apex english ii learning packet...reading guide english 10 1.1.2 read: from on writing well by...

CHARLES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

APEX English II Learning Packet

4/20 – 5/1

Student:_____________________________________ School:______________________________________ Teacher:_____________________________________ Block/Period:_________________________________

From On Writing Well by William Zinsser

When two authors are asked about their writing process, their answers are surprisingly different. William

Zinsser, the author of On Writing Well, explores how personal the writing process is for each writer. Read

Zinsser’s first chapter, "The Transaction," and consider his perspectives.

Answer the questions in the reading guide as you go along. If you come across a word you don't know,

try to figure out its meaning by reading the rest of the sentence. Make a guess about what the word

might mean and then check the dictionary to confirm your answer. Write the definitions in your own

words in the reading guide.

1. Print and look over your reading guide.

2. Open your reading and look for the underlined text as you read. Each question in the first part of your

reading guide is related to an underlined word or passage. You can also find the questions at the bottom

of your reading.

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Reading GuideEnglish 101.1.2 Read: From On Writing Well by William Zinsser

Name:Date:

While you read:

Each of the following questions is related to an underlined passage or word in the reading. Be ready to

answer the questions as you read. Write your answers below.

1. Define vocation.

2. Define avocation.

3. Define glamorous.

4. Do you think the writer is being serious or sarcastic when he uses the phrase "glamorous work"? What

is he implying?

5. Define bohemian.

6. Define arduous.

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7. Why do you think that the author believes professional writers focus so much on revision and

rewriting — and why does he consider it to be the essence of his profession?

8. The author claims that a lack of inspiration is no excuse for taking a break, because it means the

writer is not doing his or her job and won't get paid. Describe a time when you couldn't find inspiration for

a task and what you did to get back on track.

9. What does Dr. Brock mean by this statement?

10. Define drudges.

11. Why do you think the authors were so surprised by each other's answers? 19

12. What is Zinsser's point?

13. How important do you think it would be to hear from many people if you wanted to learn more about

a career? Explain your answer.

14. Why does the author believe that writers are vulnerable and tense?

15. Explain what personal transaction means and give an example from nonfiction that you've read.

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After you've read:

1. Why do you think the author points out that Dr. Brock was going to talk about writing as an avocation

(rather than writing as a vocation)? Why does this difference seem to matter to the author, and do you

think it matters as much to Zinsser after their talk?

2. Which author (the speaker or Dr. Brock) do you think considers his job as an author "glamorous," and

do you think this has any effect on that author's writing? Explain your answer.

3. The author of this article states that it may or may not be possible to teach someone how to create

the personal transaction that's at the heart of good nonfiction writing, but it is possible for people to

learn how to do it. Why do you think he makes this point and what does it mean?

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Reading MaterialsEnglish 101.1.2 Read: From On Writing Well by William Zinsser

Name:Date:

The Transactionby William Zinsser

A school in Connecticut once held "a day devoted to the arts," and I was asked if I would come and talk

about writing as a vocation [1]. When I arrived I found that a second speaker has been invited — Dr.

Brock (as I'll call him), a surgeon who had recently begun to write and had sold some stories to

magazines. He was going to talk about writing as an avocation [2]. That made us a panel, and we sat

down to face a crowd of students and teachers and parents, all eager to learn the secrets of our

glamorous [3] work. [4]

Dr. Brock was dressed in a bright red jacket, looking vaguely bohemian [5], as authors are supposed to

look, and the first question went to him. What was it like to be a writer?

He said it was tremendous fun. Coming home from an arduous [6] day at the hospital, he would go

straight to his yellow pad and write his tensions away. The words just flowed. It was easy. I then said

that writing wasn't easy and wasn't fun. It was hard and lonely, and the words seldom just flowed.

