Process Metaphors

This article provided a ton of useful information that could be utilized by any writer. The importance of each metaphor may differ depending on what type of writing you are doing, but each metaphor can most certainty be applied.

Reid’s “Ten Ways to Think About Writing” was one of my favorite articles that I have read for this class so far. I found a few of the metaphors in particular to be very helpful, and I will be discussing my thoughts on my favorites.

Number 10: Rules v Rhetoric

I loved this section because I feel it resonated with me. Growing up, you are taught many different rules of writing by many different people. Sometimes, these rules may conflict one another and end up confusing you down the line. I know personally I have had some teachers who have very specific rules in writing, down to rules about using certain everyday words.

Reid states that you need to “you need to free yourself from
the rules and learn to make rhetorical decisions”. I really liked this sentence because Reid is not stating to simply ignore the rules of writing, but instead make rhetorical decisions to guide you.

Number 6: Arguments and Examples

This section stood out to me a lot probably due to the fact I do a lot of sports writing. Sports writing requires strong arguments, because a lot of assessment can be subjective. For example, I might say LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time, you might say it’s Michael Jordan, but the answer is subjective.

Reid states “having theories and arguments without evidence and examples is a recipe for confusion and misunderstanding”, which could not be more true. I often get extremely frustrated when I am debating sports or reading an article, and arguments are made based on nothing but opinion.

For example, the other day I read somebody calling NBA Player Klay Thompson “washed”, saying he can’t shoot anymore. The fact of the matter is that Klay Thompson just shot 42% from three last season on over 10 attempts per game, making him an elite shooter relative to the rest of the NBA.

I really enjoyed this article by Reid and will be referring back to it for my own writing in the future.