Category: Announcements (Page 2 of 2)

I enjoyed reading this entire reading “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser. He was able to captivate my attention throughout each section.  He mentions that ultimately the product that any writer has to sell isn’t the subject written about but who they are and to accomplish great work requires skill, which can be learned. I was under the impression that writing was an art and not achievable, but his words have shown me that it’s a craft which can be mastered.

Another point I liked was that every writer has their own style and there isn’t a right or wrong way to do this work. I agree with this because I can relate to him upon reading some material which might not seem interesting at a first glance, but upon reading it the author had a captivating form in expressing the ideas and facts about the particular subject. Whereas, other more appealing subjects have resulted in pure disappointment. It all comes down to how the writer displays their own style.  Zinsser says good writing has an aliveness that keeps the reader reading from one paragraph to the next, achieving the greatest clarity and strength.

Lastly, “clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can’t exist without the other.” So, if I can achieve a clear idea, organize my thoughts,  have a good attitude, and learn how to use my skills to express my personality, then I could  become a decent writer. I can also put myself in the reader’s shoes to examine my writing, because like he said, if the reader is lost, it’s usually because the writer hasn’t been careful enough. So it is a great idea to follow all his advice. Revising ones work multiple times to declutter, stripping it down as much as possible so it can be built back up, and being ourselves to display our authenticity.

Welcome Students!  

Welcome to English 1121. This is an asynchronous on-line class that has no in-person meetings. I will, however, hold weekly office hours on Zoom (Tuesdays 4-5 pm) if you wish to speak with me about the course (attendance is optional).

We begin on Wednesday (July 6).

I can be reached at: mnoonan@citytech.cuny.edu

Professor Mark Noonan

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Here are your duties for the first week:

1. Watch my welcome video.

2.  Sign up for your OpenLab account with your name and a profile photo.  Log in, then join our course.  If you need  help,  contact the OpenLab Community Team

3. Look around our course site to familiarize yourself

4. By Monday, July 11, please post your self-introduction.

Here are directions for writing and posting your self-introduction:

To write a new post, click the + sign at the top of the page. (It’s a small icon next to the class title and message box icon at the very top of the page). Fill in the subject heading with your name, then add your info and photo below.  After your work is complete, scroll down and check off OUR COMMUNITY under Categories (right side of page), then click Publish.

• Paragraph 1: Include how you would like to be addressed, your pronouns, and any other info you’d like to share. This could include where you are from, where you reside now, your academic interests or major, any hobbies or NYC activities you enjoy, how you feel about writing. Feel free to be creative!
• Paragraph 2:  Include a photo of something (place, space, person, pet, object, etc. ) meaningful to you, and tell us about it.  You can paste the photo into the body of your message, or Add Media  to upload it to your post.
• Be sure to also check back to read your classmates’ responses and reply to a few. Getting to know each other, we start building our community.

5. Read William Zinsser   On Writing Well (Part One: Pages 3-46)

Post a comment on a section you found useful and/or interesting (by Monday, July 11). Try not to repeat what another student has posted.

To post a comment, go to top of site right below “Welcome Students”, click on “comments,” type your comment in box, and “post.”

Welcome Aboard!