Next Dr. Brock was asked if it was important to rewrite. Absolutely not, he said. "Let it all hang out," he

told us, and whatever form the sentences take will reflect the writer at his most natural. I then said that

rewriting is the essence of writing. I pointed out that professional writers rewrite their sentences over

and over and then rewrite what they have rewritten. [7]

"What do you do on days when it isn't going well?" Dr. Brock was asked. He said he just stopped writing

and put the work aside for a day when it would go better. I then said that the professional writer must

establish a daily schedule and stick to it. I said that writing is a craft, not an art, and that the man who

runs away from his craft because he lacks inspiration is fooling himself. He is also going broke. [8]

"What if you're feeling depressed or unhappy?" a student asked. "Won't that affect your writing?"

Probably it will, Dr. Brock replied. Go fishing. Take a walk. Probably it won't, I said. If your job is to write

every day, you learn to do it like any other job.

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A student asked if we found it useful to circulate in the literary world. Dr. Brock said he was greatly

enjoying his new life as a man of letters, [9] and he told several stories of being taken to lunch by his

publisher and his agent at Manhattan restaurants where writers and editors gather. I said that

professional writers are solitary drudges [10] who seldom see other writers.

"Do you put symbolism in your writing?" a student asked me.

"Not if I can help it," I replied. I have an unbroken record of missing the deeper meaning in any story, play

or movie, and as for dance and mime, I have never had any idea of what is being conveyed.

"I love symbols!" Dr. Brock exclaimed, and he described with gusto the joys of weaving them through his

work.

So the morning went, and it was a revelation to all of us. At the end Dr. Brock told me he was enormously

interested in my answers — it had never occurred to him that writing could be hard. I told him I was just

as interested in his answers — it had never occurred to me that writing could be easy. [11] Maybe I

should take up surgery on the side. [12]

As for the students, anyone might think we left them bewildered. But in fact we gave them a broader

glimpse of the writing process than if only one of us had talked. [13] For there isn't any "right" way to do

such personal work. There are all kinds of writers and all kinds of methods, and any method that helps

you to say what you want to say is the right method for you. Some people write by day, others by night.

Some people need silence, others turn on the radio. Some write by hand, some by word processor, some

by talking into a tape recorder. Some people write their first draft in one long burst and then revise;

others can't write the second paragraph until they have fiddled endlessly with the first.

But all of them are vulnerable and all of them are tense. [14] They are driven by a compulsion to put

some part of themselves on paper, and yet they don't just write what comes naturally. They sit down and

commit an act of literature, and the self who emerges on paper is far stiffer than the person who sat

down to write. The problem is to find the real man or woman behind the tension.

Ultimately the product that any writer has to sell is not the subject being written about, but who he or she

is. [15] I often find myself reading with interest about a topic I never thought would interest me — some

scientific quest, perhaps. What holds me is the enthusiasm of the writer for his field. How was he drawn

into it? What emotional baggage did he bring along? How did it change his life? It's not necessary to

want to spend a year alone at Walden Pond to become involved with a writer who did.24

This is the personal transaction that's at the heart of good nonfiction writing. [16] Out of it come two of

the most important qualities that this book will go in search of: humanity and warmth. Good writing has

an aliveness that keeps the reader reading from one paragraph to the next, and it's not a question of

gimmicks to "personalize" the author. It's a question of using the English language in a way that will

achieve the greatest clarity and strength.

Can such principles be taught? Maybe not. But most of them can be learned.

Source

Copyright © 1976, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2006 by William Zinsser. From On Writing

Well, Seventh (30th Anniversary) Edition, published by Collins. Reprinted by permission of the William K.

Zinsser Trust.

1. Define vocation.

2. Define avocation.

3. Define glamorous.

4. Do you think the writer is being serious or sarcastic when he uses the phrase "glamorous work"? What is he implying?

5. Define bohemian.

6. Define arduous.

7. Why do you think that the author believes professional writers focus so much on revision and rewriting — and whydoes he consider it to be the essence of his profession?

