Writing Log 2a

Nader Roheny

Graysmith

English 151

6 April 2011

Writing Log 2a

Reading through chapter one gives the reader many insights on how to be a better writer. Writing is more then just rules of grammar to memorize and the amount of things to consider when writing a paper can help immensely.

The first hotspot I came across began on page nine. Two texts of non fiction prose are introduced. “A Festival of Rain” by Thomas Merton, and a letter written by David Rockwood. The author notes “David Rockwood’s letter and Thomas Merton’s mini essay are both examples of nonfiction prose. But as these examples illustrate, nonfiction prose can vary enormously in form and style. From the perspective of structure, we can place nonfiction prose along a continuum that goes from closed to open forms of writing.” These open and closed forms of writing are examples of how writing can be styled in so many ways. In a closed form of writing, a writer can draw its reader in by introducing their thesis, followed by points that support it. They can also go the other route and leave the audience in suspense with a sort of “lets think this through together” mentality, giving the thesis towards the end of the paper. More open forms of writing seek to ask a question rather than state a thesis. They end up more poetic and abstract than closed forms of writing and usually violate rules of closed-form prose.

The second hotspot I encountered was on page nineteen. A good writer writes with a purpose and this purpose can be broken down under the concept of rhetorical aim. There are six different rhetorical aims of writing: “to express, to explore, to inform, to analyze and synthesize, to persuade, and to reflect.” These aims give a writer a whole arsenal of techniques to utilize when writing.