Word of the Week

Another word of the week is ebb, which dictionary.com defines as "the flowing back of water as the tide returns to the sea. Or a point of decline." I like how this word can define the flow of water or a concept that is declining just like the tide. This word was found in another NY Times article about the Libyan revolution by C.J. Chivers. The sentence reads, "Gunfire started to ebb..." So gunfire decreased like how the tide recedes every day. Just like the flow of our own emotions.

The article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/world/africa/10libya.html?hp

Word of the Week April 9th

My word of the week is dichotomy. According to dictionary.com, this word means division in to two parts or subdivisions. I found this word in a NY Times article about the debate over education reform by Jonathan Mahler. The line reads "As it often the case with morally charged policies, false dichotomies seemed to have replaced fruitful conversation."The quote is commenting on how moral values are splitting people apart and nothing is done getting done in politics.

The quote can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/weekinreview/10reform.html?hp

Favorite Passage of the Week April 8th

I was reading an article on the New York Times website about Sidney Lumet, the director of such films as "Serpico," "12 Angry Men" and "Dog Day Afternoon." The article was by Robert Berkvist. The passage is a quote by the director himself.“While the goal of all movies is to entertain, the kind of film in which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing.” 
I like this quote because I like how movies can actually say something rather than just be considered entertainment. I like to read novels depicting social and political problems. This is related to my enjoyment of movies in the same genre. 
The article can be found at 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/movies/sidney-lumet-director-of-american-classics-dies-at-86.html?hp

Catch of the Week - April 8th

I was reading my textbook for a Technical writing class the other day and I stumbled upon a silly error. The book is entitled The Essentials of Technical Communication by Elizabeth Tebeaux and Sam Dragga. Technical communication is all about business writing such as proposals, progress reports, business letters and so on. On page 174, the authors are discussing topically arranging formal reports. The sentence reads as follow, "In topical arrangement, the order in which you present your ideas should be logical and inclusive For example..." All the sentence needs is a period between inclusive and For.

Catch of the Week March 27th

I am currently reading a book for my Technical Writing course in which I have found a simple error. The book it entitled "A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future" by Daniel Pink. It is about how analytical Left Brain thinking is slowly become less important than creative Right Brain thinking.

"The sentence goes as follow: Every August my mother would take my brother, sister and me to buy clothes for the new school year." The obvious mistake is that me should be I. This is a second-graders mistake.

Elements of Style Chapter Four

This chapter is entitled "Words and Expressions Commonly Misused." The differences between similar words are explained to help your writing. The first word that I use in my writing is effect. The book says not to use this term is a sentence such as "The blue walls produced a sea-like effect." This word brings about vagueness while a writer must be as specific as possible. Another word that brings about vagueness is factor. Heres a bad example the book provides, "His superior training was the great factor in his winning of the match." Here's the good example, "He won the match by being better trained." The second sentence is more direct and less awkward than the first. I use the word factor in my writing but now I will not. Feature is another word that I often use but is vague just like factor.

I want to be more specific with my writing because I am taking a Technical writing course this semester. Technical writing is all about writing for readers who do not want to read. For example, office workers don't want to read memos and work emails but they must to complete their job. A writer must be specifc as possible in the shortest amount of space.

Another good word that I misuse is however. The book declares that this word must not be used at the beginning of a sentence or clause if the word means nevertheless. I always use this word in the beginning of a sentence.

Elements of Style Chapter Three

This brief chapter was about matters of form such as the use of colloquialisms, margins, headings, hyphens, numerals, quotations and parentheses. One key point that especially applied to my writing was the use of punctuation after parentheses. The book states that punctuation marks must be placed outside the parentheses unless a whole statement is in parentheses. Another point that I learned was that formal citations  are introduced by a colon. I never heard of this before and therefore will apply it to my writing in the future. Additionally, I was not aware of the omitting of A or The from titles if I place the possessive before it. The book uses the example, The Tale of Two Cities would be Dickens's Tale of Two Cities. I was always confused about this when it came up in my writing but now that has been cleared up.