Writing Constructs
Writing constructs are perceptions about writing that many people see as invertible and definite "rules" to writing rather than as changing and mailable according to the situation at hand. One example of a construct related to writing is the old adage that you must start an introduction with an 'attention grabber'. Certainly, some attention grabbers might be necessary given specific situations, but I can think of many situations where starting with an 'attention grabber' is not a great idea. For example, a few years back a close friend to my family passed away, and his family requested that I write the obituary. When I went about writing the obituary, I didn't think up a catchy 'attention grabbing' intro. I read through many obituaries and replicated the pattern of that particular genre. Likewise, when I recently bought a new piece of furniture that required assembly, I wasn't disappointed that the opening paragraph to my instructions didn't have an 'attention grabber'.
There are many other constructs related to writing. I remember being told that a paragraph should have five to seven sentences, and I also remember constructing thesis statements with three parts. Whether it is related to perceived rules or taught ways to write, what we might think of as rules are actually constructs. Defining rules more accurately as constructs allows us to see that language usage and acceptable writing conventions are created rather than inevitable. Many writing constructs are culturally influenced but remain hard to notice because cultural analysis is difficult unless one steps away from the home culture for a significant period of time.
In standard American English, you are often taught to be concise and precise in delivering your point. This is reminiscent of the three part five paragraph essay that so many of you are familiar with. In many other parts of the world, there are other writing conventions that dictate what is or is not appropriate for different writing situations. Your task here is to research some different approaches to writing that are NOT typical of standard American English. Certainly, if you traverse the Net, you should find some sources that showcase how writing happens in different cultures.
In a brief report (1-2 pages), you should identify at least two writing constructs that are different from conventional American English constructs. These constructs must come from a different writing culture than Standard American English. Certainly, other places around the world will practice different styles.Your report should explore how the culture shapes the practice of writing and underscore the relationship between culture and writing practice. You should cite at least two sources in your brief report and you should write a reflective conclusion that explains why it is valuable to view constructs as created rather than as fixed and unchanging.
As a starting point, you might want to view this series of videos presented by Oregon State University:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quI0vq9VF-c\
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koViA1gqiUs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0wbDcfltIU
You can use these videos as a starting point, but you must use other sources for this assignment. You have freedom regarding which culture or country you want to investigate. If your background is multicultural, you can use personal experiences, but you must still have at least two outside sources for this assignment.
There are many other constructs related to writing. I remember being told that a paragraph should have five to seven sentences, and I also remember constructing thesis statements with three parts. Whether it is related to perceived rules or taught ways to write, what we might think of as rules are actually constructs. Defining rules more accurately as constructs allows us to see that language usage and acceptable writing conventions are created rather than inevitable. Many writing constructs are culturally influenced but remain hard to notice because cultural analysis is difficult unless one steps away from the home culture for a significant period of time.
In standard American English, you are often taught to be concise and precise in delivering your point. This is reminiscent of the three part five paragraph essay that so many of you are familiar with. In many other parts of the world, there are other writing conventions that dictate what is or is not appropriate for different writing situations. Your task here is to research some different approaches to writing that are NOT typical of standard American English. Certainly, if you traverse the Net, you should find some sources that showcase how writing happens in different cultures.
In a brief report (1-2 pages), you should identify at least two writing constructs that are different from conventional American English constructs. These constructs must come from a different writing culture than Standard American English. Certainly, other places around the world will practice different styles.Your report should explore how the culture shapes the practice of writing and underscore the relationship between culture and writing practice. You should cite at least two sources in your brief report and you should write a reflective conclusion that explains why it is valuable to view constructs as created rather than as fixed and unchanging.
As a starting point, you might want to view this series of videos presented by Oregon State University:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quI0vq9VF-c\
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koViA1gqiUs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0wbDcfltIU
You can use these videos as a starting point, but you must use other sources for this assignment. You have freedom regarding which culture or country you want to investigate. If your background is multicultural, you can use personal experiences, but you must still have at least two outside sources for this assignment.
It is no surprise that writing constructs differ among each culture. Cultures consist of diverse languages, religions, cuisines, social behaviors, and much more. Writing constructs happens to be one of those characteristics that are embedded in a culture. America’s writing constructs differs greatly from many other countries. The two cultures I chose to explore were that of France and China.
ReplyDeleteIn America, from elementary school we are taught the five-paragraph essay: introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion, along with a thesis statement in our introduction and topic sentences in our body paragraphs. This writing style is exceptionally straightforward; it is quick and concise when demonstrating a point. However, in France, their writing style has some major differences when comparing to Standard English writing. It is mainly obvious in the introduction and the conclusion. Here in the U.S., we are taught to get straight to the point, with the thesis in the introduction. In France, they are taught to place the thesis statement in the conclusion. In English writing, the conclusion pretty much just sums up what has been talked about or proven in the essay. But the French prefer to have suspense; they like to wait until the conclusion to include their thesis.
Another difference is that the French start with questions in their introduction paragraphs to let the reader know what questions the essay is going to answer. However, the bodies of both the American and French essays would be somewhat similar. They both use thesis statements but are just placed in two different parts of the essay.
In China, there is something called the “Eight-Legged-Essay”, where the writer is supposed to explain to the reader why they chose the topic, why it is interesting and what past scholars have said about it. They are also taught something very different from Americans: to memorize, verbatim, what experts say and then just spit it out as a fact or evidence. In America, that would most likely be considered plagiarism! In China and even other Asian nations, there are no copyright laws and the concept of “intellectual property” is nonexistent. This correlates with their culture: as I watched in the video, Lili Xu says that the reason they do not cite their sources is because they are simply used to sharing everything in China. She says that it is “common and natural” for people to share, even when it comes to writing.
It is certainly important to view constructs as created rather than as fixed and unchanging. There are so many diverse types of writing styles all around the world that come from their specific culture. We should not just be fixed on one writing method. Many people come to the United States and often fail to adjust to our writing techniques but excelled in writing back where they are from. If I decided to move to another country, I understand that I should not be fixed on the Standard English writing techniques because I would be setting myself up for failure. There should honestly be no specific constructs in my opinion. Why should there be a set way that we have to follow in order to express our opinions? A good essay will certainly be recognized no matter what form it is organized in.
Works Cited
"Eight-legged Essay." Eight-legged Essay. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
Steinway, Charlotte. "Getting It 'write:' Essay Styles Vary by Country, Creating Difficulties for International Students." Tufts Daily. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
As students of the standard American English language we are familiar to its constructs. Since primary school students are taught how to write essays for a prompt to pass a standardized test. The format that was taught contained an attention grabber in the introduction, three body paragraphs that developed the main points, and a conclusion. In addition, each of those five paragraphs required five to seven sentences.
ReplyDeleteThroughout middle school and high school students had different English teacher who had different constructs. However, one thing in standard American English essays never changed, and that was students’ essays were expected to be concise and precise in delivery. Pupils was than introduced to another type of essay, analytical, that also had guide lines to been followed. One rule was especially important to been followed; that was the citation of outside sources that provided support in the student’s analysis.
Furthermore, in America under the first amendment that allows people the right to freedom of speech influences our writing culture. The amendment provides writers protection to their opinions that they can express in their papers. It provides the foundation to dialectical essays, which the writer can reveal to readers both sides of a rhetorical situation, and then argue their opinion. These constructs that shaped from our cultural influences are very different compared to other cultures.
In the Chinese culture, its language has been developed from the Sino- Tibetan family that dates back to eleventh century. Currently in simple Chinese/ mandarin there are hundreds of thousands of Chinese characters, which each is unique and carries its own distinctive meaning. In ping qing there are five different accent marks that develops one unique character. Unlike the complex English language where one word could means multiple different things depending on the context of the sentence. Also, in the Chinese language there are no use of tenses, only the provide tense in the beginning of the sentence. An example would be, in the past I cannot sleep, instead of, I could not sleep.
In addition, unlike American’s democratic government system that protects people’s copy rights to their work; in China where it communist meaning everyone shares. Citation is not as strict as it is in America; people who uses others’ work just have to mention it from someone else. There no need to provide work cited page, even cite who it is from, or where they found the information.
Chinese culture is not the only culture that makes their writing different from the standard American English, Spanish is another example. One of the most pronounce difference is that their gender difference in the writing. There different pronouns depending on the sex of the person or persons. If among a groups of ladies there is one male the pronoun that is feminine will the one of masculine. Also, Spanish is a romantic language that does not go straight to the point, it done in a more roundabout way.
Work Cited
Crystal, D.. N.p.. Web. 10 Sept 2013. http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/texts/chinlng2.html.
Gil, Mario. Personal interview. 10 Sept 2013.
Throughout my English courses growing up I was always told how to construct my essays with a set of given rules. These rules included using transition words and developing each paragraph with a minimum of three sentences and a maximum of five sentences. By following these rules I was guaranteed an A and a perfect six on my FCAT writing assessment. Although, as I have matured, I've come to realize that these constructs are not "set in stone" and can therefore be manipulated and expanded.
ReplyDeleteToday I have analyzed several cultures and there constructs thus overall comparing them to the English way of writing. As I would expect, these cultures not only have a completely different language but a whole new set of rules that I was never exposed to. After researching the first culture, French, I observed that their writing constructs are similar to the English culture just scrambled around in different places. To start, the French culture begins each essay with a question in order to guide the audience of where the writer is going. In addition, the French deliver their thesis in their conclusion as the English culture delivers their thesis in the introduction. Their reasoning for doing so is to not be so straight forward or in a sense "attack" the reader right off the bat.
The next culture I looked into was the Chinese. This mind-boggling and ancient writing system is not only fascinating but very different when compared to our English writing. Throughout their schooling to the highest level, they are taught to memorize every word and detail that their teachers or so to speak experts say. From their, they must write on their paper every word that they memorized. In our society, that would be a big red flag and be coined as cheating. The Chinese also construct their essays differently in that they follow the "Eight-legged essay". When analyzing this style, the Chinese don't necessarily deliver a point. Meanwhile, they just discuss the topic of why they chose it and what interested them to choose it.
