What were you smoking, Fareed Zakaria?

The Washington Post story that went viral today. Read it here.

Also read:

• "Plagiarism: Check out the facts"

• "The plagiarism case that shook the New York Times to its foundations"

• "The India Today plagiarism scandal"

Want to learn how to write a sentence? (Who doesn’t?)

An entire book dedicated to learning how to write a sentence? A book that is so absorbing you lose yourself in it? A meaningful book about an important subject that does not read like a text book? I would never have thought it possible. But How to Write A Sentence: And How to Read One is just such a book.

Literary critic and New York Times columnist Stanley Fish, the author of this incomparable work, writes in the opening chapter that he belongs to the tribe of sentence watchers: "Some appreciate fine art; others appreciate fine wines. I appreciate fine sentences."

And what fine sentences we get in Fish's book. Here's one from a legendary movie, The Magnificent Seven:

If God didn't want them sheared, he would not have made them sheep. (Bandit leader Eli Wallach explaining why he isn't bothered much by the hardships suffered by the peasant-farmers whose food and supplies he plunders.)

To enable us to appreciate this sentence, Fish provides an artful analysis:

The sentence is snapped off, almost like the flick of a whip; it has the form of proverbial wisdom... and the air of finality and certainty it aspires to is clinched by the parallelism of clauses that also feature the patterned repetition of consonants and vowels: "didn't want" and "would not have", "sheared" and "sheep". We know that "sheep" is coming because of "sheared" and when it arrives it seems inevitable and, and at least from one perspective, just. Not bad for a bandit.

And not bad for a certain Mr Fish either! Now that we know why that sentence works, we can get down to crafting a few like that, can't we?

STANLEY FISH

Many short sentences from many popular books are analysed in How to Write A Sentence. But there are some long ones, too, including this famous 310-word sentence from Martin Luther King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963):

...when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you go forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness" — then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. 

And here's Fish explaining exactly why King's sentence is such a majestic work of art:

King is replying to the question (sometimes asked by his colleagues in the movement) “Why don’t you wait a while and hold back on the sit-ins and marches?” The answer is at once withheld and given. It is formally withheld by the succession of “when” clauses (the technical name is anaphora) that offer themselves as preliminary to the direct assertion but are the direct assertion; each “when” clause is presented as a piece of the answer, but is in itself fully sufficient as an answer. “Here is the reason we can’t wait,” each says, but if that isn’t enough, here is another and another.

As the huge dependent clause (a clause that does not stand alone as a complete sentence) grows and grows, the independent clause — the sentence’s supposedly main assertion — becomes less and less necessary.

Meanwhile, there is an incredible amount of cross-referencing and rhetorical counterpointing going on among the clauses as they advance inexorably toward the waiting, and foreknown, conclusion.

A full explication of these inter-clause effects would require an essay. It would include an analysis of the rhyming pattern of “will”, “whim”, and “kill”, which links and bookends the pairs “mothers and fathers”, sisters and brothers”, and “brothers and sisters”.

It would include an analysis of the interplay between inner and outer that begins with the phrase “ominous clouds of inferiority”, continues with “her little mental sky”, and reaches a climax with King’s acknowledgment of “inner fears” that at once reflect and war with “outer resentments”.

It would include an analysis of the progression from “nigger” to “boy” to “John” in counterpoint with the withheld honorific “Mrs.” and ending with the word “Negro”, which does not quite reclaim the dignity history has taken from it.

But it is enough to note the main effect: the building of intolerable pressure as the succession of “when” clauses details the layered humiliation every black man, woman, and child suffers, and then the spectacularly understated, even quite, anticlimactic conclusion “then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait”.

It is a tremendous rhetorical achievement, a sentence for the ages, but again you can learn how to imitate it, if not to match it. Pick any topic, even a trivial one, say, getting up in the morning in the face of all the reasons not to: “When you’ve stayed up all night watching Rocky for the twentieth time, when the temperature is below freezing, and you’re warm underneath the blanket, when the day promises only drudgery and humiliation, when the conclusion that your life has been for naught and no one will miss you seems self-evident, when everyone you have ever cared for is either dead or angry with you, when the only pleasure you can anticipate is a cup of coffee you can barely afford, when the thought of one more day doing something you absolutely hate is unbearable, then you remind yourself of what Scarlett O’Hara said: ‘Tomorrow is another day.’ ”

If writing is what you do at work or if writing is what you love, you will want to get hold of a copy of How to Write A Sentence now. And I mean now.

