Blog Entry #4 – 5 metaphors and a reason why-
2. Show & Telepaths
This metaphor means what you can explain a concept but can’t prove it which means don’t tell a story that you can’t show proof to. This is a tricky thing in writing because it is a fine line between academic writing and creative writing. Which is often a struggle in writing but can be easily avoided. I struggle with this but I’ve learned to read over the assignment multiple times and check to see what I write is able to be proven with examples or citations.
4. Lost Money and Thank-you Notes: what’s in an audience
This is a tricky metaphor because it not only addresses the primary audience but also the secondary audience. I find it hard when writing to make sure that I am addressing the correct audience in the right manner. I face this problem a lot this semester in English 107 with the blog posts. We are writing as an assignment for our professor but also to our peers and ourselves. With this we need to be able to formal for the academic part but relaxed so we don’t lose the interest of our peers. With this type of writing it requires you to analyze the type of writing produced which should always be take into consideration.
6.Fruit-Jell-O: Balancing Argument & Examples
With this metaphor it is important to provide constancy. In the Fruit Jell-O it is important to always have a balance with what you are discussing. Such as keeping the fruit to jell-o ratio balanced it is important to keep the examples balanced with the arguments you present. Within my writing I need to practice balancing out my Jell-o; I tend to provide the argument but lack the base of examples to support it. I often feel it does not come across well in writing. Although in person I always make sure I have more than enough examples to provide evidence to my arguments. I hope to strengthen my arguments in writing by getting my examples across in a clearer manner than before.
7. Wash-and-Wear Paragraphs
The importance in paragraphs is the length and content. This metaphor addresses the jell-o metaphor as well. In other words you need to have balance within your paragraphs so you do not overwhelm your reader. The length is important because a too long paragraph can be too much and cause the reader to lose interest. You may think that a too short paragraph is bad but it’s not. If your writing can withstand short paragraphs it is okay even if it is just a sentence. Within my writing I feel that I do not over extend my paragraphs I like to keep them short.
The next most important thing to think about in your paragraph is the content. If your paragraph does not have the right content within it is then just taking up space ( a filler ) which is not good. I was always taught that it is the content of the assignment and not the length. So within my writing I feel that I was Wear and Wash effectively.
9.Short Time Writing: Use your Higher Brain
This metaphor addresses the importance of analyzing the question and finding out the main key points. When writing for class such as English it is often asked that our writing is based off of a prompt. I find this type of writing to be the most difficult because it is asking you to write outside your comfort zone. With this metaphor it is telling us to use our higher brain to analyze and pick apart the prompt before we even begin to write. I tend to ignore this step and read the prompt once and then jump into writing. I need to take the time to analyze the prompt; to decide who my audience is, what I am writing about, and why it important. Then begin the assignment based on those three key points. I noticed that last semester in English 105 I had a hard time with the writing because I did not fully understand the prompt I was given. I think that if I had taken the time to analyze the question it could have been better addressed in my writing. This is something that I will try to do to better understand what it is I am writing about.
Reid, E. Shelley. “Ten Ways To Think About Writing: Metaphoric Musings for College Writing Students.” Ed. Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky. Vol. 2. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor P, 2011. 3-23. Writing Spaces. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
