Effective Approaches to Writing, Reading, Interpreting and Understanding - Admission/Application Essay Example

In any literature context, anyone writing or reading should be able to wholly understand whatever they are reading or writing for them to make sense of what the literature is all about. It is for these reasons that literary theories exist; to explain how criticism of literacy works goes about in defining what good reading or writing entails. The discussion in this study will explain new criticism and feminist criticism as Lois Tyson directs in effective reading and interpretation. Again, it will evaluate William Zinsser’s advice towards good writing. New criticism Lois Tyson’s perspective of new criticism looks at the text as it is, disregarding any other considerations related to it such as the reason behind its writing, its time or even place of writing. To decode a context of literature, one has to focus on the building words on it, which are the very words that make it up. Tyson defines new criticism as an unchangeable verbal tactic. “Readers may change, but the literary text stays the same” (Tyson 137). Concisely, the only way one can interpret (thus understands) a text is through closely reading or carefully examining the individual words that make up the phrase or sentence. Sample text “I looked back at my cousin who began to ask me questions in her low, thrilling voice. It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again” (Fitzgerald 12). Explanation Assuming that one has not read the entire story and comes across the above literature, they would know that one; the narrator was describing a cousin of theirs. However, one cannot tell whether the narrator is male or female. Again the description of her voice tells one that the voice was so nice because one had to keenly listen to each word she said. Feminism The feminist criticism in literature seeks to promote gender equality by representing women in texts as much as men are represented. In that case, this criticism will evaluate a text to find out whether it undermines or reinforces the economic, social or psychological perception of women as it believes that it can reverse the vice since it is created but not innate. Tyson (86) writes, “That is, the inferior position long occupied by women in patriarchal society has been culturally, not biologically, produced.” The overall idea of this criticism is to balance the use of words to depict men and women as equal; whether in author or character. Sample text “In that very moment she fell back upon the bed that stood there, and lay in a deep sleep, and this sleep fell upon the whole castle. … A long year afterwards there came a King’s son into that country… he stooped and kissed her, and she awake… and they went forth together” (Ludwig & Carl 3). Explanation The above text is just one of the several [long ago] texts that were regarded to as discriminating against women. If one reads this text which depicts a boy [male] as the savior to a girl [female], then goes on and finds another and another with the same perception, the trend dictates something. This might be the idea that only the man can play the “hero” in most texts, and that the woman cannot save herself in the man’s presence. Since most fairy stories had men as the saviors, that criticism tells us that the ancient literature looked down on the female and praised the man. Clutter and simplicity William Zinsser’s book “On Writing Well” criticizes writers in the tactics they use to make their work readers’ favorites. In one of his chapters titled Clutter, he attacks the writing mistake done by many writers of thinking that using “big” words will make their work stand out over others’. He reveals that this is overly wrong and that the big words work to confuse the writer in addition to making the writing task harder. The trick to effective writing is simplifying the words making up the sentences into clearly understood words. Writing clearly translates to clear reading and these two needs each other if a text has to be interpreted and understood well. Zinsser (130) supports this, “… clear thinking becomes clear writing; one cannot exist without the other”. In short, writing simply and avoiding unnecessary words will contribute to both clear writing and reading. Sample text On that particular morning, there was so much work for me to do. I felt exorbitantly beaten down as I went on with executing the house cleaning. At around 12 noon was setting in; my friend who I had not seen for a period of several weeks came knocking at my door. With my hands still wet, I went on to open the door and let him in. He is the kind of persons who like to talk much and there was no doubt that the schedule I had earlier made would not go according to plan. Rewritten text That morning I had much to do and although I was tired, I did not stop. At around noon, a friend I had not seen for weeks came knocking. I went to open the door for him with my hands still wet. He is talkative and I was sure that my schedule for the day was ruined. Analysis/ Conclusions On applying Zinsser’s simplicity advice, a text becomes clearer and simpler for the reader. A clear reading means that one understands each and every word they encounter, thus avoid interruptive stopovers. For instance, the use of “concentrated” phrases such as “exorbitantly beaten down” may either force one to start finding its meaning, or not get the meaning at all. Again, it cuts down on unnecessary words thus reduce the total word count. Finally, literature which adheres to Zinsser’s rules is much simpler to understand and enables one to understand without struggling to thus read more. Works cited Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby. Wildside Press, 2013. Print. Ludwig, Jacob & Carl Wilhelm. The Sleeping Beauty. 1812. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-friendly Guide. Routledge, 2006. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. Zinsser, William. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. Paw Prints, 2008. Print. Read More