McCloud part 2

For this assignment I chose to use Carolyn's comic entry: http://carhroeh328.blogspot.com/ . I really liked her comic for a few reasons: it was short, to the point, and funny. She did hers on Inertia Man. She focused mainly on the use of color for emphasis and also the lapse of time throughout her comic strip. To expand on the idea of time, the only way we know a period of time has elapsed is because the text tells us. Without this information, it would be difficult to understand how long Inertia Man has been standing there. This single frame is an example of a word specific combination. The very next frame though is an example of a picture specific combination. The bright color scheme combined with the lines showing movement basically tell the reader that as explosion has taken place. The remaining skeleton is also a key indicator as to what has taken place. The "BOOM!" is not necessary for the author to get the point across.

Reading and Writing about Comics

I chose to use a comic from the site: http://derangeddelusions.net/Deranged_Delusions/Comics/9EE3C6CA-85D2-48C8-AC84-9963D7278BE0.html. It is called Deranged Delusions.
I decided to use this one because it was cute and simple. It's about a penguin and a frog that are friends. The frog dyes himself, and the comic just shows the penguins reaction to this scene.
Because this comic does not have a lot of writing or verbal cues, the reader has to infer from picture to picture what exactly is taking place. Fortunately there are a few verbal cues, as the images don't provide a lot of excess explanation. McCloud definitely talks about the brain having to fill in the gaps between pictures to be able to understand what is taking place. (88)
McCloud also talks about the concept of time through comics. In this comic the frog is in the water for a little while in order to get the dye off of him. This is portrayed through the protesting of the frog, followed by bubbles. While it is the same size and overall length as the previous frames, we as the reader assume that it takes place over a longer period of time, simply by what is taking place within those frames.
Movement is another point that takes place. Both when the frog is thrown into the tub, and when he jumps out, we see the lines indicating movement through space. (111)Without these indicators it would be more difficult to tell what was happening.

Picturing Texts on the web

For this assignment I chose to use the AFS website: http://www.afs.org/afs_or/home. I chose this site because it has a lot of color and images. We talked about the use of lines, symmetry and balance. There is a clear graph of lines used to organize the page. Across the top spans a colorful landscape shaped picture, with column of text running down the left side and a countering column of pictures running down the right side. This creates a frame for the main posts, links and stories that occupy the middle of the screen. Another noticeable use is emphasis. The size of the text and images vary throughout the page to emphasize different stories and headlines. Color is used for contrast, and most of the images use a blue and gold theme. The images include pictures of people from around the world which correlate with the stories and text throughout the page.

After using the Wiki site for our second peer review, I found that I didn't like it as much as the Google Docs site. First, I found editing to be more difficult, in that wiki had less tools. I really liked being able to highlight and insert comments without changing the text. As I was working, the thought occurred me what "what if someone else edits portions of this at the same time?" I didn't encounter this problem, but I know that several of my classmates did. Like the Google Docs, it changed the format upon initial submission which is irritating, but only takes a few minutes to run over and fix. I also liked the fact that Google Docs was private, and only those you invited could read your work. I liked having the whole class able to access the wiki, but it would be just as easy to invite them all on Google Docs. If it was a finished piece of work I wouldn't mind so much, but seeing that it's only a draft and really rough, I don't like it being out there for anyone to find. One thing that I did like was the discussion thread that you could use at the bottom of the page. This made it easy to read other comments and add your own. While Google Docs didn't have this exact same feature, it was really easy to add comments at the end on your own.

So Says The Others

After reading through the many other responses of some of my fellow classmates, I found that there seemed to be one theme brought up by many. This deals with the excessive use of “wordiness”. While many of us understand that we don’t need redundant phrases and there are many words that could easily be eliminated from out writing, we still tend to use them. I am definitely guilty of using much more than I need to in order to convey my point. I do understand why Strunk and White and Williams all agree about using good details and omitting the excess words. One example that Renee uses in her blog is about redundant modifiers. It makes complete sense after reading Williams explanation on this subject. In all my years in school I have never been taught that by any teacher that I’ve ever had. This I find frustrating, because either these rules should have been covered at some point in our education, or else they really aren’t as important as they are made out to be.

Another point that was made by Siobhan that caught my eye was in her blog on Strunk and White vs. Williams. She talks about the fact that Williams was helpful in laying out to the reader that not all rules and regulations are going to be correct one hundred percent of the time. We need to know the basic rules for writing in English, however it is equally important to understand that there are always exceptions to the rules. I felt that Strunk and White is extremely helpful as more of a reference guide, but lacks the explanation that Williams provides. Instead of just saying “here are the rules, you must follow them”, he does a great job of giving examples of ways that the general rule doesn’t apply. This allows us as the reader to gain a better understanding of how to bend the rules but still be correct and write efficiently.

Comparing S&W with Williams

After reading both Strunk and White, and Williams, I find the two to be helpful in much different ways. The style in which they are written almost oppose one another. The main thing that I really liked about Strunk and White was it’s directness. They did not add a lot of fluff to their writing, and it was therefore very clear and easy to understand what they were trying to get across. The layout was also very good for referencing. It was easy to find the section you may be looking for while in the middle of writing a piece. Williams, on the other hand, decided to take a completely different approach. While his book definitely flowed better and read more like an actual book than a reference source, it also had both good and bad points. One negative that I found was that if I were to use it as a reference tool, it takes much longer to sift through and find the area that you are looking for. On the other hand though, he does a great job of explaining what he’s talking about, and gives plenty of examples to back up the intended meaning. He may have given more examples than he actually needed to, however I think that it’s better to have too many, than not enough.

Another difference that I noticed is the time period in which they were written. In class we discussed some of the oddities that we found in Strunk and White simply because much of it was written during a different time in our history. Certain phrases and ideas that may have been typical back then are obviously dated and not as helpful in getting a point across as it once was. Williams, I find, is written more recently and the language he uses is much closer to what we’re used to hearing. This makes it easier to understand certain concepts and ideas.

They both touch on areas that I find difficult to state as correct or incorrect in writing. For example, I talked before about the use of introductory phrases that Strunk and White claim are unnecessary for writing. I find many of them, while not necessary, do not hurt but rather can enhance the writing when used properly. In Williams, where he talks about length, there should be room for interpretation. It’s difficult to say that a sentence should be no longer than this or shorter than that, because writing would be very boring if it were all the exact same length. Short can be too concise, while long can be longwinded or drag on, but as long as the writing is good and the correct transitions are present, then it shouldn’t matter.

Overall, I find that both of these books are great resources for us to use both in and out of the classroom. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, but can be very beneficial if used correctly.