. . . and Writing Analytically on Integrating Quotations and Nine Basic Writing Errors
Two weeks ago, we studied Stephen King’s short story “Strawberry Spring” in class. Today you will read an excerpt from his memoir On Writing that focuses on the importance of eliminating passive voice from your prose.
Directions
- Read the paragraphs below and take notes on them in your journal.
- Read Writing Analytically’s “Integrating Quotations into Your Paper” (231-33), skim Chapter 12: “Nine Basic Writing Errors and How to Fix Them,” and take notes on both in your journal.
- Devote the remainder of the class period to your ongoing work on your final essay and annotated bibliography. As you make your final revisions later in the week, apply what you have read about active voice, integrating quotations, and avoiding basic writing errors.
Stephen King on the Horrors of Passive Voice
“Two pages of the pasive voice–just about any business document ever written, in other words, not to mention reams of bad fiction–make me want to scream. It’s weak, it’s circuitous, and it’s frequently torturous, as well. How about this: My first kiss will always be recalled by me as how my romance with Shayna was begun. Oh, man–who farted, right? A simpler way to express this idea–sweeter and more forceful, as well–might be this: My romance with Shayna began with our first kiss. I’ll never forget it. I’m not in love with this because it uses with twice in four words, but at least we’re out of that awful passive voice.
“You might also notice how much simpler the thought is to understand when it’s broken into two thoughts. This makes it easier for the reader, and the reader must always be your main concern; without Constant Reader, you are just a voice quacking in the void. And it’s no walk in the park being the guy on the receiving end. ‘[Will Strunk] felt the reader was in serious trouble most of the time,’ E.B. White writes in his introduction to The Elements of Style, ‘a man floundering in a swamp, and that it was the duty of anyone trying to write English to drain this swamp quickly and get his man up on dry ground, or at least throw him a rope.’ And remember: The writer threw the rope, not The rope was thrown by the writer. Please oh please.”
King, Stephen. “Toolbox.” On Writing. 2000. Pocket Books, 2001. pp. 123-24.
Next Up
In class on Wednesday, you will compose a reflective essay on the process of researching and composing your final essay annotated bibliography.
Jane Lucas 