Name: Rosendo Antonio Barrientos Torres

Course: ESL 511

Assignment: Reflective Essay 1
Due: 11:59 pm Tuesday August 31

Reflections about my writing style

Rosendo Barrientos

Learning several tips may be helpful to start the adventure of writing; however, some of us might be
overwhelmed when even tips are difficult to follow. One counsel out of 8 given by author Kurt Vonnegut in
1981 suggests that "Saying what you have to say" is a rule of thumb to consider. Despite the great piece of
advice, it is always a concern how to write what you need to say using a method such that your audience
receives a precise message. More important, in academic writing there is no room for interpretations; so,
the idea needs to be equally understood by every pretended audience.

On the other hand, it is natural in my style to have a sense of consideration toward my readers. I am
always thinking about the amount of energy and concentration my audience will apply when reading my
essays. “Pity the readers” in the word of Vonnegut who is trying to convince us that our pieces of work are
likely to encounter tired readers who are going to spend time and energy just to realize that they do not
understand what they read.

I also believe that a well-developed style must be more aware of delivering the message instead of
making the impression of being a prolific writer who is even hard to read. Given the contempt I have for
authors who intentionally make arduous content: it is easy for me to engage in finding an appropriate way
to transmit ideas by keeping it simple. The ladder is another guidance from Vonnegut which I think is linked
to another advice he mentioned “pity the readers” in the sense that simplicity is the best approach for
making the audience feel engaged in reading a message from top to bottom.

Although in only two pages, Kurt Vonnegut stated several tips for developing a conscious writing style, at
the end he succeeded in summarizing his eighth tip by providing other sources that go deeper into the
topic. Thereby, it is likely that my next recommendation may be stated in more than one academic text,
however, from my experience I know that drawing a Diagram with all the ideas is helpful when I do not
know how to start.

Brainstorming is a powerful tool for writers because after making a list of ideas it is less hard to sort
those or classify them. At this time, I am not worried about vocabulary (a premature concern for fancy
words is what makes writers slow down their work and even kill their spontaneous creativity). Now the
ideas are systematically ordered I can start thinking clearly in my potential paragraphs that will follow a
well-thought structure, which will make my writing outcome more cohesive.

Finally, I know that even top writers deal with some issues from time to time; that is why understanding
our strengths and weaknesses is the best way to reset our brain whenever we feel entangled or blocked.
With strategies considered, we can continue writing with confidence.

References

How to write with style [Advertisement]. (1981, June). TRANSACTIONS ON PROFESSIONAL

COMMUNICATION, PC-24(2), 66-67.