Maura Malfatto - Rosemont College - Writing Across the Publishing ...
Maura Malfatto - Rosemont College - Writing Across the Publishing Industry
Short response: The Sense of Style: the Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century! By Steven Pinker
I approached The Sense of Style by Pinker with many expectations. As a writer myself, I was intrigued by the possibility that in a book I could find directions on how to write an elegant prose. The idea that good style can be learned, and does not come naturally, was a subversive message for me. However, the book opened with a quotation from Oscar Wilde stating that writing and style is something that cannot be taught. Pinker’s comments about the “elusive ear of a skilled writer” made me think that my expectations would have been somewhat disappointed. When I finished the book, a concept really struck me and made me see things from a different perspective. His description of the concept of clarity in writing is the best takeaway I got from the book. I have always thought that if someone is confused about a subject, it is very likely the written text will be confused too. And this is true when you read texts where you cannot find the main idea and you easily get lost in the foggy prose. But Pinker moves beyond these assumptions and provides a further reading of the concept of clarity. Good writers need to write a simple and clear prose in order to be kind with their readers. They shall use examples, take the readers by hand and show them what they wanted to communicate. Quoting from Pinker, “classic writing, with its assumption of equality between writer and reader, makes the reader feel like a genius.” He stresses the importance of the writer/reader relationship as between equal. The key for good writing would be “never consider your readers as inferior to you” with all the consequences that apply. He suggests to use simple words and to use them effectively. Hence, the concept of brevity. Pinker, therefore, invite writers to use images, to be visual and to “make the readers see with their own eyes.” He suggests that we, as writers, should “visualize ourselves in some kind of conversation, or correspondence” and we should accompany “the reader on a journey” rather than having the assumption of teaching something. In conclusion, the general rules that apply to the classical style such as brevity, simplicity, clarity and being visual, can be summed up in his vision of respecting your readers. As obvious as it sounds, it is the best advice I have heard on writing, and sadly also the seldom mentioned in other manuals of style I have read. A writer should know: we do not write for ourselves but for someone else.
1
Short response: The Sense of Style: the Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century! By Steven Pinker
I approached The Sense of Style by Pinker with many expectations. As a writer myself, I was intrigued by the possibility that in a book I could find directions on how to write an elegant prose. The idea that good style can be learned, and does not come naturally, was a subversive message for me. However, the book opened with a quotation from Oscar Wilde stating that writing and style is something that cannot be taught. Pinker’s comments about the “elusive ear of a skilled writer” made me think that my expectations would have been somewhat disappointed. When I finished the book, a concept really struck me and made me see things from a different perspective. His description of the concept of clarity in writing is the best takeaway I got from the book. I have always thought that if someone is confused about a subject, it is very likely the written text will be confused too. And this is true when you read texts where you cannot find the main idea and you easily get lost in the foggy prose. But Pinker moves beyond these assumptions and provides a further reading of the concept of clarity. Good writers need to write a simple and clear prose in order to be kind with their readers. They shall use examples, take the readers by hand and show them what they wanted to communicate. Quoting from Pinker, “classic writing, with its assumption of equality between writer and reader, makes the reader feel like a genius.” He stresses the importance of the writer/reader relationship as between equal. The key for good writing would be “never consider your readers as inferior to you” with all the consequences that apply. He suggests to use simple words and to use them effectively. Hence, the concept of brevity. Pinker, therefore, invite writers to use images, to be visual and to “make the readers see with their own eyes.” He suggests that we, as writers, should “visualize ourselves in some kind of conversation, or correspondence” and we should accompany “the reader on a journey” rather than having the assumption of teaching something. In conclusion, the general rules that apply to the classical style such as brevity, simplicity, clarity and being visual, can be summed up in his vision of respecting your readers. As obvious as it sounds, it is the best advice I have heard on writing, and sadly also the seldom mentioned in other manuals of style I have read. A writer should know: we do not write for ourselves but for someone else.
1
