Dawkins/Bryson/Project#1

Dawkins

Before You Read

I asked several of my friends what they were taught over and over again about grammar and punctuation. Most said that the rules of english are not bendable and that in school they were graded not on the content but on how the sentences were structured. Teachers focused on wether a comma was really needed and if the sentence was a run on sentence and so forth. Rules like these were driven into the students heads and made sure to not be easily forgotten.

Summary

Dawkins mainly talks about the importance of grammar and understanding when and what to use in a sentence, especially sentences that have two different independent clauses. He writes to students and those looking to become even better writers. He uses his article to teach a theory about using a different mark system and degree system to better understand when it is appropriate to use a comma, a semicolon, and so on. A good writer will understand what is needed to be emphasized and to what degree the clause is important to conveying the meaning of the article.

Synthesis

Like many other articles we have read so far, Dawkins is trying to teach the importance of different areas of writing, in this case it is sentence structure. Dawkins can relate back to Kleine because both use a table to try and explain what they are teaching. Kleine used a table to better teach his hunting gathering technique, while Dawkins used a table like visual to show basic functions and the degrees of separation between clauses. Now, taking the visual aspect, it is easy to relate Dawkin's article back to McCloud who worked solely on using visuals to convey his meaning.

Dialectical Notebook

Dawkins

Response	Quotation
I feel that it is important to do both. When learning something new, it is important to know what to do and what not to do.	“Such instruction is negative in that it tells students what not to do and how not to do it; better instruction – in any skill, I assume - is going to tell students what to do and how to do it, it is going to encourage the ‘good’ behaviors, not discourage the bad.” (page 141)
Instead of writing to make sure that the sentence is proper, it is more important that the sentence says and shows exactly what the writer wants it to. I agree with what Dawkins is saying here.	“Conventional punctuation is grammar based – marks are prescribed in terms of grammatical structure – but what ‘good writers’ do, writers like Orwell, is punctuate according to their intended meaning, their intended emphasis.” (page 141)
I was not exactly sure what was meant when using underlying, so when I read this passage from the book, it made a lot more sense and sort of became obvious in my mind.	“The principle for ‘underlying’ structures is well known: in spite of the missing element(s) in the surface structure, a clause is independent if the missing element(s) can be readily provided by a native speaker.” (page 142)
Some do not realize how important of a role grammar plays in what the sentence is saying. The simple use of a comma can totally alter what the sentence means.	“All writers, evidently, want a sentence to say what they intend it to say.” (page 143)
By doing something over and over again it can help become second nature. In the beginning, something may seem uncomfortable and wrong because it is going against what was always taught.	“It is to be learned by doing - the way all language skills are learned, which means a lot of doing, of course.” (page 150)

Discussion and Journaling

5. I was not sure what a zero was in writing, and after Dawkins brought it up countless times, it helped me understand better. Also, the degrees of separation between clauses helped me to better understand how and when to use the right punctuation, especially with the several examples that were given.

Meta Moment

By reading the article, there are examples and better descriptions of how punctuation is rhetorical. If this was explained just in class, I wouldn't fully understand it to the level I do now. Once I read something, I can remember back to where I read it and see it in my mind. If it was taught to me, chances are I would not be as focused and not make connections as easily as I can while reading something.

My Connection

I found the article to be very informative. It helped me to see the uses for the punctuations and the clauses set up in different styles so that I could see them in different settings. I did find some of the information to be a little repetitive.

Bryson

Summary

Bryson focuses on words and how they came to be. The english language is one language that is "almost entirely notional." (page 61) The article focuses on how certain rules should be broken for when these rules are broken, good writing will follow. There are certain things that are certain rules and techniques that are only practiced because of what has been taught over the years. Bryson writes to other teachers and students and aims to inform and share opinions on how writing is today.

Before Reading

The use of technology is going to alter the english language drastically. With texting, words are shortened or sometimes even made up so that instead just stating something the attitude and way it is intended is also clear. For example, when texting, instead of just saying "I don't know" one could say "idunno" to sound more friendly and conversational. When I myself am texting someone, I still include punctuation and spell everything out, just out of habit. Depending on the person, the texting style might change and different words and "lingo" are used. Facebook and Twitter will also play an impact on how the english language will change and go through several areas of transformation.

Synthesis

Bryson is someone who does not fully agree with the proper use of grammar and instead feels that the meaning behind the text is very important to make sure is clearly defined. Bryson makes you think about what you are reading and helps you see both writing and the language in a new way, just like Stephen King did in "What Writing Is." Both the authors set it up so that instead of going about writing in the traditional fashion, it is seen in a different way. Another author which Bryson is able to relate to is Donald Murray for Murray talks about how writing techniques and planning are things of habit and may need to be retaught, just like Bryson spoke about the english language; that is it is something of habit.

Dialectical Notebook

Bryson

Response	Quotation
Language is not something that can be forced. It will happen over time, and time will be able to correct any of the features of the language that do not exactly fit.	“We need no doubt but that the best forms of speech will, in time, establish themselves by their own superior excellence; and in all controversies, it is better to wait the decisions of time, which are slow and sure, than to take those of synods, which are often hasty and injudicious.” (page 63)
Certain words, though it seems that they have the same meaning, in fact, do not.	“They point out that there is a useful distinction to be observed between uninterested and disinterested..” (page 64)
If you think about it, a lot of the words in the English language (maybe even most) come from other words that have been taken either from other languages or the English language and just placed together to create a new word.	“It is one of the felicities of English that we can take pieces of words from all over and fuse them into a new constructions.” (page 65)
Force of habit is enough to create a belief that people will follow and live by.	“No doubt the reason hopefully is not allowed is that somebody at The New York times once had a boss who wouldn’t allow it because his professor had forbidden it, because his father thought it was ugly and inelegant, because he had been told so by his uncle who was a man of great learning… and so on.” (page 65)
Instead of listening to those who criticize, instead cherish the new found discovery. Just because someone else doesn’t like it, does not mean it is not a good idea.	“We should be proud of ourselves for our ingenuity and yet even now authorities commonly attack almost any new construction as ugly or barbaric.” (page 65)

My thoughts

I agreed with almost everything that Bryson was saying. He took the english language and showed that there is more to writing than just rules. He also made the article interesting and easy to read. I think this may have been one of the first articles I have read where I didn't sit there and question how on earth I was going to finish the rest of the pages of the article, and that is saying something.

Project #1

My paper has still yet to be completed. I have done some research on the different authors who have used personal identity as a writing topic. I find it hard to exactly find information solely on their writing and not on their background as writers. I still need to put more time in figuring out exactly what direction I intend to take my paper and what points I want to make sure to include. By writing my intro, it helped me get a better idea of what I want to accomplish in my paper, but I feel that I am still in the planning page because there still isn’t a full rough draft produced. Once I do have my first rough draft produced, I already know that there is going to be many more to come.

            After doing the workshop, it helped me better understand where others are going with their paper and how they are constructing it. Even though the topics are different, there still is the common goal of creating an interesting paper that conveys exactly what is trying to be said, while keeping the format of a good writing style. I feel that the directions for the workshop could have been better directed, but that is all that I could see about improving the workshop. It served it’s practice and put me one step closer to being able to finish my paper.