Blog 7
Dear Blog,
After reading AW chapter 7, I was able to pick up on a lot of the structure, language, and references in the humanities writing. AW:7 describes the humanities as being about exploring the “meaning and interpretation of something and how it reflects on the human experience.”
In terms of formatting and reference of the humanities, papers most often use the MLA format. This is typically used in the literature area of the humanities. Along with this, the Chicago Manual Style is also used mainly in the history area of the humanities.
When it comes to structure, most papers are thesis-driven. This is when an author makes a direct claim and then defends it with sources. Developing a good and defendable thesis is key to a good humanities paper. Without it an author will struggle to write something argumentative and not be able to prove their “point.”
When it comes to language, authors use an active voice, meaning that the subject is the person doing the action. Along with this, writers use rhetorical devices and figurative language like similes and metaphors. AW:7 also mentions that writers also use language that is “creative and playful.” This is to keep readers engaged and interested in their argument.
Within the sample writing included in AW:7, I noticed many of this structure, language, and reference. For example, the author of this paper has a clear and direct thesis: “Chopin explores marriage as the opposition of one’s true self and desires.” The author also uses an active voice. For example, “Louise is informed of Brentley’s death.” Along with this, at the end, we also see the author use the MLA format to cite her source. Although it is just one source, it is still important to use MLA as it allows us, as the readers, to easily find where the author got their information from.
Overall, I think that it is helpful to analyze other people’s work in the humanities to improve our own. Picking up on different authors’ uses of structure, language, and reference helps us reinforce our knowledge of the discipline. I hope that you found my opinions and observations on AW:7’s teaching of the humanities helpful.
Happy writing,
Cullen
Hey Cullen,
I think you did a great job clearly summarizing the main ideas from Academic Writing Chapter 7 which talked about writing in the humanities. Your blog post did a great job discussing how things like structure, language, and your references combine together to create a piece of writing. I specifically enjoyed how you emphasized how important it is to have a thesis driven approach. A good focus on the argument and its interpretation helps writing in the humanities field more based on data rather than other fields. Having a well made thesis really helps to guide any paper you write.
In your blog post, when you discuss language in humanities, this also stood out to me. You mentioned things like active voice, rhetorical devices, and figurative language and showed how humanities writers use this knowledge to help engage readers and allow them to better understand the topic they are trying to express. You also spoke about creative and playful language and how that can make arguments more meaningful especially when you are analyzing writing. However, I would also add that in humanities, this creative way of writing is also produced alongside accurate information. Although many writers might use things like metaphors or using emotional appeals, their goal is to still be able to communicate clearly for the reader.
Lastly, your blog post also spoke about different citation styles which was also very informative. You did a great job clearly explaining the difference between MLA for literature and Chicago for history. This helps to demonstrate a strong understanding of writing knowledge. I think that this difference shows the reader how each area of study values the different kinds of evidence. For instance, MLA focuses on interpreting text which Chicago emphasizes historical context. Being able to understand these details not only helps you as a writer to follow the guidelines of specific fields but also helps understand what each field of study prioritizes when making arguments.
All the best,
Ethan Reed