Hi Ken,
Hope you are well - can you let me know when you have a few minutes for a
quick catch up call and what the best number is to contact you on - regards
Greg
On Thu, May 7, 2015 at 4:02 PM, Diaz-Kommonen Lily <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Thank you Ken for these valuable insights!
>
> BR. Lily
>
> ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
> Professor Lily Diaz-Kommonen
> Head of Research
> Department of Media/ Media Lab Helsinki
> Aalto University, School of Arts,
> Design and Architecture
> Miestentie 3, Otaniemi 05021, Espoo
> ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
> <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
> <http://sysrep.uiah.fi>
>
> Time can be wasted, or it can be treasured.
>
> On 7.5.2015, at 21.54, Ken Friedman <[log in to unmask]<mailto:
> [log in to unmask]>>
> wrote:
>
> Friends,
>
> This evening, I posted the new edition of Free Research Writing Resources,
> Books to Buy, and Services to the “Research & Writing Skills” section of my
> Academia page at URL:
>
> https://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman
>
> This edition has several changes and improvements. Two “how to write”
> books have joined Strunk & White’s _Elements of Style_. One is Helen
> Sword’s _Stylish Academic Writing_. The other is Steven Pinker’s _The Sense
> of Style. The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century_.
>
> After several debates on the PhD-Design list concerning Strunk & White, I
> took several months to review “how to write” guides with researchers and
> research students in design in mind. There are over 500 “how-to-write”
> books and style guides on the market today. 100 or so are aimed at
> researchers and research students. I’ve owned more than 80 at one time or
> another, and I’d read (or skimmed) another 100 or so. Some offer value.
> Most don’t. I disposed of all but six in my last move. I kept Strunk &
> White.
>
> The Elements of Style remains a classic for the nuts and bolts of writing
> good English prose. Nevertheless, a century after the first edition, there
> are arguments about whether this book has outlived its usefulness. The
> common objection is that Strunk & White is finicky and obsolete book, and
> it fails to take its own advice. That’s Geoffrey Pullum’s view. I admire
> Pullum, but this view is misleading.
>
> Pullum and others focus on three of five chapters with rules on writing.
> While these chapters are generally useful, many points are open to debate.
> These three chapters are I, III, and IV – “Elementary Rules of Usage,” “A
> Few Matters of Form,” and “Words and Expressions Commonly Misused.”
>
> Two of the five chapters offer principles of composition and writing.
> These two chapters are II and V – “Elementary Principles of Composition,”
> and “An Approach to Style.” This is a classical guide to writing well. This
> part of the guide focuses on what Steven Pinker labels “the classical
> style,” and this explains why Pinker likes Strunk & White.
>
> Learning to write is like learning to play chess. One can describe the
> principles and moves in a few pages. It takes an afternoon to master the
> rules. Despite the simplicity of the rules, it takes years to master the
> game. Deep mastery takes a lifetime.
>
> There are hundreds of books on how to write. Those who teach writing
> should read them, along with those who do research on writing. Strunk &
> White is a book for those who wish to understand the elements of style
> before going deeper.
>
> A second important issue influences my choice of Strunk and White for
> those who teach writing skills to research students. It is a short book:
> concise, memorable, easy to read in two hours. This is a key advantage.
> Helen Sword and Steven Pinker offer excellent books for people who want to
> write well in the current academic world. Both are serious books. Reading
> them takes more time and work than research students will generally invest.
>
> Mastering research skills and methods while developing their own research
> projects places massive demands on design students who are moving into
> research and writing for the first time. My experience is that Strunk &
> White is a manageable guide. I have used it successfully for many years.
> Most important, Strunk & White is a helpful guide that students will
> actually use in the limited time they have. While I can recommend Sword and
> Pinker, I do not believe students will read or use them. They _will_ use
> Strunk & White.
>
> It is important to add that I am not a writing teacher. I’ve done this
> work in the process of teaching several thousand undergraduates and
> research students how to write about their own subjects and disciplines.
>
> The new edition of Research Writing Resources also has an expanded
> selection of online resources and “learn to write” tools — including free
> writing courses and web sites at several excellent universities.
>
> This is now available in the “Research & Writing Skills” section of my
> Academia page at URL:
>
> https://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman
>
> Best regards,
>
> Ken
>
> Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | Chair Professor of Design Innovation
> Studies | College of Design and Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai,
> China ||| University Distinguished Professor | Centre for Design Innovation
> | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia
>
> --
>
>
>
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--
Greg Trainor
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