Say Nothing Blog Post

In the essay How to Say Nothing in 500 Words by Paul Roberts, I learned many things about writing that I didn't realize until they were brought to my attention. In my own writing I recognized many errors that I make that were mentioned in the essay. One error I noticed in my writing is that I use obvious content when making an argument. If I were to write a paper about texting I would oppose texting and use obvious content for an argument like it distracts students from their studies, it decreases face to face interaction, it causes wrecks due to distraction and it worsens grammar because words are typed in short lingo. Because I am using obvious content, I am not being unique in my writing which causes me to blend in with my class mates. Another error I noticed in my own writing is that I do not use "colorful" words to create a picture or emotion in my writing. This tends to make my boring to read and grade. Roberts' essay brought many things to my attention that I do when I write that I didn't necessarily recognize earlier. One of the things I realized is that I "pad" what I want to say to make my paper or assignment longer. For example, instead of saying "I love my mother" I would say "I truly love my dear beautiful mother". It pads what I am' actually saying. Another point brought to my attention through reading this essay is that I use "pat expressions" or as most people call them cliches. In my writing, I tend to use expressions known by people in the United States or the world. One cliche I might use in my writing is "don't judge a book by its cover". While reading this essay by Roberts, I found many things extremely interesting and these were things that I hadn't really heard of before and that I am going to put to use in my writing. One interesting point in the essay was that you shouldn't choose what most other people would choose because that could actually hurt your grade. Another interesting thing is that it helps you if you "take the unusual side", being different sets you apart and gives you a "fresh" outlook on things. One last interesting point in the essay was that you should "call a fool a fool", meaning that if you feel a certain way about someone or something that you should say it and don't hold back. I really enjoyed reading this essay, I feel that my writing will improve by learning these things.