Comics ala McCloud, Part 2

I chose Tarah's http://tarahdavis18.blogspot.com/ discussion of "Comics ala McCloud for this assignment. Tarah chose the same comic as I did , McCloud's comics of a series entitled, "I can't stop thinking." The comic she focused on was titled "HTML Blues" Tarah makes some good points about McCloud and how his comics make learning fun and you can relate to his comics. In chapter 4 of McCloud’s book, he addresses what he calls, "the most important icon of the comic", the panel (McCloud 98). In "HTML blues" McCloud reveals severl different panel shapes and sizes. "Panel shapes vary considerablly though and while difference of shape dont' affect the specific "meanings" of those panels vis-a-vis time, they can affect the reading experience"(McCloud 99). “The comic uses cartooning, but with more realism versus iconic. He uses panel borders throughout and the panels are not placed in a repetitive sequence.

McCloud presents the comic “I can’t stop thinking” in a manner that is distorted and that really portrays the disorganization of a person that can’t stop thinking, but is unable to make any sense of his thoughts. While reading through Understanding Comics The Invisible Art, the most interesting thing is how the reader reads the comic and the time that the comic covers. The book helps the reader to understand comics as a form of art and a piece of literature.

I Can't Stop Thinking

So many days I have felt like this...."I can't stop thinking". I chose this comic because I could relate to it and also because it is quite humorous. I chose # 1 "HTML Blues" because this is exactly how I felt when creating my first website. McCloud took a real life situation that many students have experienced, and turned into a comical situation, something that many studens can relate too. McCloud creates comic as an art, and wanted to share his creations online, but had to learn the html process in order to have that happen.
It had been years since I read comics, I often read them as a child. Since then I had completely lost interest in them, and would rarely view them in the comics section of the newspaper. In Understanding Comics I was able to rekindle my interests in comics. While reading this text I was able too see that comics are not just for kids or to humiliate people in public offices, but that they have meaning and tell stories,even history. McCloud explains that comics have been around for centuries. In 1519, a pre-Columbian picture manuscript was "discovered" by Cortes. McCloud states, "This 36-foot long, brightly-colored, painted screenfold tells of the great military and political hero 8-Deer "Tiger's Claw. Is it comics? You bet it is!" (10) These readings have taught me that comics are a form of art. Comics are no different than a story with illustrations, and McCloud showed this in Understanding Comics.

What Others Are Thinking???

Tarah D's blog made a lot of sense comparing Strunk and Williams. She clearly illustrates the usefullness and uselessness of each text. For example, Strunk gives many rules about writing but does not illustrate good examples for the reader to follow. Williams on the other hand does the exact opposite I'm guessing thats why the word Clarity is in the title becasue he provides clear example in his text. Tarah made a very good point about the possessive “s” and I’m not surprised at her findings. Just because a rule is listed in a college textbook book, doesn’t mean it’s widely accepted. Sometimes it’s more important to speak the language of one’s reader than to be grammatically correct. As I was thinking about Tarah’s experiment, I realized that I have had many teachers who would disagree with S&W. I agree with Tarah about S&W only being good as a reference. I also agree with Tarah that it is essential to see a revised sentence or paragraph in order to see if a correction changes the writing for the better.
http://tarahdavis18.blogspot.com/
Zach gives a really good example on how Strunk and White really dont offer any help on the subject of clarity. He states that "They continue with a list of metaphors for what bad clarity can do to your writing. Unfortunately they don’t offer any actual help on how to keep your writing clear." I agree with this 100% and also agree with him that while Strunk and White offer good advice, William's actually gives us insight. Furthermore, I agree that each book probably has a different application in reading and writing. Zach makes a point on how William's book would probably be more beneficial to someone who wanted to learn the importance of style to be a better writer, while Strunk and White's book would be a better resource for someone who has a good grasp on style but just wants a quick reference guide. While I think this is a good point and perhaps even true, I think given that William's book is more advanced in its concepts, it may be the opposite.http://zgarrett328.blogspot.com/
I chose these two blogs because they both basically share the same ideas, and veiw points as me. I think we all agree that Williams clearly is the best text for clarity and style and that Strunk and White serves as a quick guide for reference.

Style Vs. Basics

The Elements of Style is a basic very readible book that provides students information on how to become a quick and efficient writer. Williams addresses style and assumes that the reader is pretty comfortable with the basics. Strunk and White on the other hand addresses a different kind of issue, they address more specific topics related to the basics and the technicalities of writing. However, Williams offers a more thorough and specific exploration of how, why, and under what circumstances to use such rules.Strunk and White both have strong perspectives on writing, like for example;on the active voice issue, Strunk and White argue this form is more direct, bold and concise. Williams agrees, “you can make your style more direct if you …avoid unnecessary passive verbs.” Similarly, with positive form Williams explores the issue at much greater depth than Strunk and White’s missive to just, “make definite assertions.” I don’t think Williams disagrees with any of the big picture statements of Strunk and White. Strunk’s advice to be clear is echoed in Williams assertion that excellence in prose is found in style that is “readable, precise, and forceful.”


