Week 8: How to write the best paragraph.

I really enjoyed this week's studies of keeping your writing clear and concise. Trying to rewrite the sentences found in our homework was fun and challenging. I never realized how repetitive I can be when writing. Since school is always about page length papers, I always tried to find ways to lengthen sentences. It was good for me to start trying to cut this bad habit. One of my favorite books is "To Kill a Mockingbird." I think Harper Lee does an amazing job at writing simple yet powerful sentences. This is one of my favorite paragraphs in the book:

"You might hear some ugly talk about it at school, but do one thing for me if you will: you just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don't you let 'em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change." 

I like this example because it shows Lee's style. Lee writes so clean she avoids clutter, intensifiers and redundancies. Originality is found in this paragraph with the phrase, "don't you let 'em get your goat." I feel like this paragraph flows really well and keeps a steady consistency. The use of the phrase "ugly talk" to explain negative gossip is a great use of imagery and to "show, don't tell." In general, this paragraph shows how well Lee mastered style.