Overall, constructs develop a fundamental basis for writing whether it is in different languages or spread out across the world. Constructs help us organize an essay and is somewhat of a mental rubric. As I move along, I believe it is important to remember these constructs but not necessarily view them as "fixed or unchanged'. Throughout my education I should be able in a sense to create my own constructs and thus expand above and beyond. Expressing myself and sharing my opinion through writing should have no limitations nor set rules that tell me what and how to write. Creativity is powerful and I am lucky to have the ability to portray that in my writing.
Fun Facts***
While conducting my research I came across interesting facts about the different cultures and their writings. In the French culture, the period can be used to separate elements of date and is not used after abbreviations of measurement. Instead, the comma is used as a decimal point but is not used to separate three digits like our English culture. Chinese, on the other hand, use a logo-graphic writing system (made up of visual symbols) compared to the alphabetical writing system of the English.
Sources:
"French Writing Links and Resources - Write in French." About.com French Language. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
"French 101." Learn French. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
"Appreciation of Chinese Calligraphy." Appreciation of Chinese Calligraphy. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
"History - Literature." Viewpoints on Eight-legged Essay. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
From culture to culture there are similarities and differences. One of these main differences is writing construct. In America there is a profound way of how you are supposed to write a paper. Their needs to be 5 paragraphs with an introduction and a conclusion, as well as a thesis statement that has to be put in the introduction. Once you have reached college, this system is no more the law of the land.
ReplyDeleteHigh context cultures like China provide little detail in their writing. In China they write in a format called the “Eight-legged essay”. In fact, these cultures believe readers and writers are expected to know about the communication before they start to read or write. These cultures do not need to walk the reader or writer through any steps, it is anticipated they know how to go through it. People in low texture cultures like the United States however are perceived to know very little before beginning to read or write about something. These cultures like the United States are stricter and more rule regulated than other countries like China. China is known for a writing style called ‘Eastern’ which means “explores around the topic while the reader is supposed to discover the writer’s thesis on his or her own”. In China there are no copyright laws, which allows them to be creative and do what others can’t do here in the United States. In the United States the writing is always on topic and is straightforward with a structured five paragraph essay.
I looked into French writing styles next, finding out the differences are largely due to basic schooling. French students are trained to write in a certain way called ‘une dissertation’, another version of writing an essay. The biggest difference you can see in French and American ways of writing is in the introduction and conclusion. The French put their thesis in the conclusion, so that way you are not sure what to expect when reading. They would rather it be a mystery and keep you hooked, rather than telling you what is going to happen to start off. Another main difference between the two language writing styles is that the French will begin with a question. This is considered elementary school writing to English people, you never ask questions to start your introduction.
It is valuable to view constructs as created rather than fixed and unchanging. There shouldn’t be just one way to write an essay. That is why all cultures have different types of writing constructs or guidelines. Constructs help some of us stay in line with what we are writing, and don’t let us get off topic. All through school we are confined to a rubric and constructs, if we had been able to write differently maybe writing would have been more enjoyable. If I want to express myself in a certain way, I should be able to do so without hesitation.
Works Cited
"Professional and Technical Writing/Ethics/Cultures." - Wikibooks, Open Books for an Open World. Wikibooks, 28 Oct. 2011. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
Steinway, Charlotte. "Getting It 'write:' Essay Styles Vary by Country, Creating Difficulties for International Students." Tufts Daily. 20 Oct. 2008. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
Throughout elementary and middle school, I have been taught the five paragraph approach to writing. There was an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Once I got to high school, it was crucial that we knew how to create the perfect thesis statement or our entire paper wouldn't make sense. Our thesis statement had to basically state the goal of the paper in a short sentence. I started to realize that this is not the only way things can be written. There are so many other approaches to writing in different cultures.
ReplyDeleteIn countries where Arabic is the main language, almost everything is read and written from right to left. In English, it is the complete opposite. This special approach to writing construct is specifically found in the holy book of the Muslims, the Quran. As a Muslim myself, it is not strange for me to read something from right to left only because I am used to reading like that in the Quran. The Arabic language also consists of symbols where dots are used to further differentiate the different letters of the alphabet. There are also vowel markings that help to differentiate the sounds that the letters make.
The writing style of Japan is another topic that I wanted to learn more about. The Japanese did use the Chinese system of writing. Instead of reading and writing from left to right once again, they do so from right to left. They also use columns to separate the different paragraphs. This special approach in Japanese culture is known as tategaki. There is another writing style known as yokogaki which is pretty similar to the English language in that it is read from left to right. Words are also not separated in Japanese. Instead, they are all jumbled together without spaces. This allows for more fluidity. When writing an essay, the name of the writer is placed on the right hand side. There are two names that are typically used to identify whose essay it is, the name given by the family and the personal name. A dot is used to separate the two. The actual essay now begins on the third line of the paper. The actual symbols of the different punctuation marks are also different when compared to English.
There are so many writing techniques around the world. It is just a way of organizing our different thoughts in a different way. I don’t believe that there should be a fixed way of writing because then there wouldn’t be variation. The point of culture is to have different and unique methods of doing things. Just focusing on the English Standard of writing is not going to help me if I would like to travel the world one day. I should be able to create new ways of writing.
"Japanese Writing System." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
"Arabic Script." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
In the English language people are taught to abide by the grammatical and structural rules of writing an essay. Students are taught the same generic essay format that is straight to the point and gets the point across in a clear and accurate way. The standard English essay is an introduction paragraph that includes the thesis, then three body paragraphs which include the main details, followed by a conclusion paragraph that restates the main points and the thesis. Although this method of writing essays is effective, there are many different ways that other countries use to write essays.
ReplyDeleteUnlike in English, Korean essays are more indirect and are often looked at from many different angles without looking at the subject directly. In Korean essays, the thesis is located at the ending part of the essay rather than being stated in the very beginning like in English writings. In a Korean essay the introduction paragraph is more along the lines of stating facts and presenting discourse that will be discussed in the essay. Korean essays are much more loosely organized compared to English essays, but within the essay many more main points and details are presented. Korean essays are able to portray an argument just as well as English essays are, however they are less organized and less concise in comparison to English essays.
Another country that has a different writing culture is France. In France it is found be insulting if the writer presents the thesis and main idea in the beginning of a writing because it does not give the reader a chance to formulate their own idea of what the writing’s main idea is about. In the French culture writing is about the suspense, and if the main idea is presented too abruptly then it is considered bad. In French writing questions are presented in the introduction paragraph instead of a thesis, in order to show what questions the essay will answer.
Writing constructs are important in every writing culture no matter the country. They provide effective guidelines that allow a writer to write a paper that will be more understandable to the reader. Culture changes the structure and when and how different parts of a writing will be presented, but writing construct is used in every culture to writings better.
Min, Ines, ed. "Differences of Essay Writing in English, Korean." Korea Times. Korea
Times. Web.
Steinway, Charlotte. "Lost in translation: Foreign essay styles confuse." The Tufts
Daily. Tufts Daily. Web.
After being in the public education system in America for 12 years, I have come to the conclusion that our culture has some profound writing constructs in which we are supposed to abide by. Ever since 4th grade, which was the first time writing an essay was a requirement in my school, I had to construct my essay using the 5 paragraph method, incorporating many examples, as well as using two or more transition words as I ended each paragraph. I felt as if I, along with students across America, was limited to what I could write because if it didn’t fit the construct of how we were taught, then we would all be doomed. Once I stepped foot into college I found out that teachers ridiculed the 5 paragraph style along with other methods we were used to using in high school and actually encouraged us to think outside the box to write whatever we wanted. Cultures across the world use different writing constructs in which we are not familiar with and I am going to examine the writing methods in Japan and France.
ReplyDeleteAfter researching the Japanese writing constructs, I have found out that the same concepts of English constructs are used but the Japanese have a less organized way of going about writing. Just like rhetoric is used in English writing, the Japanese use “shuujigaku” to effectively effectively express an idea in order to impress readers. Japanese essay writers try to move their readers when they read their essays and are not worried about how to clearly convey information, as English writers are. Also, the Japanese use “danraku” which is defined as a “major division in a long passage.” No book suggests the requirements or rules for danraku which gives Japanese writers the ability to organize and write they way they intend on doing. In each danraku, Japanese writers do not use the concept of topic sentences as well as supporting sentences. They are even are allowed to end a danraku because they think they have written enough. Beyond that, a Japanese writer can put more than two concepts in one danraku because they do not abide by the “topic sentence” rule that is used in English construct. The writers main goal in Japanese writing construct is to emotionally move the readers by being able to write however they want with no set guidelines.
French writing construct is very unique and different from the way students are taught to write in America. There is a procedure that French writers follow in order to build an essay. The first procedure is to find the problem, or “la problematique” as they say in France. It’s the most important aspect of the essay because it will help you settle the structure of your essay. Once you have found the problem, you then must build your argumentation which is structured in two or three parts. In the first part you can support one thesis and in the second part support the second thesis. The third part contains a synthesis of your investigation that you have wrote about in the first and second part. After completing those two tasks, you are able to build the introduction as well as the conclusion. The introduction is where you introduce your topic, explain the words of the subject, and prepare your argumentation. It’s important to present the thesis that you are supporting and make sure not to give your own opinion about the topic. Once you reach the conclusion you are able to give your opinion according to the arguments that were made in the thesis. The conclusion also should contain a summary of the arguments you have supported in the essay.
