Ken Marcrorie's article Sharpening, provides the knowledge and importance of the revisioning of words. He takes us through steps and ways in which we can tighten our sentences. Words are one of the worlds most profound ways of getting a point across. What Marcrorie discusses within this article plays off some of the ideas of ENGFISH. We learned from Engfish that excessive writing within a sentence has no value. In this piece Marcrorie gives us tips or lessons on how to sharpen our sentences, thus leading to better writing.
One of the main points he makes is the issue of using unnecessary words and the over usage of the word is. Many times in writing the verb is, is used to describe something that exist. However, the word "is "has no definite value and if used, needs to be properly ordered within the sentence.
For example: The teachers task is to make sure students understand. Oppose to: It is the teachers task to make sure students understand.
With the correct order of words our sentences will create more power.
Another point Marcrorie mentioned was that of using active verbs rather than passive verbs. When using active verbs the subject performs an action, and when using passive verbs the subject receives an action.
For Example: Active- The dog bit the boy. Passive- The boy was bitten by the dog.
While both sentences completely make sense, the second sentence creates and provides more certainty.
For Discussion: What are your thoughts on the article? Are you a big user of the word "is"? After reading, have you thought of ways in which you could "Sharpen" your writing?
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19 comments:
I do use the word "is" a lot in my writing. However, I'm not sure that there is a problem with using it. I do not quite understand how there is a right and wrong way of using the word is in writing. Both sentences given as examples seemed correct to me. The second sentence sounded better in a sense but not to the point that I would stop and think about the way I use is. I did find the article to be interesting and I can see the correlation with Engfish. I also was not sure of the importance between passive and active verbs. I think that passive verbs do sound better however; I have heard that many teachers do not like students to use passive verbs in their writing. All together the article did make me realize that I do need to sharpen my writing skills.
I do use the word "is" a lot in my writing. I was not aware that there was a problem with using it, but I did find through this article that there are better ways to use it. The sentence may sound more structured when used accordingly. I found the article to be interesting and saw the ties with ENGFISH. Students are constantly trying to make their writing sound intelligient and educated, but in order to do this there are certain ways to go about it. The passive and active verbs made sense to me. The active verbs seem to be less "wordy" and get the point across much better. This article had an impact on how I will be sharpening my writing skills.
I agree with the other 2 comments. I use the word "is" all lot the time. I use it when I speak and when I write. I've never heard of there being a problem with it until now. I did get the ENGFISH point, that maybe it isn't needed. While typing this I am trying to avoid the word "is" and I am finding it hard. I need to work on sharpening my work and tightening the sentences too.
I do use the word “is” a lot. I guess I use “is” out of habit. Also, I find when I am writing I run out of things to say. I begin to think of ways to make my work longer and that is when I begin to use “is” excessively. It seems like a lot of what we are reading about grammar has to do with giving our work power. I realize by using is so much the words have less power as opposed to finding different words that are more appropriate. Although, we have been in class for a couple of weeks what I have learned so far is very valuable. I am trying to make an effort to use proper grammar and make my words come alive. I know I can not accomplish this overnight, but I want to make sure I work hard to improve my grammar. How can I expect to teach children if my grammar is bad? I want to be a good example to my students.
I do use the word "is" a lot in my writing. I was not aware that using it was a problem, but by reading this article I found that there are better ways of using it. I had never of it being a problem until now. I see how it ties into Engfish and how students use larger words to make their writing sound better.
I wasn’t aware of how many times I use the word ”is” so I looked at past papers that I have written. I found that I do often use “is.” However, until reading this article I wasn’t aware that that was a bad thing. I had never really heard that using is too often was a problem. The two examples that we saw really helped me to understand the different ways in which to use “is.” Like all English majors, I want to improve my writing skills and this article was helpful by showing me the right techniques. From now on I will try and cut down my “is” usage.
I try to not use the word "is" when I write however no matter how much I try the word always seems to show up at least twice in a paragraph. I didn’t realize how badly this could affect my writing. After reading the article I realized that I mostly just use the word "is" out of habit from my “Engfish” background. The most helpful example I read was to use a metaphorical verb for the word "is." I feel that this can greatly improve me writing. I am still trying to cut back and work on my sharping skills.
This is by far the most prevalent problem in my writing. I tend to add unnecessary words just because, kind of the Engfish effect. Although when it was brought to my attention it was called too "conversational". The problem is that I can't look at my own writing and tell I've added too many words. Obviously at some point I thought it was OK. My teacher suggested the following approach to critique my own writing. Act as if every word costs something, and we always want to save as much money as possible. So, eliminate all the words you don't absolutely need to save money. It works like a charm. As for the word "is", I use it a lot but I didn't think it was too horrible.