8. The author claims that a lack of inspiration is no excuse for taking a break, because it means the writer is not doinghis or her job and won't get paid. Describe a time when you couldn't find inspiration for a task and what you did to getback on track.

9. What does Dr. Brock mean by this statement?

10. Define drudges.

11. Why do you think the authors were so surprised by each other's answers?

12. What is Zinsser's point?

13. How important do you think it would be to hear from many people if you wanted to learn more about a career?25

Explain your answer.

14. Why does the author believe that writers are vulnerable and tense?

15. Is Zinsser following his own advice in this reading? Explain.

16. Explain what personal transaction means and give an example from nonfiction that you've read.



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From On Writing Well by William Zinsser

Take a minute to review your answers on the reading guide.

Use this opportunity to check your work.

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Understand Writing versus Speech

For most of us, language is easy. Whether texting, chatting, singing, muttering, gossiping, schmoozing,

bragging, reading, list-making, or emailing, we use language on a daily basis — usually without even

thinking about it.

So why is it that when we have to write something formal, such as an essay for school or an application

letter to college, language suddenly becomes hard work? Remember William Zinsser, the author of the

essay you just read? He’s a professional writer — people pay him to put words on paper — and even he

finds writing to be a challenge.

Coming up, we'll explore what's unique about writing, specifically what makes it so different from the

kinds of communication, such as dinner conversation, that most of us find effortless.

READING SUPPORT REDISCOVER CHECK IT OUT

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Type answer here...

SUBMIT

In 35 words or fewer, explain why you think writing or speaking is moredi�cult, and why.

Complete the questions on your study guide as you work through this activity. Reviewing your notes

before quizzes and tests will help you succeed. You'll be able to check your answers once you've

completed the study activity.

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Study GuideEnglish 101.1.3 Study: Understand Writing Versus Speech

Name:Date:

Write the definitions of the following words.

If you come across a word you don't know, write it in a blank space below. Try to figure out what the word

means by looking at its context. Then use your dictionary or the Internet to look up the correct definition

for the word.

Word Definition

prose

Write a short answer to each question.

1. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of speaking?

2. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of writing?

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3. Why do you need to identify what you're writing and who you're writing it for before you start?

4. List at least five examples of prose writing.

5. What are the four major differences between informal speech and prose?

6. Why do you think prose is an important element of language?

7. In what ways are you already a prose writer?

In one or two sentences, write down the gist, or main point, of this study.

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Transcript: Understand: Writing Versus Speech

No audio.

Video shows a series of images in a repeating cycle:

News reporter with microphone, holding an umbrella

Student using laptop computer

Family at dinner using chopsticks and laughing

Microphone in front of rows of seats full of people

Woman texting

Old photo of woman sitting at a writing table

Onscreen Text: Speech and writing are such common activities in your daily life, you’re already a natural

at using both.

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Without language, how would you

communicate with your friends?

The Pros of Language

Language, whether spoken or written, allows us to communicate with

one another. Without language, we'd have a much harder time figuring

out what other people think, feel, need, and want.

Speaking and writing both have their own advantages. See if you can

figure out which form of communication each advantage matches up

with in the exercise below.

Advantages of Writing and Speaking

Writing Speaking

Organized Long, complex sentences Interactive Permanent

Immediate Convenient


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Weighing the Pros

If you have exciting news, it's much more fun to share it in person than via text or email, right? Why?

Because you and the listener can be excited together, in the same place at the same time. But if there

are so many advantages to speaking, that leaves an important question:


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Transcript: Why Write?

No audio.

Pictured are three images. When student mouses over each image, it fades and text appears over it.

Image 1: A pad of paper with the following list on it:

1. Go to the dentist

2. Drop off books at the library

3. Pick up cake from the bakery

4. Buy 35 cans of baked beans

Onscreen Text: Writing gives us the chance to organize our thoughts and make sure we're saying exactly

what we want. For example, if you have serious or sad news to share, you may take the time to write a

carefully worded letter.

