microsoft on your computer.
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This article is interesting because it is true! I do need help with sharpening in my writing. I am always wondering how I can create a good amount of meaning in my sentences without using about of to be verbs. When i edit my work I don't sharpen it but I do try and eliminate useless filler in my sentences or replace them with words that have meaning. Sharpening can be taught to high school students and I would teach it using their writing assignments. I would give the students a writing assignment and before they turn it in we would do in class workshops on sharpening techniques on their work. The day would go something like this: The students would bring in their homework assignments and have them circle all of the to be verbs. After that I would have them find a word to replace them, unless the verb had meaning in them. At the end of the sharpening workshops they would hand in the original version and the sharpened version. Sharpening would not only improve my writing ability but also my speaking ability. I would speak sharper.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting article because so many writers struggle with weasel words and uses of "is" and "to be." After finishing a draft, I often "sharpen" the paper. I did not know of the term for performing this revising technique before reading this article. Sharpening can definitely be taught to students in school. By simply reading this article, I learned about weasel words that should not be used in writing. High school students can learn in a similar way. Sharpening for newspaper or scientific journals produces well-organized, thoughtful articles that convey established evidence. By leaving out weasel words, articles maintain a professional appearance. Macrorie makes a valid point in his article. Students, professors, and professional writers should adapt his opinions during composing.
ReplyDeleteThis article made me think a lot about my own writing. After a draft, I usually proof read it but i don't really "sharpen" it. I look more for spelling errors or punctuation instead of excessive use of verbs. I tend to use more of the "dull verbs", such as is or to be, instead of a meaningful verb. I could use more descriptive words while writing that could help to improve my papers and make them more interesting for the readers. I also need to work more on my "sharpening" skills to help improve my writing. By leaving out weasel words, I can help improve my writing all together.
ReplyDeleteI learned a lot from reading this article. I proof read my papers for grammar mistakes, but I don't sharpen it. However, I need to start sharpening my papers so that I can take the unneccessary words out of my papers and put in words that actuaully have meaning. This procedure would make my papers better. I believe students need to be taught how to sharpen their writing. Teachers could teach the students how to sharpen by doing in class activities. The students could look at their orginal paper and then look at the one they sharpened and see how much of a difference that they made.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very interesting. While I do go over my papers several times and have others go through them hunting for grammar mistakes and just overall editing it, I had never done too much "sharpening" as it is called in the article. I do find myself using “is” several times in my writing and honestly, I had never thought anything of it. But the reasons for not using “is” that were stated in this article make complete sense. Using “is” does seem to make one use less action verbs and the action verbs is what makes papers and stories worth reading.
ReplyDeleteThis article is definitely interesting. I "sharpen" my papers after I think my paper is fully finished. I did not know what the technical term for this was but now I know. I do believe that teaching this to students in high school would be extremely easy. Simply, tell there students to read their paper over once they believe that their papers are fully finished. I would also tell them to look for the filler words like "is" and "to be". I believe that if editors enforce sharpening, the newspaper would sound more intelligent and have a better style.
ReplyDeleteThis is my first time hearing of sharpening but I notice after reading this that I never have sharpened my writing by taking out the "its," and "it is," etc. I enjoy reading the metaphors much more than unsharpened writing but I guess because of my conditioning of using "Engfish" I would never write that way. I think it's interesting though and maybe I'll use that style in some of my future work just to try it out and make my writing more interesting for the teacher.
