Lopez1

Amy
Prof. Julia Intawiwat.
ENG 111 - 05
10-26-2017
Discussion #9

THE PRINCIPLES OF POOR WRITING

1. Irony is the use of words to suggest something different from their meaning. At what point in
the essay did you realize that Merrill is being ironic? Did his title, introduction, or actual advice
tip you off? Explain.
I think the whole article is ironic, including the title (Its noticeable sarcastic). From beginning to
end, he explains how to write poorly, but his actual purpose is totally opposite: he means that
avoiding all those Principles you will write a good and substantial article. Some of the most
ironic and funny phrases were: between yourself and the subject: dont think of the reader he
makes a bad triangle, If the title baffles or misleads the reader, you have won the first round,
Write hurriedly, preferably when tired, revision which seldom, if ever, makes the writing
worse and submit your manuscript to colleagues (a bad practice).

2. Is the authors process analysis the directional type or the informational type? What leads you
to this conclusion?
Marrils process is directional. In his article, he explains what you should do to get a poor
writing, he gives instructions. Ex: To do a consistently poor job, however, one must grasp a few
essential principles: 1. Ignore the reader 2. Be verbose, vague, and pompous. 3. Do not revise

3. Why has Merrill ordered his three process steps in this particular way? Could he have a used a
different order? Explain.
I think he orders the steps in this way because when that is how we write; first of all, when we
start to write, we need to know for who we are writing and the purpose of it. Then, we have to
make choices in the vocabulary we are going to use and finally, when our writing is done,
rereading can conduct to changes.

4. How useful are the authors examples in helping you understand his principles? Do you agree
with all his examples? Explain
The author makes his point very clear with his examples and I agree with him. Being verbose,
vague, and pompous directs to a boring, confusing, and annoying reading. Using unnecessary
words make readers lose the main idea or even forget what the sentence was about.

5. Why do you suppose Merrill chose to use irony to show his readers that they need to improve
their writing?
I think people is attracted and interested by those things that are original and different. All over
the world, authors keep writing rules and principles of how to improve writing and at some
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point all of them are just saying the same things but Merrills irony is something that hold
peoples attention. Personally, I liked it. It was kind of funny and interesting.

6. In what types of writing situations is irony especially useful?

I think irony is very useful in writhing which purpose is try to convince or influence the audience;
Persuasive. And also critical articles; when making critiques, especially negatives, irony is used to
avoid bad words and direct opinions and make it sound better than what it really means.