It is extremely important to view constructs as created rather than as fixed and unchanging. There should not only be one correct method of writing that everyone has to follow. This is why cultures across the globe have different writing structures that makes each culture unique in their own way of teaching. The way Americans are taught how to write is very different from the way Japanese students have learned to write. If constructs were fixed and unchanging then we would all write the same way with no diversity, thus making writing extremely unenjoyable and pointless. The numerous writing constructs across the world diversifies the art of writing which makes each culture different and makes essays more entertaining. Finally, writing constructs provide us with effective instructions that allows writers to deliver their point clearly and have readers understand it efficiently.
ReplyDeleteKimura, Kazumi, and Masako Kondo. "Effective Writing Instruction: From Japanese Danraku to English Paragraphs." Effective Writing Instruction: From Japanese Danraku to English Paragraphs. Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 22 May 2004. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
Bettizpod. "French Rules to Build an Essay." OverBlog. N.p., 14 Feb. 2008. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
Places all over the world have different writing constructs. Depending on where you go it varies, but to them its the correct way of writing.
ReplyDeleteIn a video presented by Oregon State University, they talk to others in Japan about their writing construct, they start with an Introduction(Ki), followed by the Development(Sho), then the turning point(ten), and finally the conclusion(ketsu). The turning point for them is the most important. In Japan the reader is in control of understanding who “he” or “she” is. Then speaking to someone from Ecuador they say they basically avoid the main point until the end by giving you lots of details before actually stating, unlike an American construct where we state it right in the beginning. In Vietnam you get marked down for writing outside of the classroom, they expect it all to come from in the classroom.
In a reading titled “A matter of personal taste”: Teachers’ constructs of writing quality in the secondary school english classroom, it states that in the England the statutory criteria for “exceptional performance” in writing are: Pupils’ writing is original, has shape and impact, shows control of a range of styles and maintains the interest of the reader throughout. Narratives use structure as well as vocabulary for a range of imaginative effects, and non-fiction is coherent, reasoned and persuasive, conveying complex perspectives. A variety of grammatical constructions and punctuation is used accurately, appropriately and with sensitivity. Paragraphs are well constructed and linked in order to clarify the organization of the writing as a whole. (National Curriculum Attainment Target for Writing: Exceptional Performance: Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency, 2007)
In another reading titled “Grassroots Literacy: Writing, Identity and Voice in Central Africa, it states that Grassroots literacy is a label for a wide variety of “non-elite” forms of writing. It can be identified by: 1. Hetero-graphy, which is the deployment of graphic symbols in ways that defy orthographic norms. 2. Vernacular language varieties, which documents are written often betrays absence of access to “Standard” normative language varieties. 3. Distant genres, people write in genres to which they have only been marginally exposed and for whose full realization they often lack the required resources. 4. Partial insertion in knowledge economies, the things people can find out by asking or listening rather than by searching in literate corpuses. Those four lead to number 5. Constrained mobility. Texts are only locally meaningful and valuable.
Constructs are valuable as created rather than fixed and unchanging because they are different wherever you go. Depending on where you are locating you know what is correct and a “rule” but that rule can change if you move from one country to another. Also, there is a possibility that with all the research being done that people could possibly consider new “rules” for their set of constructs.
Blommaert, Jan. (2008). Grassroots Literacy: Writing, Identity and Voice in Central Africa. 3-7.
Lines, Helen. (2011). “A matter of personal taste”: Teachers’ constructs of writing quality in the secondary school English classroom. 167-177.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quI0vq9VF-c\
The basic style of writing in America that I’ve always grown up learning to do was the 5 paragraph essay. Every year, my teacher would tell the class to write an intro, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. On top of that, we weren’t allowed to summarize with essays, we had to be very detailed in our writing.
ReplyDeleteAs for sentence structure, in America, we had simple, complex, compound, and compound-complex. In France, they use a certain type of sentence structure. They have normal sentences, negative sentences, and interrogative sentences. The French also have a different paragraph format. Unlike the American Standard where we put our thesis in the introduction paragraph, the French are taught to put it at the end as a way to have the reader guess what it’s about throughout the essay. It’s like a movie, where you don’t know what happens until the end. The French also start off their essay with questions that will let the reader understand what will be answered in the rest of the essay. As for both French and America, they use thesis sentences in their essays to prove a point.
In China, they are required to do an “8-legged essay.” This essay is an argumentative essay containing 8 sections: opening, amplification, preliminary, initial argument, central argument, latter argument, final argument, and conclusion. Certain sections have rules that go along with it. For example, in the initial argument section, they have to have a certain amount of sentence pairs written in parallel. The opening requires 2 sentences and the amplification has 5 sentences. As for citing, Chinese don’t need to cite things because of the belief that everything is shared. In America, we would have to cite everything we talk about if it didn’t come from our own self.
Considering the culture in other countries is so different, there’s no way we could have a fixed way of writing essays. Consider the people who travel abroad to study and only know their country’s format—they would fail writing because its not the same as their culture. For me, I lived in Germany for 2 years and had to take an English class. Luckily for me, my teacher was American so I didn’t have to worry about learning the German way to right. In general, writing varies on people where having a fixed format is not ideal. Writing construction should be created and flexible to people. Every culture is different but writing can be created into something different.
Sources:
"Eight-legged Essay." Eight-legged Essay. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
"Getting It 'write:' Essay Styles Vary by Country, Creating Difficulties for International Students." Tufts Daily. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
"Lesson 5 - Sentences Structures." FLC:. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWriting constructs are everywhere. Here in the United States we have constructs like the 5 paragraph essay. The 5 paragraph essay teaches us to get to the main points of our article in a timely and precise fashion. It does not give us much room to express our ideas that may relate to the subject matter. It constricts the amount of information that the writer can give out about the topic while also not giving the reader all of the available information due to the short requirement.
ReplyDeleteThere are writing constructs outside of the United States as well. In China there is a thing called the eight legged essay. An eight legged essay is a way of writing a paper, kind of like the 5 paragraph format, that tells you how to organize the information in an essay. This type of essay has a lot more rules than the 5 paragraph format though. The eight legged format not only gives specific rules for the amount of sentences per paragraph, but it also has a strict limit on the amount of words.
It is no wonder that Chinese people have a stereotype for being very thorough and direct. They are taught from a young age to write directly to the point and are basically forbidden from making a rambling essay due to the word limit. Another stereotype that this upholds is that Chinese people are very passive among their writing. But when you look at it from a writing construct standpoint, expressing your opinion is hard when you have only a certain amount you can say through your text.
The French also have different ways of writing as well. The French way of writing varies from the American style mostly in terms of the introduction and conclusion. Americans are taught that their thesis statement should be presented towards the end of the introduction. The French sometimes don't mention their thesis statement until the conclusion. These are polar opposites and both seem to have their pros and cons. The American style starts strong and ends with a summary type conclusion. While, the French style promotes starting moderate and ending by making the point very clear. Who is to say what style is more effective?
If there is one thing that researching all of these different styles of writing can show, it is that there is no "right" way to write an essay. This is why you should view writing constructs as created instead of fixed and unchanging. There have been many great writers from all over the world who have written in all different styles. To use an example that people in my grade would understand, Shakespeare is basically unreadable to the modern American citizen. But the language in which he wrote his plays, back when he was writing, was the writing construct of that age. Now, if someone was to write a book like that and try to sell it, it would flop and people wouldn’t buy it. And I am sure in 40 years when we are all older; our kids wont like the books that we read when we were in school. It all is a cycle that changes over time.
SOURCES:
Charlotte Steinway, . N.p.. Web. 18 Sep 2013. "http://www.tuftsdaily.com/getting-it-write-essay-styles-vary-by-country-creating-difficulties-for-international-students-1.838709#.Ujn0QqVnBa8".
Barbara Mori, . N.p.. Web. 18 Sep 2013. "http://cla.calpoly.edu/~bmori/syll/Hum310china/Eight-legged essay.html".
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFive paragraph essays, five to seven sentences per paragraph, and “hooks”, are all elements that have been drilled into the brain of American students. We constantly had to meet these requirements, because if we did not, our writing was ultimately wrong and the content was no longer important. Learning this at such a young age, I see other pieces that are different and consider them “wrong”. Many people are like myself, and are not open minded to the idea that our writing elements may not be the same in other countries.
ReplyDeleteChina is a country that is opposite of the United States in almost every aspect. Therefore, it was not a surprise to learn that their writing styles are quite different from that of American writing. From a young age, writing was supposed to be an argument for young American students. We were supposed to decide on a side, and prove it true with supporting evidence. In China, and other Asian countries, they do not write analytical or argumentative essays. When writing essays, they are supposed to agree with the established author and basically just summarize what they have written. Respect is a huge part of their culture, and if they were to oppose or argue an idea, it would be seen as disrespectful.
Our five paragraph essays are the foundation of almost every type of writing. The introduction captures the audiences attention and tells the reader what the rest of the essay entails. Next, there will be three paragraphs which will consist of three main points that support your initial argument that was stated in the introduction. Finally, there is a conclusion that will essentially wrap up the entire essay, and will impact to reader so they will remember the whole paper. In China, they have a similar foundation however, it has major differences. The “eight legged essay” was a major part of Chinese literacy, and although this is still not used today, it made lasting impressions and still helps shape Chinese literature. Similar to our essays, it has an opening which states the topic and theme. Next, instead of three main points, they must have a series of arguments that are in a specific order. Each have to be in parallel sentence structure, and use different words with the same meaning. This is extremely different from English writing, because repetition is seen as annoying and redundant. We like our writing to be short and to the point. The conclusion is a prosaic form in which the writer has the freedom to express and show their creativity. In both cultures, we have guidelines and sometimes word count, however in this type of Chinese essay there is a strict word count and certain words are to be either avoided or employed, and if one does not meet these requirements the overall score will be severely impacted.
