A&B Ch 18 skills 18.2, 18.4 and Little Penguin Handbook Part 6

An important rhetorical skill is imagery.  The Allyn Bacon guide says to use concrete words that evoke images and sensations. They say that sometimes even using complex language can be good, because it forces the reader to stop and think, and often leads to better understanding. The writer should use words that trigger memory.  The writer can also use "trope" or figurative language to help aid them in their writing. The Allyn Bacon Guide says, "figurative language abounds when literal words fail."  You can use figurative language to better describe feelings, emotions, and thing that other people haven't experience, but you have.  A writer should use trope to help explain images and sensory.  I plan on trying to use figurative language in my own personal narrative, to help describe the climax, because if I use it correctly I know it will help my readers get closer to actually understanding what it was like to be experiencing what I did. Also figurative language is what makes novels so much better than text books, so I wan't to use it to be a better writer.  ( The Penguin Handbook talks about punctuation, but I didn't reference it, because it didn't make sense with everything else.)

A&B Chapter6 125-130, 133-135,137-141 and A&B 18 475-479

When writing a narrative there are several things you should think about.  First we must think about the type of narrative. Is it free verse or does it have a clear thesis?  Next you should think about your audience and the theme of narrative.  For an Auto biographical narrative  it is important that as you tell the story an events that happen, you show a change in the character.  The Allyn Bacon Guide calls this change "old self versus new self", or the point where the main character changes in some way.  The Allyn Bacon guide also talks of the importance of plot, or an order of events with a rising action. You story should follow a plot bit also have a them.  Once your paper is written it should be able to be expressed in both plot and theme perspective. The difference between the two is plot perspective is specific to the story while theme is broad and can be applied liberally to other written works. Often theme perspective is more relatable. One skill I better want to work on is the difference between theme and plot perspective because if I can pick out the theme perspective in other writing then it will help me be able to do it for my own, and will make my narratives much better.

A&B Chapter 16 skill 16.4

Rough Drafting and revising your own work is important, but it is also good to get a second opinion.  Peer editing can be a great way to get helpful criticism and on your writing assignments.  When you have someone else read your work they may notice things that you as the writer wouldn't.  Along with heaving someone revise your paper the Allyn Bacon Guide to writing suggests revising a peers paper as well. Learning to revise other works can be a helpful tool as a writer because It helps you learn to look at a paper as a new reader.  When you revise it is important to talk as a reader would not a writer. this will help your peer better understand what they need to fix to make it better for their audience.  I plan on using peer editing, because a peer editing because they are reading the prose for the first time, so they tend to pick up on mistakes that you who have read it so many times might get lazy and over look.  I find that using a roommate or friend can be an easy way to get helpful feed back on a prose. They will at least be able to help with grammar and tell you if your passage makes sense. I think peer editing is an easy thing that can make all the difference.

A&B Chapter 1 concept 1.3 and Chapter 17 skill 17.8

The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing states that there is more than one way to write an essay, which can be shocking for college freshmen. In high school we are taught a closed-form of writing, which is a great way to write, but in some forms of writing a open-form prose is much better. The difference between open-form and closed-form prose is closed form has a clear and recognizable thesis and open form does not. Though having a thesis is a good writing tool it is also important to let people formulate their own opinions. One skill I plan to improve is my ability to write and open-form prose. I plan on doing this by writing more papers in open-form verses the closed-form that I'm used to. Also I want to revise my essays more carefully to make sure that I don't over use this as a pronoun, because the Allyn And Bacon Guide to Writing points out that it creates a lazy prose, and when arguing a topic it is important to not be lazy. Also good transition word can be an asset to writing and making the prose flow better along with keeping ideas organised. You will find by following the first, second, third and finally format in the Allyn and Bacon Guide to writing that your ideas will be more organized.