Image 2: A map of the United States, with an arrow stretching from the East Coast to the West Coast.

Onscreen Text: Writing lets us communicate our thoughts to people who aren't within conversation

range (someone in another time zone, for instance). If you're studying abroad in Europe, your friends

and family back home will probably appreciate an email more than a phone call at 3:00 a.m.

Image 3: A calendar showing the month of June, with the first seven days crossed off and the 18th

circled.

Onscreen Text: Writing creates a lasting record that we can access at any time. If your hockey team hasa schedule of practices and games that stretches out for months, what are the odds that everyone willremember the exact dates and times if the coach just announces the schedule at the first practicewithout any written record?

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Summing Up the Differences

You speak and write for many different reasons. You may not even

use complete sentences when you tell the cashier at the grocery

store you want paper instead of plastic. You probably add a little

more structure and context to your conversation with a friend about

the lousy sandwich you had for lunch. And when you give a speech

in class, you're sure to use full sentences and use a formal tone.

The same range of casual to formal is found in writing. Writing a text message or a sticky note is casual,

writing an email to a teacher is more formal, and writing a paper for class is the most formal.

Even though there are so many different types of speaking and writing, some general characteristics are

true for each.


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WHEN YOU SPEAK:

You can be more casual and spontaneous.

You can respond to the questions and

reactions of your audience as you go.

Unless you're being recorded, your words

vanish as soon as you speak them.

It's much easier to communicate emotions

and emphasis.

WHEN YOU WRITE:

You can plan ahead and organize.

You can present your ideas in a clear

manner for your audience.

Your words exist in a lasting format.

You should be more formal, using full

sentences and correct grammar.

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No audio.

Image that continually cycles through this animation:

A girl says "Hello," which appears in a speech bubble.

Each letter of the word "Hello" appears individually and disappears almost as quickly as it appears.

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What Do You Already Know About Writing?

If you're one of those people who think it's scary to write, take comfort: You're in good company. Many

other people feel this way, too!

Fortunately, understanding the nuts and bolts of writing can make it seem much less scary. The more

you know about the writing process, the more comfortable you'll be in applying that process. As Zinsser

said, the principles of great writing — using the English language to achieve clarity and strength — can be

learned.

Take a moment to think about what you already know about writing. Take part in the conversation

between William Zinsser and Dr. Brock from the reading, and decide where your own opinions fit.1

Click on each opinion that you agree with. If you disagree with an opinion, leave it alone.

Zinsser: Writing is difficult and lonely.

Brock: Writing is tremendous fun.

Zinsser: Rewriting is important.

Brock: Rewriting is unnecessary.

Zinsser: Writing is a craft and a job.

Brock: Writing is an art and a hobby.

1. Copyright © 1976, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2006 by William Zinsser. From On Writing Well, Seventh(30th Anniversary) Edition, published by Collins. Reprinted by permission of the William K. Zinsser Trust.


SUBMIT

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Know Your Prose

It's unlikely that the thought of sending a casual text or making a list makes you nervous. When people

are scared of writing, it's usually prose that makes them feel that way. Prose is the kind of writing you're

used to reading in most books. The rules for prose vary, but in the kind of prose you read and write in

school, they're almost always strict.

But just because most prose has to follow strict rules doesn't mean it's boring. Sure, there are plenty of

dull books out there, but your favorite novel is prose, too. If you have ever read an interesting magazine

article, that was prose. The reading by William Zinsser is prose about prose. You even write prose

yourself: every essay your teachers assign you, in fact.

Now that you know what prose is, identify which of the following items are prose.

Which of the following are examples of prose?

A. The Hunger Games book series

B. The lyrics of a popular song

C. A painting by Michelangelo

D. An article in Time magazine

E. A complaint letter to a restaurant

F. A poem by Emily Dickinson

A B C D E F HINT SUBMIT

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apex english ii learning packet...reading guide english 10 1.1.2 read: from on writing well by...

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