There is one major difference that all students from China will have a hard time dealing with if they were to ever write an essay or assignment in the United States. Plagiarism is frowned upon in our educational system, and if one is found guilty, they will face very severe consequences. In China, plagiarism is non existent. They believe that memorizing quotes and passages are essential to good writing and they will not give the author credit. Being a communistic nation, they are used to sharing everything including information. We emphasize that citing the work that influenced our own, is essential to strengthen an argument, however Chinese students have never been exposed to this idea.
Writing is an essential part to any culture. China, is an old country with a lot of history and writing has helped preserve and inform society about it. Although they may have a different alphabet and their direction of writing is different, the idea of it is the same throughout any culture. They value literacy and education immensely, and they see it as a necessary tool for a successful life. Writing is documentation of not only history, but of ideas and creativity. It serves as the root of any communication and is used not only in school but in everyday life. Therefore since writing itself is universal, used in every country, we should be open to different styles. Every country is different, which means their writing styles and constructs will be different. That does not mean that some are better than others, even though we will all be biased to the tools we learned growing up. We need to be more open minded, and be open to changing not only how we read other cultures literature but how we create our own. Being able to use other cultures idea's and tools may make American literature more advanced and eventually make writing conducts universal for every country. Constructs are not laws, they merely suggestions on how to be a bare minimal writer, one should branch off these ideas and become an individual and unique. They are created, not fixed or unchanging. We need to start focusing on the contents of the pieces rather than the style; just because it is not the traditional American structure that does not mean that the content should be overlooked. We all express ourselves differently and we can not have the constraints of constructs limiting us on how we choose to do so.
ReplyDeleteSources:
Lee, John. "Final." Final. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
"An Octave of Education: Eight Legged Essays." An Octave of Education: Eight Legged Essays. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
The history of writing is said to origin in the Asian regions , thousands and thousands of years ago. In this time, different writing systems evolute to form different writing constructs. Here in the Americans we have our perceptions of writing and how to communicate which is different than that of places like China. Also, different times in history we can see how much writing has changed an example of this is Ancient Egypt with there hieroglyphics.
ReplyDeleteFirst lets discussions how people in China write. Compared to that of the American 26 letter system used to create characters, in china there are no letters. Instead they use symbols or characters to convey meaning in text. This type of system, as you many imagine, must be very large in size . I mean in a sense of characters it uses in text. Today, there are over 50, 000 different recorded symbols to work with. These symbols are understood by all Chinese and different Chinese dialects. This vast system of writing use charters does not exist here. In America, We only use 26 letters to form words and not characters for every word. Another difference is that, In Chinese text/writing there are punctuations in between text and not just empty space, unlike English.
What this shows about Chinese culture maybe they value creative in their culture. With some many different symbols this connection makes sense because it takes some unique ideas to come up with acceptable symbols. This sense of creative can be also seen with there unique building designs as well. Also, it reflects how long this language has been around ( 4,000 years). More time allows for more characters to be formed.
The last construct is that of ancient Egypt. Similar to Chinese text, they also use symbols. These symbols are more of drawings. In the English language, we do not draw our text. These drawings were both carried meaning in making different sounds and representing different objects, again similar to Chinese text. Some of these drawings are creations of different Egyptians Gods. This expresses the respect that the Egyptians had for their faith and toward their many gods.
As we know, wild animals communicate to survive. We are no different in that principle to survive. However, we do have different writing and language systems across the global. It is important to understand that all writing constructs had to come from some where. These constructs can not be fixed because the first constructs were created. By default of the writing process and history, it does not make sense to say that writing has set rules. It is very critical to make this connection or otherwise writing will be limited to what people want it to be. This will destroy the creativity that writing has given to us. Writing being fixed in rules is a misconception as you can tell with the many different writing systems. Therefore, this perception must be removed.
Work Cited
Thompson, Irene. "Writing Systems ." About World Languages. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. .
"Ancient Egyptian Scripts." (hieroglyphs, Hieratic and Demotic). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. .
"The Chinese Writing System." Chinese Writing System. Bathrobe's East Asian Writing Systems, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. .
Every country and culture has its own approach to writing. Throughout the world, there are several different writing styles used for writing essays. In America, I was taught that the typical essay consisted of five main paragraphs made up of 4-7 sentences. The first paragraph was the introduction, which is where you were to grab the readers’ attention with a great first sentence, state what you will be talking about throughout the essay, and end it with your thesis statement. A thesis statement is usually a sentence that explains your view on the topic and the path you are going to take throughout your essay. The next three paragraphs are called “the body”, which are supporting sentences used to explain the different points you made in your introduction. The last paragraph is called the conclusion, which basically restates the introduction and wraps the whole essay up. Typically, this is where you would throw in things that you forgot to say in the introduction. I was also taught that just like the introduction had to have an attention-grabbing first sentence, the last sentence in the conclusion had to be clever, leaving the reader in awe.
ReplyDeleteIn Japan, there are both similarities and differences in their writing styles compared to those in the United States. One of the main differences is that Japanese writing is traditionally written from top to bottom and right to left. Japan and American also differ on the way they view rhetorical writing. Rhetoric is translated to shuujigaku in English-Japanese dictionaries. Rhetoric in the United States refers to how a writer conveys his or her message to an audience in order to persuade or make a point. In Japan, shuujigaku is defined as a method that studies how to express an idea to impress the readers. The actual purpose of writing also differs between these two cultures. Japanese essay writers aim to move their readers and they are not very concerned about how to clearly relate information as English writers are. These differences in purposes of writing affect the way in which the paragraphs are organized. Paragraphs in Japan are called danraku. Japanese writers don’t have specific rules to writing a paragraph while English writers are taught to abide by specific rules of a paragraph.
The French and English writing styles also consist of both similarities and differences. The most important aspect of a French essay is the structure rather than the actual contents. In order to help structure the essay, you are first to find la problematique, which means “the problem” in English. This concept is similar to how Americans plan what they are going to write in the essay before they actually write it. The introductions in French style essays are very similar to the introductions in English style writing. In the introduction, both cultures introduce the topic, explain the subject, and list possible solutions to the problem. The French writing style also agrees with having a thesis statement but the cultures differ on the actual placement of the statement. The American style essay will usually begin straight to the point, with the thesis in the introduction, while the French may choose to place the thesis in the concluding paragraph. The concept of the body paragraphs between the intro and the conclusion is basically the same; they are they to further explain the points in the introduction. The fundamental difference between the two writing styles is the placement of the thesis statement.
(continued in next blog)
The world and cultures are always changing so it is very important to view constructs as created rather than fixed and unchanging. We are constantly seeing new things and visiting new places so I think it is imperative to have an open mind about different constructs and learn more about them. By learning about different ways of writing, you can expand your own knowledge and writing abilities. This can help you improve as a writer and help you find your preferred way of writing. I am also planning on studying abroad in the future, so knowing the different ways that cultures write can help me be prepared for writing assignments in the different countries.
ReplyDeleteSources:
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/getting-it-write-essay-styles-vary-by-country-creating-difficulties-for-international-students-1.838709#.UjoTmBzonqI
http://bettizpod.over-blog.com/article-17353773.html
http://jalt.org/pansig/2004/HTML/KimKon.htm
The only style I’ve ever known was 5 paragraphs, including: Introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. This technique has been drilled into my head since 2nd grade, especially because I had to take the FCAT for a duration of my primary education. I’ve never really thought about if or how people in other countries approached writing. With a little bit of research, there are so many approaches to writing that people in different cultures use!
ReplyDeleteUnlike America, the Chinese writing system consists of 8 parts in an essay. There is the poti, chengti, qijiang, qigu, xugu, zhonggu, hougu, and finally the dajie. I bet you’re wondering what those all mean. Translated into English, the parts Chinese writing are introducing the topic, presenting the topic, beginning the discourse, the “initial leg”, “transition leg”, “middle leg”, “later leg”, and then the conclusion. The collective culture of the Chinese is reflected in their righting style, in their style of writing they are searching for “values in antiquity”. This style of writing use used to have the reader understand why the author chose the topic, the interesting facts about the topic, and its important in the academic society.
Very different from the Chinese style of writing and the English way of writing, The French approach writing in a more indirect way than Americans. With French writing, they include their thesis in the last paragraph. Their style of having their point unclear and not abrupt like American papers shows intelligence in the reader. The French essays both develop in a greatly similar way but they present questions that re to be answered throughout the writing. French like to leave the excitement of the paper until the conclusion. The difference in writing styles is due to the difference in education systems and the way the French teach their students.
Each method of writing whether it is the circular method of Ecuadorian writing or the eight part method of the Chinese. Each of these styles is important not only to their education systems and reflecting their cultures; it also exhibits how each culture act in communication and their everyday life. These constructs are better created because it adds diversity to the way everyone communicates. Without these different messages writing would be simple, boring, and very uniform.
Works Cited
ELMAN, Benjamin A. "Eight-Legged Essay." Berkshire Publishing Group LLC, 2009. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
Steinway, Charlotte. "Getting It 'write:' Essay Styles Vary by Country, Creating Difficulties for International Students." Tufts Daily. N.p., 20 Oct. 2008. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quI0vq9VF-c\
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, we learn a lot of different writing constructs. We learn all the catchy tricks to try and keep your reader entertained and informed on what the topic is. Some of those “tricks” were actually helpful and you still use them today, but most of them were a very elementary style writing that you would get zero points for if you used it today. With that being said, you don’t really ever think about other countries type of writing. I have never really thought about it and when I have I just figured they had the same scenarios. I was very wrong. Different countries have different styles, which makes since. Speaking in different languages and having different cultural backgrounds is of course going to make writing constructs unique in all countries. France, for example, has many similarities and differences compared to American writing. For France they have similar structure but the style is still very different. Instead of coming out with the point of your essay, when writing in France, you guide your audience to the topic which is told, in what we call, the conclusion. The body paragraphs for the US and France are still similar. French writing will begin with asking questions that should hint to the reader what will be talked about and throughout the development paragraphs, or the body, those questions get answered leading to what the actual topic is. A reason the French write like that is for suspense. They like to get the reader thinking and trying to figure what the writer is really trying to accomplish throughout the entire essay. This type of style of writing is called ‘une dissertation.’ French literature is very important to the people who write it as to American writers. Writing in all countries has their own twist to it but in the end it all makes up the universal subject of Writing Constructs.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tuftsdaily.com/getting-it-write-essay-styles-vary-by-country-creating-difficulties-for-international-students-1.838709#.UjpcEjZJ4b8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_literature
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I enjoy cooking and eating llamas because it’s a good source of protein. Did that opening sentence grab your attention? Did it make you want to read on to learn why and how I eat llamas? Well I’m sorry to disappoint you but this paper is not about eating llamas. My point is, from the very beginning of my literacy career, way back in the 4th grade, I was taught that there are certain constructs one must follow when writing a paper. These constructs include that a paper should be five paragraphs long with five sentences to each paragraph. It should have a beginning, three main middle parts, and an end. This is how most schools across America teach children how to write. Do you ever wonder what it’s like in other countries or cultures?