ReplyDeleteI think my papers need to be sharpened after I am done with the first copy. I always try to do so after I finish. I am not a person who was born to write, so this is very hard for me to do sometimes. I think it can be taught; however, I do think that it does come naturally to some people. A good project for teaching students to sharpen their papers would to have them bring in what they think is a finished paper and go over ways they can improve or sharpen it. The newspaper or magazine will seem more professional if the articles have been sharpened.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure it's inevitable that i need sharpening after every paper i get done with. I mean, after each assignment, I'll try my best to read through my papers one or two times to catch anything that is juvenile or anything that is obvious to be fixed, but i think i could use a little something extra as well. As far as getting people to do this more and getting students to learn how to do this or make it more of a habit seems a little tricky. I've noticed more though in college level papers, that it does seem people have really cleaned up their papers before turning them in or getting them checked. Even though students that i encounter do seem to progress in this area, i believe there should be a lesson on how to sharped or a class that teaches you how to make your papers excellent
ReplyDeleteSharpening is an excellent tool to have. I believe that sharpening takes a talented writer to master. I think that if someone tried to teach this to high school students he or she would have an extremely difficult time doing so. High school kids do not even know proper grammar for the most part. I try to sharpen my papers when I have time to but it is not entirely necessary. I turn in my papers the way they are without sharpening and still do pretty well on them. I think sharpening should be taught to college students because I believe that they would be able to grasp it. Sharpening would make many people better writers.
ReplyDeleteMy writing definitely requires sharpening when it is done. When my papers are done I do try to sharpen my papers the best I can. I always try to make my papers better. I don’t really know how I would teach sharpening to students if I was an English teacher. However I do believe it can be taught. It’s not a natural gift. If I was writing for a newspaper sharpening would benefit my writing by making my writing stand out for other writers. It might catch a reader’s attention and make them want to read my stories more than others.
ReplyDeleteThis article taught me alot about sharpening and what it is. I didnt know what sharpening was until reading this and I really think it is a good method to start using to revise my papers. I proof read my papers but i don't really sharpen it. I look more for grammar mistakes, spelling errors, or punctuation instead of excessive use of verbs. I think sharpening could be taught in highschool, however I wouldnt know how to teach it if I was an English teacher. First, I might have examples for students to proof read and sharpen on their own. Then have the students compare the original paper to the "sharpened" one and see the differences. I think sharpening is more useful for college writers because I dont think many highschool students would take the time to "sharpen" a paper. In my opinion, I think sharpening would make many people better writers. It takes out unneccessary words and makes papers appear more professional.
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ReplyDeleteThe article, "Sharpening" is very interesting. I agree with aspects of the article, and find sharpening in general to be very beneficial towards any publication. Most of my writing consists of sharpening at the end of the document, because it is very common include errors during the process. If I were a teacher in high school, I would emphasize great focus on sharpening because it will help improve the students' writing to prepare them for college and a professional career. Other than making a document easier to read, sharpening can help convey an audience by including more descriptive words, which will ultimately gain more attention from the readers. In regards to the term sharpening, I feel that is very beneficially because it helps writers correct in errors in their writing process.
ReplyDeleteI believe that my writing does require sharpening at the end of a paper, most writing pieces do. I, however, don't try a sharpen my piece of writing as best as I could, I generally use spell check and skim over hat I think is a finished product. As a teacher I believe it could be some what difficult to teach students how to sharpen their writing constructively rather than just reading through and not really looking at the paper. I do think that it can be taught though through different types of proof reading exercises however, there are some people that do just a have a natural talent for sharpening. Other than having a better read after sharpening, the reader can also subconsciously learn and understand what a proper sentence and paragraph should read like and it will help the reader have just a better understanding of the topic at hand.
ReplyDeleteI do not sharpen my documents as much as I need to. It definitely hinders my writing because I am well aware that I use trite words such as is, it, stuff, things, and many others in my writings that make them dull. I tend to just turn my work in as is; it seems like a more realistic grade and I have always been a fairly good writer. I think to teach about sharpening, I would have students write a 100 word composition, much like us, and then show them how to look over it for bland words and how to liven up their writings.
ReplyDeleteI think sharpening is an essential part of making a paper legible and concise. I have edited every paper i have ever written for context clarity. I want to make sure that I am getting the right message across in a manner that makes the reader think about my statements critically. My writing is very clear for the most part. All of my teachers have always told me that my ideas read very well and that i have a way with words. Even with this being said, it is still necessary for me to proofread my writing when i am finished with it.
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