Williams clearly states his objective is to help the advance writer achieve Style.Williams assumes that if you are at the point in you writing processs to addresss style , the the reader must already know the basics. Strunk and White's objective is mostly for high school and college students, or anyone taht needs to brush up on their writing skills. Even though the idea of style itself is abstract, Williams makes it more realistic and appear to be possible for any writer.

Original Language

General Education is the core of an undergraduate education. It is general in that it provides a comprehensive educational experience and to prepare students for study within the major. General education teaches critical thinking and effective communication. It provides an introduction to the methodologies and practices of the foundational academic disciplines, and it promotes intellectual curiosity and a love of learning.

Revision of Language and Explanation

The core of an undergraduate education at Eastern Michigan University is the general education curriculum. It is general in that it provides a comprehensive educational experience prepares students for study within the major. General education effectively teaches critical thinking and communication. It provides an introduction to the methodologies and practices of the foundational academic disciplines. General education promotes intellectual curiosity and a love of learning.

Incorporating Williams, “Style: Towards Clarity and Grace.”

While making changes using William’s Style I tried to make changes that would enhance clarity and adherence. In the first sentence I wanted to m ake the topi o fthis paragragh clear “General Education”, I tried to show its importance by stating that it is the core of an undergraduate education. I did this by using Williams first two principle of clear writing, “(1) the subjects of the sentences name the cast of characters; and (2) the verbs that go with those subjects name the crucial actions those characters are a part of.” Because Eastern is promoting a positive and active learning environment with phrases like “love of learning” and “critical thinking,” it’s necessary to use active language.Williams mentions two principles for keeping adherence sentences and paragraphs. The first principle deals with keeping subject/topic of sentences familiar, and the second deals with keeping topics consistent. These two principles did not apply to the original version because for people considering Eastern don’t have a background in what general education courses are. The original refers to them as simply “General Education.” There needed to be a better explanation of the subject within the subject, so I defined “General Education” by adding the word curriculum, I think that th words general education needs to be highlighted and linked to a page the shows a sample of what Eastern’s general education courses look like. This would help prospective students better undersatnd what general education courses are, and why they are so important.

Strunk an White: First Impressions

Our first blog assignment now makes since, I am beginning to understand what style truly is. Strunk and White’s Elements of Style was a very easy and enjoyable read. Strunk’s advice to “omit needless words” will stay with me as I work on revising my papers and continue to grow as a writer. Strunk’s liking of the active voice in Rule 14 leads to very assertive writing. When a reader knows to use active or passive voice in a sentence, they are able to further control the meaning behind their sentences. Changing the order of words in a sentence can directly affect the meaning of the sentence.According to this book, style only exists within certain parameters.
The information presented in the first chapter entitled, "Elementary Rules of Usage", some may find this information irrelevant and unhelpful information. For example, the very first rule in the entire book: "1. Possibly Strunk and White included these rules, as well as many others, just as a reminder of the core, simple and basic grammar rules we should all be aware of and familiar with. Surprisingly there are some people that are not familiar with elementary grammar rules, and they often butcher writing assignments, r dn’t like writing at all. In Chapter 2, "Principles of Composition", Strunk and White gave a lot of rules on how to improve sentence structure as well as paragraphs, flow and transitioning. Rule number 14 I thought was particularly helpful. This rules states to "use the active voice". This rule says to "put statements in positive form". Next, Strunk and White change the sentence to read, "He usually came late". In this sentence Strunk and White have eliminated the word "not", which they claim is a "denial" word. In my opinion either sentence sounds fine. However, Strunk and White seem to think that the latter sentence is the correct one. In his introduction to the book, E.B. White recalls Strunk’s love of writing that is “clear, brief, bold,” and illustrates it by Strunk’s advice in the classroom that, “If you don’t know how to pronounce a word, say it loud!” It is significant that the book is titled “The Elements of Style” and not “The Rules of Style.” Perhaps the reason I feel so comfortable with this book on style is its deference to the writer. Just as playing a sport, you must know the rules. Once the rules are mastered you are able to incorporate your own unique style.

Inventing a Writing Technology

Okay....so I made this much more difficult than it had to be, and so therefore my project is pretty darn late.After reviewing other people's projects I should just go hide in the closet for how much time I spent on this. Well below are tons of pictures of my project. I decided to take peices of jumbo yarn and create letters out of it, and then sew it to a large peice of material . In case you are unable to read what it says, it states " Life is like a box of chocolate....you never know what your going to get out of it......Forest Gump"
Initially I tried so many other things. For instance I tried running the shower and writing on the mirror...that didn't work because the water kept running down and blurring the words...not to mention the steam from the shower set off my fire alarm. Then I decided I would use shredded parmesean cheese....the cheese was too stiff and did not bend easily...plus it was really stinky. So then I decided I would use aluminum foil and engrave letters in it with my finger nails, but I thought that wasn't creative enough...so thats how I ended up with the yarn. Next time, I will just follow my first thoughts which were a lot easier an less time consuming. I learned a lot... and had a little fun I can definitely say this is probably one of the most creative assignments I have ever had.

Inventing a writing technology