ReplyDeleteThe first culture I chose to do some research on is the Chinese culture. They go about teaching their students to write in a much different way. In our English alphabet there are 26 letters. The Chinese alphabet consists of about 13,000 characters. Do you remember learning your ABC’s at a young age? Well at the age of six these children are beginning to dive in to one of the most complex set of characters known to man. According to Weije Chen of Kristianstad University in Sweden, Chinese children are taught at a young age how to develop topic sentences. They are very advanced at around ages 8-9 on how to write a topic sentence about a particular paragraph. But what I found interesting was that unlike young American students, these Chinese students lacked transitional phrases. We were always taught to begin our body paragraphs with first, second, and third. Even though those are very elementary transitional phrases its still more than what the Chinese can do. They just jump right into the topic sentence without giving their essays transition. Another interesting thing I found is when they write their essays they don’t necessarily analyze and research the topic. Rather, they spend most of their writing time explaining why they chose a certain topic.
The other culture I did some research on was the Spanish culture and how they construct their essays. The Spanish language is very similar as our own English language. In fact many of our words come from the Spanish language. One thing that is vastly different and that young Spanish speaking students must learn at a young age is the fact that words have a gender to them and differ if you’re talking about a male or female. Even objects have genders. Also, young Hispanics are not accustomed to sitting in desks and writing independently. They often work in groups.
Even though our basic writing constructs differ from those of other cultures, we all share the same basic thought process when it comes to reading and writing. We all start from the basics as children and slowly progress from there.
Works Cited
"Essay on Teaching | Custom Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers, Writing Help and Writing Tips | Custom Writing Service Blog." Essay on Teaching | Custom Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers, Writing Help and Writing Tips | Custom Writing Service Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013
"Internet History Sourcebooks Project." Internet History Sourcebooks Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
Chen, Weije. "An Investigation Of Topic Sentences In Chinese Students." N.p., n.d. Web.
Growing up in a different culture has allowed me to experience how a different part of the world is. Being Indian has opened my eyes to new writing constructs that other people wouldn’t know about. Watching my mom write, I can see how different it is for her. Indian’s don’t used put their writing into several paragraphs; it’s one big paragraph. In America, most people do a five paragraph essay without even thinking about it. It has become a standard for writing no matter what grade level you are in; even college students would still use this format due to all their previous teachers that told them it was the proper way. Furthermore, in India, more than one script is used; a script is a different form of writing with different symbols. There’s one alphabet system, but there are much more vowels and consonants. In America, there is only one alphabet, so the writing is universal in the entire country. On the other side of the world, Russia’s writing system is also much different. For instance, when they write, they are very formal, meaning they don’t use slang and expressions. Their writing is much more formal. Moreover, the Russian alphabet has 33 letters. Also another unique writing civilization is the Greeks. The Greeks write from right to left. They also have breaks between their writings. In China, they have an Eight Legged Essay which is very different most other forms of writing. Just as we have the 5 paragraph structure, they have an 8 paragraph structure. They also have a word limit on their essays. These essays also tested their knowledge out of their essay topic. Vietnam’s way of writing is much more different than other South Asia countries. Vietnam has a tradition of transforming foreign words into a Vietnamese form. There are two ways of writing down the words, with or without the symbols above the words. They often combine element to create new characters. Furthermore, syllables are written as separate words.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are told to write an essay for any reason in our college classes, the first thing that comes to my mind is the format. Teachers in my elementary school use to teach us the basics of constructing essays. The first thing you would need is a hook to make sure you got the attention of everybody, then you would have to make sure you had a minimum of five paragraphs, and each paragraph had at least three to five sentences. As I grew up, the formatting changed, and it was now acceptable to have only three paragraphs with eight to ten sentences each, as long as I had made my point. The writing constructs differ in other parts of the world, and we’re going to take a deeper look into the Chinese and Arabic cultures.
ReplyDeleteWriting within the Chinese culture is a huge culture shock when you really look into it. For one, there isn’t just a single chinese language, but better yet different versions: Wu, Cantonese, and Tiawanese are just three. The characters we know as the alphabet is also different from what the Chinese language uses which is a logographic system. These symbols are the words themselves instead of a bunch of them making words together. This causes a very big struggle when those that use Chinese try to switch to English. Another big stump Chinese writers have to deal with is how their verb tenses are used in the English language. Time in is not dealt the same way through different tenses and verbs in Chinese as it is in English. These few differences make a huge gap in the culture barrier between English and Chinese writing, making it such a unique transition for both sides.
Another language that I am more familiar with is the Arabic language. The first big difference that isn’t easy to spot is that Arabic is written right to left, unlike the left to right English is written in. This little detail can be looked over especially if you cannot understand the Arabic language. This causes books to be read from the back to front (in our eyes) and the transition can be potentially tough for Arabic writers. There are also many dialects of Arabic taught (one being Lebanese which is what I am familiar with), but there is one version taught in the schools in that part of the middle east. Another tiny difference in the languages is that there isn’t a distinction of upper case letters in the Arabic language, but instead all the letters are just written as they are. A small but also main detail that can cause someone switching to English to slip up on.
It really is simply amazing how different languages are in the opposite parts of the world, but we still can manage to communicate with each other if there is a need to. Although our languages and styles differ, there is still a need of constructing words, sentences, and essays in each language. The value of learning these different constructs is that you can make easier transitions from each language while you learn them, and it can connect you closer to those who use other languages. It is also important that you continue to further your knowledge in your own language because there will always be new meanings and styles to arise that will change the language again. Writing never stops, and neither does new styles that come into creation.
Sources:
http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/chinese.htm
http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/langdiff/arabic.htm
People don’t realize that the way they know how to write and have been taught how to write, isn’t the only way. We all have certain rules about writing that we had to follow going through school. Remember being told how you needed exactly five paragraphs with five sentences in each? Since we are only concentrated on American English, we don’t realize that other cultures have their own rules to follow when writing papers.
ReplyDeleteThere are many different formats when it comes to writing an essay. In Japan, the kids in elementary school learn that there are four parts to an essay. An essay consists of an introduction, development, turning point, and conclusion. The Japanese use many pronouns in their essays and it’s the reader’s job to understand the concept of whatever is written. This is very different from American writing, because in American English it is important to make sure that everything is clear and understood when written. The Japanese have a completely different alphabet and form of writing compared to how we write in the U.S.
In Turkey, long elaborate sentences are preferred. Having longer elaborated sentences is seen as more poetic and it is read more for pleasure, not only for understanding. In America teachers usually want short understandable sentences. Also in Turkey, the essays are written in a way that appeals to the eye. Many different punctuation’s are used to make essays look good and catch the reader’s attention.
Constructs are created so that we have some sort of guideline to follow when writing essays. Constructs in American English change as one goes through school. In the early years of one’s education, constructs are stricter to make sure that we understand the basic concept of writing an essay, but as we get older the constructs become more flexible. Constructs should not be seen as fixed or unchanged because constructs should be viewed as a base or starting point. To advance in writing one must grow out of these constructs and create their own.
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/kaleidoscope/volume3/cultureshock.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_language
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quI0vq9VF-c\
In the beginnings of civilization people grew and evolved, mostly unaware of the outside world. This disconnect led to the development of different beliefs, religions, and ways of thinking that formed over thousands of years. Even having to adapt to their different environments changed how cultures evolved, leading us in to the world we know today. Understanding this, it would be foolish to assume that every culture has developed in exactly the same way.
ReplyDeleteIn American schools we spend our early years being told the “correct” ways to write an essay. Five paragraphs make an essay, at least five sentences make a paragraph, and at least three points should be covered in your thesis to validate your point. These are some of the constructs that students are told when they learn to write, and yet somewhere along our learning path this becomes invalid. We learn of many other ways to construct a well written essay, and some of these stem from other cultures.
In Japan, characters are written together without spacing, and are allowed to flow onto the next line without regard for word boundaries. In English, spaces are added between words to aid readers in determining words, and if a word flows to the next line in a similar manner a hyphen is inserted.
In Germany, there are many ways to construct a sentence. A noun’s location in the statement has nothing to do with it being the subject, object, or any other argument. In English, however, a sentence may be misunderstood, or make no sense what so ever if subject appeared after the predicate.
Works Cited
"German Language." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
"Japanese Writing System." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
The writing styles in foreign countries are different from one another. Culture, as a main leading factor to writing, can be metaphorically seen as fences being put up in the backyard. Each “fence” has its own unique design; fences may be superficial, old, and or new. These “fences” act as boundaries which inhibit any one country from having the same writing style with another country. Factors comprising of history, social aspects, and language all contribute to the way writing is shaped.
