Translation of Richard Laws work

There are many types of different literature in our society, and I have explored some of them at different times in my life. Although I have explored them I doubt whether they will help me in my academic writing at university. My writing up till university had a clear purpose to entertain,  nevertheless, the purpose of academic writing is not to entertain but to inform. The literature I was viewing before could not be considered the standard for university.
 After discovering the standard that my academic writing had to be, I experimented with a piece of my own work.  I wrote it to the standard that would be required for University, the results showed the work was technically correct yet it lost the element that made it unique.
In today's society people communicate using the social media to send the message they wish to express. Most of today's society, do not use the formal language that is used for academic writing, therefore, the formal style of writing is foreign to many people as they do not require it in their daily lives.
As people do not require the skill of writing in this way, it creates a social divide between the people who can write in this way and those who cannot. Being able to write like this distinguishes you as a person of higher importance as it shows you to be educated. In today's society education is a necessary requirement to gain a higher status in society. This impacts how literature is appreciated, as works of literature that are written in this format are disregarded as they cannot be fully understood.

Task 3

Have you ever felt inhibited by the styles of writing practised at school or university?What are and have been the pressures upon you to be a 'good' writer? What does a being a 'good' writer mean? Do you think that some formal modes of writing are more accessible to certain groups on society?

There is a certain style of writing that is deemed to be good enough to pass assessments in school and university. This style has strict rules that has highlighted a certain lack of skills in my own writing skills. I have inhibited by these certain standards that defines what is good enough. Although, I have come from doing my A-levels I feel nervous every time I write an essay,as I have a tendency to put too many ideas in the paragraph and don't critically analyse one point in a paragraph.

There are certain pressures put upon me as a university student, such as  in essays you are expected to critically analyse a text and focus on certain themes or interpretations. To be a 'good' writer, you have to have concise points that make your argument flow throughout the essay. You have to use the text to support your view, or the view your are presenting within your essay. You have to use your judgement wisely, when considering what quotes or material to use from the text or the article or journal.

I think personally that the ability to write can define a persons class or social position. The ability to write gives a person from any background the power to express their views. Also, being able to write means that a person can challenge the view set by a certain social group.

Task 3

(Firstly, I just wanted to say i made us a logo for our blog, if you guys don't like it i'll take it down, now on to the task) 

Have you ever felt inhibited by the styles of writing practiced at school or university? What are and have been the pressures upon you to be a ‘good’ writer? What does being a ‘good’ writer mean? Do you think that formal modes of writing are more accessible to certain groups in society?

I have been writing on and off my whole life, writing blogs, short stories, poems and even the odd Limerick. but looking back on it now, Is any of it good? 

This is a concept i did not truly think about until starting university, until then my writing had always had the same point, the same purpose, to entertain. But something is something being entertaining, The same as it being good? A blog listing 10 ways to eat smarties might entertain you for while, but your never going to list it as one of your favorite modern works. 

To this end i tried taking one of my old short stories and re-writing it in a way that would be acceptable for submission as a work of university grade, and while the writing became technically 'Good' it lost almost everything i liked about it when i first wrote it. 

We live in an age now where anyone can be a writer through the internet, the written word has never been more accessible to more people than it is right now. millions of people writing millions of words every day. tweets about this, Facebook posts about that. but all of this is communication and not literacy, even in a world where people write everyday, the majority don't read or write beyond social media, making a more formal style of writing as alien as the written word once was to people who couldn't read at all. 

In my opinion this is creating a large selection of people, who can't appreciate something for its worth as a piece of written art. The proliferation of the written word is, Instead of bringing appreciation of the written word to a wider audience, somehow making the gap even bigger. 

Task 3 Reading Literature 

Have you ever felt inhibited by the styles of writing practiced at school or university? What are and have been the pressures upon you to be a ‘good’ writer? What does being a ‘good’ writer mean? Do you think that formal modes of writing are more accessible to certain groups in society?

I feel that the leap from college to university is a massive jump, and one of which, to some people does come naturally, however to my self I find it hard to adapt and I have felt slightly inhibited due to the fact that I am doing this as a side degree and so have a much higher work loads and need to be much more focused in order to be successful on the English side. However, as of yet, I am finding it easy enough to understand and feel I can get my head around the different writing styles due to all the help which I get on the Education side. 

I feel like I have to try and be a ‘good’ writer because I feel I have to prove myself due to me not doing so well in English at A level, however this has made me more determined to do well and succeed by learning and doing as much work as possible to improve my writing skills. Also because I am doing a degree in English, I feel that is a pressure in its self because you have to prove to students and lecturers, that you want to and deserve to be there. 

To be a ‘good’ writer I think you need to have a good range of vocabulary to intrigue the reader, and also make your writing fluent and in an order which readers can understand. I also think you need an interesting story to engage the reader so as they want to always read on. 

Week 3 Assignment

Have you ever felt inhibited by the styles of writing practised at school or university? What are and have been the pressures upon you to be a ‘good’ writer? What does being a ‘good’ writer mean? Do you think that some formal modes of wring are more accessible to certain groups in society? Do you think that writing can be a subversive act?

I have been out of education for fifteen years nearly so I have felt at a distinct disadvantage to those who are just moving on from their last course in terms of the craft of writing. I can’t say I have felt inhibited by the styles of writing at University because as of yet I have had a great deal of freedom in my writing. Jackie and Candi who run the craft of writing module I am studying have a really no hold barred approach giving as much wording as we need “till we get there” as Jackie puts it giving us plenty of different things to write about. This is of course may change as I go through the years and the various modules require me produce more written work. For me being a good writer means that whatever point you are trying to make, you succeed in doing so while keeping the reader interested even when difficult. A good writer will leave an impression on the mind of the reader helping them retain the information given.

I do feel that formal writing is more accessible to those who have been educated in how to use it for those who have had limited education or a lack of resources to research what formal writing is they may struggle in using it. I also think people who are disabled or who have certain learning difficulties may struggle with formal language, due to the need for more precise grammar, spelling and punctuation for example someone who is dyslexic or has similar difficulties and has received no help for this may struggle with formal language, as would someone whose disability affects their reading, writing and speaking skills.

With regards to writing being a subversive act I would definitely say yes it can be, in the hands of certain individuals words can extremely destructive, you only need to look at certain religious/political groups who have used their literature to promote violence and have done so very successfully.

'We called him Tortoise because he taught us.'

The Mock Turtle, Alice and Wonderland

The first steps.

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