Writing Style: Some General Notes

Writing Style

1) Arresting detail → images that will attract the reader’s curious eye

• Pull from the larger world
• Pull from your local world

2) Variety of sentence structure → like a good song, an effective essay attempts different notes!

3) Use of figures of speech (metaphors, personification)

4) Use of analogies → another way of connecting issue to larger world

5) Provocative questions on the subject

6) Variety of the kinds of sentences:

• Declare
• Demand
• Interrogate
• Exclaim

7) Diction / dialect → use the language of your roots! (phrases and word choice from where you are from (Coke/pop/soda; trailer v. portable)

Persuasion

After reading Bono's op-ed (opinion editorial) from the NY TIMES in class and listening to some U2, we will begin our discussion of what we can do as both writers and artists to bring in an issue to life in attempts to persuade people, basically, to think and act as we would want them to.

Our goal for our last Major Essay (#3), is to write a persuasive essay in which the subject is of something politically, socially, and/or artistically important to you as a writer to get out to the world. Along with the essay you will create a companion visual aid (something that you can present to the class, and something that relates to the topic of your essay).

As always, you will be given a handout that details the assignment and due dates.

bests,

Chris