ReplyDeleteHistory being one of the main elements of a country’s culture affects the writing style. From the beginning of World War II, Germany has thought of itself as the power house, the mother country of Europe, because of her prestige and power. Germany had the best of the best. The mindset of being the best carried through the years and this is shown in their writing. The German writing style is prone to hide “weaknesses” in order to keep their prideful motto of being the best alive (Academic Writing and Culture, 141). Students, in fact, are taught to learn in isolation when writing an essay (Academic Writing and Culture, 134) because teachers want their students to better prepare themselves on their own. This shows how German students are left to fend for themselves in the academic system. The result of isolation stresses “subject-matter knowledge and content than style and format” when writing (Academic and Culture, 134). Isolation leads to the concealment of information within the country, thus limiting access to outside knowledge from other countries. Germany’s closure of information causes a lack of coherence in their writings because it’s either Germany’s way of writing or the highway. Furthermore, Germany’s style of writing consists of bridging sentences to form paragraphs more essential than having a topic sentence form the paragraph, (Academic and Cultural Writing, 142) which can be compared to how Germany prefers bridging its people together in order to form the mother country. Chinese writing style is too reflected by its history. China has been under the control of Communist government since World War II. The amount of information exchanged with other nations was very limited, therefore Chinese people were able to acquire knowledge only within China. Papers in China did not require citations since the sources were shared amongst the people. The sharing of sources can be seen as the assumption that Chinese people were born with this prior knowledge, in order to better connect the people just like in Germany.
Social aspects are another factor of culture that help cultivate writing. Germany has a very asymmetric style of writing (Academic and Cultural Writing, 136), thus creating an imbalance in the length of texts. The reason for this is because of the lack of communication between people in Germany. They also have a disorganized hierarchy in their society which is shown in their writing; there is no sense of organization within the text because German writers care about content rather than style and formatting. German speakers start a conversation very broadly but then come to “an end of the argument” thus causing a “spiral-like structure” (Academics and Cultural Writing, 142) in their writings. Impersonal statements are made within the German writing in order to make the paper sound more authoritative than personal. The social connection between German people is not emotional, there’s a more distant feeling amongst themselves which explains the lack of “metalanguage and thematization” (Academic and Cultural Writing, 142) within papers. In China, the subject matter of what is learned in the classroom is more important than what an individual thinks. This shows the widening gap of inequality in China. Not only is their writing rigid because of their complex characters but also because of their grammar and sentence structure (Tesol Quarterly, 515).
ReplyDeleteLanguage, a third aspect of culture, helps develop writing. Language in the German language is implicit and not straight-forward. In, fact the relationship between the reader and writer is assumed (Academic and Cultural Writing, 142). Conversations amongst the German people consist of a shared knowledge, so the majority of people know what others are talking about without having them explicitly state the specifics. The Chinese language is not oversimplified as is shown in their writing. Like in Germany, the relationship between the reader and writer is always assumed and is never explicit. The reason for this is because of the shared information circulating in China. History, Social aspects, and language manage to shape writing. Germany’s history helped constrain the writing style and prevent anyone of their people looking weak in their writing. Social structures in the German culture mirrored the imbalance length of their texts. Language helped shape the overall tone for their prospective audience which was an authoritative way of writing.
Constructs are seen as valuable because people establish different perspectives within their culture. No two country is the same, therefore their writing systems are diverse. Culture helps to establish writing constructs within countries and it is important to realize that countries establish their own writing boarders in order to see what will help their people. The different factors contributing to the shaping of constructs are history, social aspects, and language because all three formulate the “fence” behind the yard.
Mohan, Bernard A., and Winnie Au-Yeung Lo. JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
ReplyDelete"Academic Writing and Culture: An Overview of Differences between English, French and German." Érudit. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. .
When I first learned how to construct an essay, I was of course taught the dreaded five paragraph essay. This simple format consisted of an introduction, three body paragraphs and a conclusion, and obviously they all flowed together beautifully with the use of transitional words. FCAT writes and the waste of time that it is did teach me that the five paragraph essay can be effective to a point and it is a trite way of writing. My first thoughts when approaching this assignment were “what culture or country should I pick?” I looked up the German writing format and it is too similar to the way we already write so I ventured further on the globe to Japan and
ReplyDeleteIn Japanese writing the author will begin by writing from the top of the page just like an English writer. The change occurs when the Japanese writer begins by writing on the right side of the page first; so they write from top to bottom, right to left. Japanese writing when written on paper is not the regular loose-leaf paper we are accustomed to in America, instead the paper contains small boxes where the writer will place their character (letter). Something that struck me as interesting where the specific rules that appeared concerning certain characters. A few mentioned by the posting I read were “katakana” and "hiragana”. The only rules in English writing are concerned with lower case and upper case letters and only when it is a proper noun or at the beginning of a sentence do you place a capital letter. This is nothing compared to the “katakana” character which must be elongated vertically rather than horizontally in certain situations.
Aside from the complex alphabet of the Japanese language, there is a different form when it comes to writing essays. They say to hell with the typical Introduction, Body, and Conclusion they add two additional paragraphs to this mix called, the development and turn. First, the development portion of the essay consists of what a typical English essay would put at the end of the introduction. Here examples that will be used in the essay will be laid out for the reader, however the difference is that the introduction paragraph is further explained. Next, the turn portion of the essay is supposed to relay an opposing side or opinion to points made in the previous two paragraphs. Typically in an essay in English this would be placed right before the conclusion as a fourth body paragraph and only used in cases to improve your ACT or SAT essay score.
Something quite different between these forms of writing is the conclusion paragraph in Japanese is that you must write about your final point of view in a broad point of view, even if it is different from the ideas of the introduction paragraph. My mind has been blown!
Overall, Japanese writing contains some small similarities between English writing but bold differences like specific character rules when writing and especially the strange conclusion paragraph.
"Differences between Japanese and English Essays." Lang-8. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
"Writing Essays in Japanese | Essays in Idleness." Essays in Idleness. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
Throughout education in the United States you are taught of many constructs. Grammar rules and writing structures make up the majority of them however, the one construct almost everyone of my peers would agree with which was stressed the most would be the three part five paragraph. This style of writing would be engraved into our minds, as we would use this style to prepare for writing in major standardized tests. The three part essay would come to be routine in our writing and straying from this would most likely be uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteThere are many different cultures in the world and just as there are different cultures there are also different styles and methods of writing. For example, in the Americas you write from left to write in a horizontal line while in Japan you write vertically. Another major difference is in the type of writing used, Japanese writing uses characters that have specific meaning while English uses letters to build words. Fortunately there are some similarities between the languages, although they seem light years apart, like both English and Japanese speech has only five vowels. Also, throughout the years the horizontal form of writing has proven to be quite inconvenient due to the introduction of numbers and mathematical formulas so horizontal writing has become slightly more popular.
Not too far from Japan, you would think that the Chinese form of writing would be very similar but it’s actually quite the contrary. Although they may have similar characters the writing construct is much more extreme in China. Picture it this way, in the United States, a democratic country, you can choose how many sentences you put in your paragraph but in China, a communist country, you are told specifically to write in eight sections each representing everything from an intro to at least 4 argument sections before finally concluding. In China writing is also more specific as it gives a specific number of sentences and words that can be put in these sections. In this way China is much more direct in their writing, as they are not allowed ample space to write things that may be considered unnecessary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-legged_essay
http://japanese.about.com/od/introductoryjapaneselesso/a/blank9.htm
In America children are taught from a young age that there is one style of writing that you must follow if you are to succeed in school. This style of writing is the traditional 5 paragraph 5-7 sentence essay. It starts with an introduction that lays out the main points of your essay and is supposed to catch the readers attention. Then you have your three main body paragraphs that explain your main points and finally your conclusion that wraps up your paper. But this isn't the only writing style and many countries have different styles that deviate from our standard American style.
ReplyDeleteIn china the writing system differs greatly from the American style. The Chinese system of wringing uses a logographic system which is symbols that represent a word. The two main languages that are spoke in china are mandarin and Cantonese. The interesting thing about writing in Chinese is that even the the pronunciation of a word may very in writing they mean the same thing. Chinese is written in characters and read from top to bottom. The Chinese characters are made up of 50,000 symbols opposed to the 26 letters in the alphabet. In Chinese text there are no spaces between words so punctuation is the only way that text is separated. Another difference is that in china plagiarism inst a problem because they believe that everything should be shared.
The style of writing in french has many similarities but also difference. The first part of setting up an essay in french is to find the problem which sets up the structure of your essay. Once you have found your problem then you must build your argument. After you have built your argument you then must build your introduction and your conclusion. The main difference between American and french style is that instead of the thesis being placed in the beginning of the paper it is put in the conclusion.
Every culture has their own constructs when it comes to writing. If there was one style of writing then there would never be any variation and writing would be very boring. This is why it is important to view constructs as created because everyone is different and must express themselves in different ways.
"Bettizpod." OverBlog. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013
"Chinese Language: History of Chinese Writing System." Chinese Language: History of Chinese Writing System. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013.
Growing up in America we are taught different things then other countries teach their own civilians. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school we are taught that there is a specific way to write essays. We learned that essays are written in 5 paragraph form that consist of an introduction paragraph, 3 detailed paragraphs on the points you are trying to address, and then the conclusion paragraph that summarizes what was stated throughout the essay. We have always been told to start with a thesis statement and to make it interesting. These are our own constructs that have been established in our culture but in other countries like Korea and France.
ReplyDeleteKorean culture and language is very direct when speaking. If they are saying statements in context of conversations they do not use the “he” or “she” that we use in our language. They don’t think that it is very important. For example, if a Korean is hungry they say “hungry stomach” instead of how we would say it “I am hungry”. With the Korean writing style they use less paragraphing. For example, our format is very structured in paragraphs, while theirs is not. They omit the endings and miss some of the words (ex: is, at, the, etc.). The Korean’s writing style is approached and developed by using the Ki-sung-jon-gyul system. It is a non-committal way which indirectly repeats statements about the main argument and then it slowly moves toward a subtle conclusion.
