The property of an (academic) text that makes it fit within a given (academic) context by following a set of recognized conventions and rules for writing (academic) texts (for that context) regarding language use, structure and layout.
2. A piece of formal writing found on Wikipedia regarding the upcoming Prince of Persia film:
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is an upcoming action-adventure fantasy film written by Jordan Mechner, Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard, directed by Mike Newell, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The film is based on the 2003 video game of the same name, developed and released by Ubisoft Montreal.
The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan, Gemma Arterton as Tamina, Ben Kingsley as Nizam, and Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar.
Currently, it is the fourth film under the Walt Disney Pictures banner to receive a PG-13 rating by the MPAA (and the first not in the Pirates of the Caribbean series) for intense sequences of violence and action. Despite the film being primarily based on The Sands of Time, elements from Warrior Within and The Two Thrones are also incorporated.
Wikipedia
A piece of informal writing regarding a trailer from the same film (from The Movie Blog):
Remember the silly stunts and over the top action with just a dash of the supernatural found in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie? Got that feeling of raw adventure and just light hearted wit and fun in your head?
Ok, now go watch this trailer.
Clearly Bruckheimer’s stamp is all over this, and that’s why I am looking forward to it. I loved the first Pirates movie, but after that it just got too far away from the careful blend of over the top stunts and a little bit of magic to plunge head first into a supernatural world that stripped away any of that swashbuckling fun.
Oh and this has Gemma. Well.. yeah… I am just going to leave that right there.
The Movie Blog
Now, when comparing these two texts it soon becomes very apparent that the first one is more objectively written (no indication on whether the writer believes that it is going to be a good or bad film), concentrating on the facts (very comprehensive list of the people involved), and a very anonymous and clear factual language (with several technical terms). The second text on the other hand is very subjective, which is evident by for example the inclusion of personal views ("I loved the first Pirates movie"), certain forms ("Well... yeah..."), certain words ("silly") - not to mention the fact that the entire text is written more like everyday casual talk than something you would expect to find in, say, a dictionary.
3. Topic: the first assignment
Formal version: The first assignment was on writing style, and consisted of three tasks. In the first task, the students were asked to come up with their own definition of the term "style" in the context of academic writing. In the second task, the students were asked to compare two texts, one formal and one informal, and comment on style differences. In the third and final task the students were supposed to decide on a sample topic and then write two short texts on the same subject (again, one formal and one informal version). Each student was then to post the answers on their blog, in order for the teacher to make comments.
Informal version: So we were given this assignment about writing style. Three questions in total. Well, in the first one they asked me to explain what is meant by academic writing style. The second question was about finding two texts (1 formal & 1 informal) and write something about the style differences between them. In the last one I had to write two such texts on my own, comparing them. Then I posted it all on my blog for my teacher to comment on it...
Excellent work Niclas!
ReplyDeleteYour definition of (academic) style is really impressive - well written, to the point, and it includes a couple of really crucial insights about style - 1. the fact that it is what makes a text "FIT" (in a certain context) and 2. the fact that it relates very closely to readers' expectations and their RECOGNITION of it as "fitting". Superb!
Your formal example is not VERY formal, but compared to the informal one on the same subject it still serves the purpose of pointing up a number of differences between formal and informal writing (and you describe these differences very well).
In your own texts, again, the relatively formal one is quite readable and simple (in terms of language and structure), but compared to the informal version it appears formal. A couple of things: 1. No comma after "in the third and final task" (be consistent). 2. Each student/their blog. Many people use a plural pronoun to refer to "each" and "every", but it would be more formal to rephrase the sentence "The students were then expected to post the answers on their blogs..." (or use "his or her", but this is becoming less common I think).
The informal text: "they asked me"? (det finns bara en av mig o det är jag... " etc)
Very well done!
Anna