Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The importance of varying sentences



Generally, I am incapable of editing. 

How I imagine writing a paper is much like playing with the world's stickiest Legos; if you create a structure you're not proud of, you have to start back from the beginning. When I write, I enjoy changing the shapes and lengths of my sentences to create a rhythm which I inevitably translate my thoughts through. Attempting to interrupt this rhythm to replace a few words or correct the syntax is dang near impossible and throws off the balance of the entire essay. Short sentences matter. They are what capitalizes the most crucial ideas. They have an exceptional ability to make the reader slow down from the prescribed rhythm and focus on the words and the message. Inversely, long sentences add a certain flowery connotation to the whole of the sentence, which makes the idea seem endless, but allows the writer to translate many thoughts into a rhythm that can only be continued by the following sentence. Here is a short sentence, perfectly on cue.

The ability to manipulate the rhythm is what makes poetry so interesting and all writing in general more dramatic. It is a crucial element to luring in your audience. There are two schools of thought in this division, one that prefers form to content, and the other that prefers content to form. It is essential to know when to use either, but in most cases, especially those of creative writing, I believe form deserves the most affection. Content must bow to form as the reader hinges on the flow of your words and the rhythm of your sentences.



Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Project 4 Theses

Original Thesis:


Aspartame is a low-calorie sweeter considered to be 200 times sweeter than sucrose. The compound is created by joining together the amino aspartic acid and phenylalanine, and is common in diet sodas, puddings, chewing gums, and yogurts and acts as a non-saccharide substitute for its higher calorie counterpart. It is bitterly debated whether it is a safe alternative, or if the hazardous repercussions for a low-calorie sweetener are too great. Some critics make vicious claims that it is carcinogenic because of its production of methanol in small doses, but because we consume the compound in such large doses, the toxin accumulates. Furthermore, methanol begins to be stored as formaldehyde which collects in the retinas. Defenders of aspartame claim it is commonly found in nature, which is ultimately true, but due to its superior sweetness over normal sucrose, humans are being exposed more than ever.

First Variation:


Aspartame is an artificial sweetener discovered in 1965 which is 200 times sweeter than sucrose. Due to its sweeter nature, much less is used in sugary beverages and sweet foods than is regular sugar, which means there are fewer calories. However, scientists have repeatedly done studies on the chemical to test the hazards of ingesting aspartame. It remains the most researched food item to date, and some insist on its safety relying on the fact that is found in nature, while other scientists argue the potential cancerous risks associated with the sweetener. Due to the large quantities of this non-saccharide consumed, health risks seem largely plausible.

Second Variation:
            As obesity continues to become a growing threat in the modern world, the artificial sweetener aspartame became much more appealing. Nearly 200 times sweeter than sucrose, aspartame can thus be used in smaller amounts than normal sugar, therefore providing fewer calories. While it seems like a simple cure to the obesity epidemic, a large number of scientists caution the hazards of its use. It remains the most widely researched food source because of the ongoing debate. Used in many foods including pudding, diet sodas, and as a sweetener, people worldwide are consuming this chemical in large doses, and it begs the question- at what cost?