The French writing style is not very different from American style, but it is different. The difference is in the basic schooling we are taught and they are taught. The French are taught to write in Une-dissertation. They have the paragraphing and structure that we do but they put their thesis in their concluding paragraph instead of in their introduction paragraph like we do. They like doing this because they like the suspense of not having the reader know what they are talking about till the very end. Another difference is that they begin their essays with questions. We are told to use an “attention grabber” but not really a question, it is kind of frowned upon in the American system. The questions have to do with what they will talk about later in the essay, they answer them when going into detail in one of the detail paragraphs (not introduction or conclusion).
I think it is good to view constructs as created rather than fixed and unchanging because in reality, America is changing every day, writing will change and it already has. Going from high school to college this year I have already noticed that the way I was taught will not cut it for college. Also, people from all over the world come to America to learn and they should not be set up to fail because the way they had gotten taught to write is so different than our own. If I were to move to another country and study there and have to write papers I would love to learn all the different cultures and ways of doing means for them, including writing. There should not be a set way of writing papers, there should be many different ways.
Works Cited:
Eckert, Ken (2011). Dr. E’s Guide to Academic research papers for Koreans. Daegu, Korea. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
Steinway, Charlotte (2008, October 20) Getting it ‘Write’: Essay styles vary by country, creating difficulties for international students. The Tufts Daily. Retrieved September 18, 2013 from http://www.tuftsdaily.com/getting-it-write-essay-styles-vary-by-country-creating-difficulties-for-international-students-1.838709#.UjpoPL7D_VI
The idea of a 5 paragraph essay, each paragraph containing 5-7 sentences, was consistently reiterated to me as I progressed through each year of English. Teachers preached the importance of a 5 paragraph essay as it was the only format that could be used when constructing an essay. Since this was the scenario, I believed that I had to stick to this method in order to successfully write an effective essay that would appeal to my teachers. I believed the 5 paragraph essay was a universal format; little did I know the 5 paragraph essay was not a universal format, but different cultures had their own styles of organizing and structuring their writing. The idea of the 5 paragraph essay served as a constraint as it was the only form of writing that I used and was aware of. It prohibited students in American schools of being exposed to other styles of writing contained in other cultures.
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese language developed from the Sino-Tibetan family, which consists of 300 languages and dialects. Due to the complexity of this language tree, the Chinese language is complicated and consists of many different symbols, each of which has their own meaning. American English style of writing tends to have an organized structure, constant flow of information, and a sequence of events in order of importance. On the other hand, the Chinese tend to be indirect and circular in their writing. While I would write a thesis to bring forth my main points in what I am going to write, the Chinese would disregard the idea of a thesis and bring forth their objectives and motives in their writing when they feel appropriate. With this being said, standard Chinese writing could contain a large number of points with no specific organizational pattern, which could produce a very lengthy essay. Along with not having a thesis statement, the Chinese style of writing does not include a concluding paragraph. The use of tenses in the English language is not used in the Chinese language, so writing for a native Chinese speaker in a proper American Chinese context is quite difficult.
Spanish language and writing has its similarities and differences when comparing it to English language and writing. The use of tenses in writing is used in both English and Spanish languages. Also, Spanish words are usually dedicated to one meaning unlike some English words that can have several meanings. Unlike English, the Spanish language has many dialects due to the variety of countries that use this form language. While I was studying Spanish in school, I learned a more formal dialect of Spanish as well as the dialect used in Spain. The dialect used in Spain had words specific to that dialect and were not recognized by other countries. Also, the Spanish that I had learned is different than the Spanish my grandparents understand, due to their Cuban dialect. Due to these dialects, writing also varies from culture to culture as certain words are used to describe particular events. The influence of culture on different countries serves as the main factor in the creation of these dialects dedicated to each Spanish speaking country.
As displayed in the above paragraphs, the American English language and writing style if far from the universal accepted style. In China, the immense amount of characters and their distinguished meanings provides more vocabulary and length to Chinese writing. In Spanish, the amount of dialects creates new words specific to a certain dialect as well as different styles of sentence structure. It is clear that writing and culture are interdependent as each culture has their own unique writing style.
"Chinese Cultural Studies: The Chinese Language and Writing." Chinese Cultural Studies. N.p., n.d.
Web. 18 Sept. 2013. .
Jehle-Caitcheon, Ngaire. "English Writing Styles and Linguistics." Cultures in the Classroom. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. .
There is no denying that America is one of the most advanced societies in the world. However, when it comes to our writing style, I’ve always thought that we’ve seemed exceptionally simplistic. We were taught a variety of ways to keep our writing short, sweet, and to the point. The FCAT taught us to set up all of our essays in a way that was easy for the graders to read; a style that entailed five paragraphs, a hook, and a conclusion that addressed the essay as a whole.
ReplyDeleteThe whole setup always irked me, because I felt as though I could be a helluva lot more advanced in how I set the essays up. Although, I continued to write in the uniform way throughout elementary and middle school. When I entered high school, I was determined to find another way to write out my work. Luckily I did. My English teachers introduced me to new ways of writing and I was no longer stuck in the rut that was the FCAT style.
In Japan, writing construct is similar to that of American writing but is taught differently. For starters, Japanese writing is written and read from right to left, whereas in America it’s from left to right. Essay writers are not as worried about content and organization as American’s are. Japanese are severely less organized in their styling and tend to fluctuate throughout their ideas. English writing uses rhetoric while the Japanese use something called shuujigaku to demonstrate a thought or idea to the reader of the literature. Shuujigaku is essentially rhetoric.
Danraku is another tool that the Japanese use. It is referred to as a division in an essay or passage that significantly shifts ideas. It goes hand in hand with shuujigaku. Japanese writers are able to hold a lot of freedom in their writing, something that American essay writers do not really have a lot of. They can design their passages in whichever way they desire. Japanese find a way to use emotion in their writing without using a hook or an organized writing style. They have their own effective method to writing, but still somewhat follow the American precedent. Though they tend to change up the construct significantly and have a ton more freedom.
In France, they use a different approach to writing. Theirs is a more subsidiary writing style that usually entails the main idea or thesis in the end instead of the beginning of the essay pieces. They use a style that leaves the reader foggy on the purpose of the piece until they tie it together in the end. It is effective for the reader because it allows them to form their own idea of the purpose of the piece before it is presented to them. In other words, it allows the reader to display their intelligence rather than in American literature where the reader’s intelligence is never fully tested.
Though they each have styles of writing that differ, each country has some kind of element from one another. Each form and method is effective in its respected country. I believe that each would also work if they switched countries. It’s very interesting to see how each individual country and community uses their different constructs. All in all, I have discovered that wherever I write I will be satisfied, as long as I have the freedom to write about whatever it is I choose.
http://jalt.org/pansig/2004/HTML/KimKon.htm
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/getting-it-write-essay-styles-vary-by-country-creating-difficulties-for-international-students-1.838709#.UjpwioasiQI
http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2008/06/the-french-vers.html
All the way through high school, students are stringently taught a basic writing format that is not open to change. This format consists of an introduction, three body paragraphs and a conclusion. We were given the impression if we chose to write in any other style, we would be wrong. This limited view causes students to grow dependent on retrieving and researching only three main ideas. Searching for three main ideas in topics leads most often to common generalizations most other writers also identify. The point of exploring text and deriving underlying meanings in research is lost and results in tasteless papers. Constructing boundaries and guidelines are effective in writing but only when they do not take away from the identity of the subject matter. We often view the actual writing format of an essay the most important construct overlooking other constructs as freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteIn many countries, freedom of speech is nonexistent. This, itself, can pose problems to the author because of its inability to opine towards a matter. We fail to notice this problem because in the United States, we are able to speak freely about our country without getting penalized in anyway. For example, Russia is forced to practice self-censorship. There, the writing constructs go beyond words on a page thy effect the writers lives and ability to talk about the truth of their realities accordingly in comparison to the United States and media outlets all over the country advertise whatever they want in the realm of what is morally correct. Imagine if a Russian student came to the United States in order to attain an education in a Democratic environment. First, they would have to get permission. The difficulty they would face when writing a simple essay about their opinions of the government would increase ten-fold compared to an American student. Since Russians are not allowed to write openly about their government and if they were to do so they would face severe consequences as a result frightening them to write about the United States. This creates an enormous effect on the author’s ability to write, thus generating a construct in his or her writing.
Mandarin Chinese sentence structure is different than English and other common European language configuration. Mandarin’s order of words in sentences does not match in the English language. Consequently, causing translated sentences hard to understand. An example of a sentence is “I like on the train read the newspaper." The sentence has no type of meaning when read in the Standard English view but for a Mandarin writer it has the perfect structure. In their language the object is placed after the verb. Other possibilities may include putting the object before the verb, before the subject, or it may even stand to be correct when removed from the sentence. Conversational Mandarin often leaves out both the subject and the object when just the context makes the meaning clear.
Writing constructs should not be fixed nor regulated by a governing body. There are too many cultures to regulate and beliefs to incorporate in order to make a perfect outline of writing. The reference videos you posted explained how some students have difficulty adjusting to American style writing because of the limitations they had in their home countries. A limitation like freedom of press in Russia has gone beyond just censorship. Journalist can be exiled, imprisoned or punished with taxes or seizures just because of how they choose to construct their writings. Taking on a critical aspect of writing is not looked upon as acceptable writing. Treading lightly and not uncovering the dirty deeds of government and political matters is the way these writers must approach their literature. Furthermore trying to incorporate Mandarin style of writing is impossible as teachings and structure are near impossible to compare. With so many different and wide-ranging writing constructs there is no way for writing constructs to be unchanging and permanent.
