So far in this semester I have to say I've learned quite a bit in grammar class. Not only have we pushed the limits of apostrophes and how they work, but we've also discussed how certain editors choose to use them. I especially like the idea that we're learning this not just by lecture, but by hands-on scrap booking! I never thought that learning grammar could be so fun or interesting. I actually love going to class and knowing that we're going to be learning about apostrophes, dashes and ellipsis, etc. instead of dreading the very idea of them. I also never really paid attention to how editors of magazines chose to lay out their material. It's interesting to see how different editors have various ticks and obsessions that they go by to specifically mark whatever magazine they work for as, "theirs." Although I was missing from class one day and I can't really say what we did, I am happy to say that today when I took my WEST-B there were plenty of questions that had to do with grammar in the "writing section" that made up for my missed lecture on Wednesday. I had to know adjectives, nouns, pronouns and so forth. It really made my brain want to blow up, but I feel like in the end, the constant bashing of these will pay off, well, I know they will. Again, anything that was discussed in class this week I was home sick and missed the lecture. But, I'm sure what ever we did cover is something that I probably need to learn more about! I'm looking forward to discussing more about the parts of speech and when and how to use commas at the right times! The commas problem just keeps popping up for me and I need to figure out how to manage or fix my obsessions with them!
QUESTION OF THE WEEK:
As I was taking my WEST-B, I noticed a lot of questions that had to do with sentences being too "wordy." Honestly, I had a hard time figuring out what was too "wordy" and what words could have been changed (that weren't obvious). Does anyone have any ideas on how to eliminate "wordy" sentences without taking away from the paragraph?
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Wordiness in essays is something college professors tend to jump on. Wordy sentences, in my experience, are ones that are redundant or don't convey meaning concisely. When you say you don't want to take away from the paragraph, do you mean the length of the paragraph, or the meaning of the paragraph? This often has a lot to do with wordiness: adding "fluff" or filler to writing to stretch it out or make it sound more profound. Once you have stated the point or conveyed meaning to your own satisfaction, stop typing. This is where writing tends to get wordy.
ReplyDelete*Side note: this is a drawback of professors assigning word and page-length requirements.
Hey Shannyn!
ReplyDeleteI just got done taking the WEST B too! I am pretty sure my brain was fried afterwards. That is such a long test.
Regarding your question, I had someone I work with tell me this: if you can take out one or more words in a sentence and it still says the same thing then your sentence is to wordy. A sentence or a paragraph that is wordy can distract your reader, especially when only one or two words are necessary to make a point. For example instead of using ‘with the exception of’ the word ‘except’ conveys the same thing and ‘absolutely essential’ can be broken down to ‘essential’. Sometimes writers will need to make a point and use wordy phases to do so, but if it is done repeatedly it can become quite distracting. I don’t know if this helps but I hope it does.
excellent explanations, both Lana and Kat. We're going to study this specifically later in the semester--and find some other practical ways to address the wordiness.
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