"Lost in My Writing"

Summary: In the book They Say I Say by Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein there is a section called "But Don't Get Me Wrong, The Art of Metacommentary," and it tells us about no matter how clear you are writing the reader still might not understand it. Metacommentary is the proof of backing up what you say. An example that they give us on page 133 shows us how easy it is to make what you want to say come out clear. Neil Postman says "before I begin to speak against the junk I must first say that I enjoy the junk as much as the next fellow." He is talking about the junk and wants to go further in talking about the junk but he makes sure that you understand that he likes the junk before he moves on. When reading this sentence the point the writer is trying to get across becomes very clear. The book gives you many templates to use for your writing. They show you how to elaborate on a previous area of your writing by saying; in other words, to put in other words and what X is saying here is that. By using these templates and the others that are in the book your writing will make more sense to your targeted audience and it will be very clear for them to understand.

Response: I have never really noticed if I have ever used Metacommentary in my writing but after understanding what it is I realized that I have. I have problems sometimes getting my point across and this chapter really benefitted me. Now I have all these templates to help me if I get stuck. I like to use in other words a lot because I do not now what else to use but now I have other ways of making my writing clear. This is not to say that I am going to over use it it but rather that I am going to sneak it in very carefully into my writing, so my readers will know what I am talking about. It is very important to not loose your reader and it is very easy to do but if you keep referring back to something you talked about previously you will not loose your reader. They will have a chance to keep reading without going back and reading it over again. You don't want it to be obvious, metacommentary should be subtle and should make the essay flow with ease. This was an area I wasn't that strong in so I am happy to now understand different ways of engaging my readers and help them from feeling lost in my writing.