Works Cited
ReplyDeleteGrigg, Hugh. "Mandarin Sentence Structure: Guidelines." East Asia Student. Hugh Grigg, 18 Nov. 2011. Web.
Su, Qiu Giu. "Mandarin Chinese Sentence Structure." About.com Mandarin Language. About.com, 2010. Web.
Wikipedia. "Freedom of the Press in Russia." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Sept. 2012. Web.
I have been always exposed to English and Spanish constructs. This allowed me to see the differences and similarities that compose each of their structures. In English there is always the typical essay format that begins with the introduction, content and conclusion. In Spanish it is practically the same, but that is just the way essays are written. However the writing styles are not the same. In English it is always expected a direct response or exposition of information avoiding unnecessary descriptions that reflect no influence on the main point. That is not the case when it comes to writing in Spanish because in this language the details are given describing the upcoming information; it is a necessity to know well what is going to be read about. Nowadays Spanish and English are being mixed constantly becoming to some people one language popularly known as “Spanglish”. It is blend that has grown worldwide and that unites the constructs of each one. But how do other countries writing constructs also differ from the standard American English?
ReplyDeleteI first made some research on how writing occurs in the Arabian Peninsula. First, I noticed how they give extreme importance to the construct state rule that says that some articles should be avoided in order to create a strong relationship between nouns. An interesting detail I saw was that it is written from right to left, while numbers are written form left to right just like in English. Their writing system is the “Abjad” in which each symbol represents a consonant leaving space for the reader to insert the correct vowels. Another language I examined was the Written Chinese based on the spoken Mandarin. Their writing system is called the “Bopomofo” which consists of 37 symbols derived from Chinese characters. They also use a pattern known as the “Start-Sustain-Turn-Sum” that unfolds thoroughly before presenting the authors actual opinion at the conclusion of the essay.
After my research I concluded that it is valuable to view constructs as created rather than as fixed and unchanging because creating allows the writer the necessary freedom to express their thoughts and defend their opinions regarding any particular topic. If constructs were viewed as fixed and unchanging then there would be no way that writings form various cultures could be differentiated. Creating constructs in diverse countries leaves a mark on their writing which represents their cultures and sets them apart from others; each of them is unique.
Works cited:
DeleteArabic. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.omniglot.com/writing/arabic.htm
Rhetorical patterns in chinese and english essay writing. (2012, June 12). Retrieved from http://nclproofreadingservices.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/rhetorical-patterns-in-chinese-and-english-essay-writing/
Have you ever thought of the way different cultures approach writing essays? In various countries, Education is taught in different formats compared to American education, so wouldn’t essay writing be taught differently as well? After I researched more in depth about different culture’s writing styles, I realized that not all cultures follow the same five paragraph format when writing essays. It may sound strange, but it is true. The reason that the thought of not following the five paragraph format is unusual to us is because this format is a construct that has been developed through our education. Constructs are mental frameworks that people build in order to make sense of the world around them. (Texts/Constructs, 35) These frameworks have been built through our education in order to make sense for students about how they can write an essay. Although many other cultures follow the same premise of how to develop an essay, there are some cultures that have different approaches in producing their essays; such as the essay formats of the French and Chinese.
ReplyDeleteMany wouldn’t guess that there are differences in essay structures among different countries. The French, for example, have their own essay style called “une dissertation”. (TuftsDaily, 2) This format consists of not only of a different essay structure, but also introduces the thesis statement in a not so common area for an essay. The way a French essay is constructed is that you first start with the body of the essay which is broken into two parts (Main and Counter Argument) which is then divided into two subparts (first and second point) which also includes two smaller parts (develop and conclude point). After constructing your two part body paragraphs, it is advised that you should then start writing your introduction and conclusion. (Yahoo! Answers, 2) Also, an unusual aspect to this French essay format is that the thesis statement is typically introduced to the reader in the conclusion. According to a tuftsdaily article, the director of Academic Resource Center, Carmen Lowe, states, “With the European style, their notion of what is good academic writing has to do with the fact that your reader is not an idiot — if you make things too clear, you will offend the reader. So you, as the writer, will guide the reader gradually to your point.” Meaning overall, in their culture, the French writers like to build the reader into getting the point on their own. There is also another culture that shares a strange format to essay writing, the Chinese “Eight Legged Essay”.
(Continued, Part 1)
The Chinese language itself is differently structured than English. So then, you can imagine how different their writing structures must be compared to American writing structures. In the Chinese culture there is an old, complicated format of writing an essay that is used when the writer wants to demonstrate to the reader why the writer chose this topic, why is this topic is interesting, and what past scholars have said about the topic. (TuftsDaily, 3) This type of essay is written in the form of an argument and is separated into eight sections; each section has a different purpose. First is the opening which introduces the subject, next is the amplification which elaborates on the theme, and then the preliminary exposition which includes prosaic writing about the subject. After, there are four arguments: initial, central, latter, and then final. Initial develops the argument, central presents the argument clearly, latter shows the realistic point of the argument, and then final summarizes, and clarifies the overall argument. Finally there is the conclusion, which includes the freedom to express any remarks the writer has over the overall subject. (The Eight Legged Essay, 1) The reason that the Eight Legged essay was introduced in Chinese culture is that back then it was included in the last part of a provincial examination that was created for citizens to obtain careers. The Eight Legged essay in past Chinese culture demonstrated whether or not a person was lacking power or assertion. (The Eight Legged Essay, 2) When you can understand the backgrounds of various countries, you can begin to understand why different countries have developed different essay structures.
ReplyDeleteBackground and culture is a key factor that plays into our history with writing. Perfect examples are the French and Chinese writing structures. The backgrounds that we were raised in develop our mental constructs of what we believe is a sensible structure to follow. Although these constructs guide us through building essays, it also limits us from viewing essays in different formats. The uncommon standard of essay formats that the French and Chinese have shown is that writing can be expressed in different structures. It is important to consider other cultures different writing styles because it can allow us to not be limited when we start to construct our essays. This mentality can no longer restrict us on how we should write, but rather explore the endless of possibilities to write in different forms.
"French Dissertation Structure?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo!, 2006. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. .
Mori, Barbara. "Eight-legged Essay." Eight-legged Essay. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. .
Steinway, Charlotte. "Getting It 'write:' Essay Styles Vary by Country, Creating Difficulties for International Students." Tufts Daily. N.p., 20 Oct. 2008. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. .
Wardle, Elizabeth, and Doug Downs. "Texts/Constructs: How Do Readers Read and Writers Write?" Writing About Writing: A College Reader. N.p.: n.p., 2011. 34-36. Print.
Growing up in the American school system it is implemented in our minds the correct way to write an essay and the do's and dont's of writing. Do write a thesis statement, don't get off topic, always indent, start on the left side, etc. We are taught what is guaranteed to help us succeed and write an 'A' essay. However, other cultures, like my own for example, find it strange the way the American writing style is set up.
ReplyDeleteIn my culture, the Arab culture, it is odd to start reading and writing on the left side. This is because in the Arabic culture, they began reading and writing from the right side. In Arabic there is no such thing as writing “a,b,c,d” rather using symbols to signify the letters. Furthermore there is also dots that are used to differentiate the different letters and vowel markings that convey the sound that is supposed to be made when pronouncing the word. Being from the Arabic culture, I did not find this strange, however it did get confusing when I had to learn how to write in English.
Another different type of writing construct is the French way. Unlike the American way, the french do not place their thesis statement in the beginning, rather at the end in their concluding paragraph. They keep their readers guessing by making it impossible to know what is going to happen. They also start off with a question in their introduction to let the audience know what they will be talking about.
` Given these points, it is valuable to be knowledgeable about different types of writing styles rather than the ones we are convinced are set in stone. Knowing the different writing constructs comes in handy when one needs to write to someone who is of a different culture, traveling to different countries, etc.
Steinway, Charlotte (2008, October 20) Getting it ‘Write’: Essay styles vary by country, creating difficulties for international students. The Tufts Daily. Retrieved September 18, 2013
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/getting-it-write-essay-styles-vary-by-country-creating-difficulties-for-international-students-1.838709#.Ujp0gMZQFqU
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/arabic.htm
It is a fact that writing constructs differ from culture to culture. In America, I was raised on the basic writing constructs. The essay had to be five paragraphs long, an introduction paragraph, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. The paragraphs had to be anywhere from three to five sentences. This is what I needed to know to pass the standardized testing in my state called the FCAT. The FCAT is the reason why these writing constructs existed. I have learned today that these writing constructs are not rule of the land per say and that they can be played with. I have chosen to dive into the writing cultures of China and France.
ReplyDeleteIn China, there is a system of writing called the eight-legged essay. It is a very ancient type of writing dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. It has eight parts, thus the name, the introduction, amplification, preliminary exposition, initial argument, central argument, latter argument, final argument, and conclusion. All parts are rather self-explanatory. There are rules that govern the number of sentences and words per essay. The eight-legged essay is no longer used in China, but some of its influence still remains, such as the structures of redundancy and parallelism.
In France, there is a system of writing called “une dissertation.” It is a version of an essay learned from the International Baccalaureate system. It is an international education foundation that serves kids aged thirteen to nineteen. In French essays, the author starts off broad and then includes the thesis in the end compared to the American essay where the thesis is presented in the beginning. In other words, the French like suspense. The French essay draws from the outside in and keeps the reader guessing where as the American essay is more straightforward.
Constructs in all three of these cultures are created. They are not fixed and unchanged, if that was the case, there would be no wiggle room. All essays of that culture would be the same and mundane. It is important to give the writer constructs, but not ones that are final because this allows the writer to be more creative with his or her writing. Writing constructs are good, but too much is not good, the perfect balance is required that still allows the writer to be independent and not just writing completely off a format.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-legged_essay
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tuftsdaily.com/getting-it-write-essay-styles-vary-by-country-creating-difficulties-for-international-students-1.838709#.Ujpzer_S7ig