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Phillip Smith English 1101 Professor Adam Padgett November 25, 2013 Authenticity and Credibility: Keys to a Successful Paper The evaluation and self-assessment of the individual compass of the writing allows for the creativity and expression of ideas to be enlisted on paper to develop ideas. Once the acknowledgement of different central themes and areas focused on points of view then you have a backdrop for the essay. The formulation of ideas then has to become prevalent and has meaning and a more concrete understanding of the reading that is being addressed. Being able to discuss with clarity and knowledge of any subject makes the author have certain credibility about them. Good writing always has a certain atmosphere about it. Within in the context of atmosphere it means that it captures the audiences attention and is able to have meaning. The way in which it was written, and the overall direction it makes allows for the paper to be addressed. The writer I believe realizes when their writing has met a certain standard, and continues to exceed the boundaries that are set before it. When writing the use of punctuation, a narrow thesis and the proper use of grammar establishes an idea that you are able to formulate your ideas in very effective and concise way to get your point across. In Stephen Kings book On Writing he allots time to discuss what writing is. In the section What Writing Is, King

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makes a statement that holds evidence to the overall argument that you must not come lightly to the blank page. This argument stems to make me believe that there is a process that must be taken, that you must evaluate not only yourself, but the message that is trying to be conveyed to the audience. If you half assert yourself within the writing then you fall victim to the hierarchy that is established, because you have this set categories that set what level the author falls into. This pyramid is labeled in 4 subsets has a degree as followed: best, good, mediocre, and the last level of this pyramid is bad. When you examine your own writing you begin this traditional outlook of what one may see as this checklist of known misdirections or errors pertained in the writing. These misdirections or errors are fixable and once a certain level of difficulty is overcome then you begin to move up the very narrow boundaries of the pyramid where, any sudden change that is a divergent from the path can send the writer back to the very bottom. However, to delve away from this unpleasant experience, many writers change their approach that they may already have and filling up the figurative toolbox with various literary tools, then one becomes more of a reliable source because there is a development of certain intellectual properties. Many of the preconceptions that are established in writing whether it focuses on authenticity and credibility is rooted in a person from the very first time that pen met paper. This idea of being taught the ends and outs of writing that examines and answers the question in which the teacher puts forth for you to answer. As I have progressed throughout school, I have begun to develop different techniques that focus on answering the prompt in a way that I know will capture the audiences attention. Just like the toolbox that Stephen King mentions, I have

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filled my writing paradigm with new grammar, punctuation, language, sentence structure. By not staying still at a certain level with my toolbox, the success rate by which the audience has found my writing credible and authentic has increased. To influence the rate by which one has success with writing depends more so on the approach and stylistic conventions that one takes to ensure that audience or fan base continues to buy and in which captures, and holds a constant focus on your writing. This show in some ways that your stylistic approach has proven to be effective, and that perhaps your writing is deemed as good writing. My conception of what good writing is has been wrong plenty of times. Ive realized that in order for there to be a clear and concise idea or measure for writing to have meaning, there needs to be steps taken to resolve certain issues. Most of the time, especially in my younger years such as middle school; I tended to rush through my writing prompts. My father would reread my work and realize that there were constant grammatical, sentence structure issues, and punctuation errors. By rushing and not taking my time with my writing I was stuck in the bad writers section of the pyramid because I was not as clear with the writing, or didnt expand on certain aspects.. After this brief acknowledgment I took the necessary measures to improve my writing, and establish better techniques that would explain my story clearer. The most important factor when it comes to writing is that you cant rush your writing at all. If the writer takes their time and proof reads their work and resolve the issues that they have like I did, it becomes prevalent that your writing has more clarity and the authenticity is there. Like Stephen King said as one of his rules, you should read and write a lot. This statement holds power because if you read things constantly especially novels, short stories and magazines, you begin to realize what

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good writing is supposed to look like. I personally say that George Orwells novel 1984 had and showed what it means to be good writing. Through the use of imagery, setting and figurative language it alluded to actual real life situations. The metaphors and analogies used created this sense that they pertained to real life events. I also believe that the work as a whole seemed authentic due to the way he had the reader seeing things from the point of view of Winston the main character. Orwell was having a successful chance to be credible because he wrote the novel well before the actual year of 1984; however he wrote 1984 in the year 1949 which it is was written, as a measure of foreshadowing possible events in society. I would determine this to be good writing, because I was focused on the subject matter that Orwell had to place into context and the writing as far the horizon allowed him, he addressed within 1984. Finally, perhaps other forms of writing that can be seen as credible and it is because of the genre in which it was written were Malcolm X and Sherman Alexie writings. These writings are what I feel like characterize what good writing is. Both authors examine their own personal hardships and then further explain how they overcame these obstacles. While Malcolm X was in prison he took the time to expand his toolbox and learned the dictionary word for word by doing so Malcolm X was able to discuss the transition from an illiterate reader and writer to one of the most influential individuals within society during the time. Sherman Alexie had a similar upbringing except his life had a different setting and stylistic approach. He had to read and write constantly in order to stand out against what was defined as a typical Native American. By telling their story and how it develops character as both a person and writer the knowledge that is built into the message that they put forth becomes even stronger. I determined both of the

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writings that we read for homework as good writing because of the story, and literary analysis that they were able to explain about themselves and the contextual breakdown was ever so present. In order for writing to be determined as good or not it depends on the overall personal opinion of the reader. It also depends on if the writer enhances the way their writing expands upon the overall effectiveness by which they want the audience to be entertained throughout the novel, essay, journal or magazine article. There are however, some of the listed items that have no relevant significance to writing and therefore should stay in the dark where they belong. Without a clear thesis or exemplary strategies that expand beyond simple characteristics then the writing has no meaning. Writing should expand upon diction, imagery, technique, syntax and style. Without these components there is no such thing as good writing in accompaniment with the toolbox that any level of a writer should have.

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King, Stephen. On Writing. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2010. Print.

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