Funnily enough, I commented about the "to be" phenomenon in a previous post. One teacher I had only allowed a paper to contain one "to be" verb per paragraph. This rule made me a better writer, but it could also backfire, resulting in unbroken, run-on streams of ENGFISH. In those instances, the other principles of "sharpening" could have come to my aid. Marcrorie's criticism of certain uses of the words "that", "make", "go", "have", etc. helped me criticize my own writing on a higher level; although I have nearly eradicated my use of "it", along with excessive passivity, I have often used words like "that" to cheat my way out of using "to be" verbs.
That said, the part of this essay that I enjoyed most, about Emerson, illustrated that sometimes "is" - forgive me - is appropriate. The truth and melancholy of his paragraph moved me; his sound, precise writing, along with his artistry, float the declarative sentences.
I enrolled in this course hoping to gain this knowledge - when and how to use simple words without producing boring work. I want to find a balance in my writing, the way I feel Emerson did.
The word "is" I use excessively in my writing. I have issues trying to find other words to use in place of is. To be verbs are always harder to replace within writing. I am always trying to think of ways to sharpen my writing. When I think too hard I tend to be more wordy. Training yourself to write in a completely different manner takes a conscious effort. I have been trained to constantly write older now I see I've just been writing with too many words.
I've never really thought about the words "it" and "is" because they're so common that when I'm writing it's usually the least of my worries. After reading the article, however, I suppose I'm going to have to start really sharpening my writing and not just my grammar. There's a lot that I've never taken the time out to do with my writing and sharpening my papers is one of those things. I almost don't even understand how sentences using "is" can be cut, but from now on I'm going to try a lot harder.
I know I use the word "is" way too much, and it stinks because I don't even know I'm doing it. I thought the article was interesting and very true. I definitely see how it relates to the whole Engfish concept. It's going to take some time for me to be able to recognize and watch out for those things when I write, but it's definitely a skill I feel will help sharpen my writing.
Being a creative writing major myself, I've started to pick out repeated words when I write a story. It was something I never picked up on before. I often go back and revise what I write to make sure it sounds clearest to the reader. This article was incredibly useful and had great examples that made it clear on how to "sharpen" your writing. All of us have moments where we over use verbs, but I think it's a good idea to learn how to avoid it altogether.
I use the word “is” in my writing more than necessary. I use this word because it serves as an easy and direct way to convey my ideas. I don’t consider how to refine my writing skills as often as I should. Usually, my main goal in writing is to make my message understandable. My writing needs a lot of work in this area. This article has caused me to rethink my writing. After reading this article, I will spend more time reading my writing and replacing empty words with more meaningful ones.
I never really thought about the was I use the word "is" in my writing. I think people use it the way we do because we speak like that and we often like to write the way we speak. I think this is something many people have trouble with but don't even realize it.
I try to limit my use of "to be" verbs wherever I can. Sometimes, it can't be helped, of course, but there are much more colorful verbs to use. As Macrorie points out, "is" dampens conversation and writing more often than it helps.
Stylistically, my English classes ask for more colorful writing, whereas my journalism prefers me to use "to be" verbs for the sake of neutrality. My stories of my journalism classes tend to be kind of boring. I struggle sometimes separating the two types of writing, and an "is" might wander onto an English paper.
I skimmed part of the article because it started to get repetitive, but all in all, a good read.
I've always been aware of "is" usage in everything I write. I think I am the type of writer that has a thesaurus next to me on my desk while I write. Words have gotten plain over time, partly because of the common usage to describe things inaccurately. As some have already stated, I too, do not believe that there is a right or wrong way to use it. However, there are better ways to use it for some sentences. There is one thing that I find rather unsettling about the article and I will try to explain that. I do not believe that usage of a single word, especially a word like "is" can make or break a piece of writing, or give it more or less power. If a person is relying on their usage of small, common words such as "is" to cement their "powerful" paper, I think it's time to go back to the drawing board.
A light bulb went off above my head while reading about common place adjectives. "I felt awful" and "I was never so embarassed", are two cringe worthy and token terms that have wasted ink on far too many papers.
Knowingly, I have used these terms myself and now will try to avoid them at any cost. I liked the author's revision, 'I wish someone would cut off my arm', because it gives the situation humor while still showing disdain for what the character had just accomplished.
I do use the word "is" alot in my writing, but I don't think thatusing i is an issue. Yes, it is important for writing to be crisp, and clear,but there are certain things that can't be avoided,because there are always changes being made in the English language. I do understand that it is important for me to learn the ropes of efffective writing though, which is why I have made the decision to use details as opposed to "fillers" to make my writing more precise.
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