• Want to read an excerpt from the book? Check out the NPR Books review — "Think You Know 'How to Write a Sentence'?"

• Want to know how Stanley Fish's book stacks up against that enduring guide to writing, The Elements of Style? Check out this Financial Times feature: "The art of good writing".

• Want to know how to write well in English even though English is your second language? Check out William Zinsser's tips here: "In one place, everything you need to know about writing in English".

• Want to know where sentences come from? Check out Verlyn Klinkenborg's column in the New York Times.

***

“There is much to learn from Stanley Fish’s approach”

An appreciation of How to Write A Sentence: And How to Read One by Dr. Pradeep Banerjee, who teaches economics and management at Commits:

Open a book and there they are. Arranged in sequence, they are neatly positioned and waiting to be read. These are sentences. They come with a power of their own, they weave a magic that the reader willingly submits to and they transport the reader to a world that in turn he relates to with gusto, with a feel, and with an animated attachment to. The reader relates to sentences in a manner that is less seen when relating to other inanimate things and aspects. Think about them, and you are reminded of the gossamer softness of an early spring morning that was seen and felt many years ago. Think of them, and the wildness of a Russian monk comes and hits you with a force of things that have gone amok. Think about them and the speed of the horses carrying the rider across the great and endless steppes comes along vividly. They are capable of creating the loneliness, the angst, the sharp twang of separation, the beauty of a still night, the desperation that a gambler feels when he knows that he is trading with the devil, and a host of all these. Sentences have a quality of their own.

And then there is the writer who writes these sentences. He is a step away, missing from the text that he writes. The text in most cases is not about him. He has created the wherewithal, the magic, the severity, the depths, the anxious moments, the longing and he has not drawn attention to himself. The sentences have a life of their own, and away from the writer. Such is the approach the writer of sentences brings along. Can, then, one learn to write sentences of the type that is under reference; sentences that come with a potential of going way beyond standing up and being counted? Yes, indeed that can be is the message. Try it, and see how well you shape up. There is a way forward, and Professor Stanley Fish offers you a book to do just that. How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One is that book.

The professor is candid about his approach; he appreciates ‘fine sentences’. He writes on why this is so, and he also writes as to what the reader can do to write fine sentences in turn. His writing shows that he is a connoisseur, and there is much to learn from his writing. And Ramesh in his write-up shows that he is himself an aficionado of the same art.

Plagiarism: Check out the facts

Imagine! Jonah Lehrer, the author of the New York Times bestseller, Imagine: How Creativity Works, has been exposed as a plagiarist. And print and e-book copies of the book are now being pulled from distribution, according to Mark Nichol, editor of the Daily Writing Tips blog. "Like most individuals," Nichol writes, "who have been part of an early twenty-first-century wave of high-profile literary fabricators and plagiarists, his promising career as a writer is over."

Nichol, while explaining that he would prefer to leave the psychology of motivation for such invention to others to analyse, offers some interesting observations on media "criticisms that book publishers do not double-check facts".

He writes:

One of the fundamentals of journalism is veracity in reporting, and most periodical publications consider assiduous research and fact-checking integral to professional reporting and writing. Some professionally produced publications — including mostly magazines but some newspapers as well — employ staff or freelancers responsible for conducting research and contacting sources to verify quotations and quantifiable information, even though it is the reporter's or writer's responsibility to submit accurate content.

But lapses occur constantly: I’ve edited for several newspapers and magazines that, like many other periodicals, often have a space to acknowledge and correct significant factual errors. I’ve also read newspaper or magazine articles about incidents or events with which I was intimately familiar, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it is a given that even the most well-written article will get something wrong.

Nichol then offers practical advice on the use of quotations:

It’s one thing to slightly alter a quotation for grammatical effect or because the original statement was elliptical and requires more context, or to rebuild one from incomplete notes. It’s one thing to restate another person’s opinions or conclusions (which might themselves not be original). These are acceptable, standard practices.

It’s another thing to slide down the slippery slope of thinking that it’s too much trouble to contact sources to coax them into saying what you want them to say — just reconstruct a conversation from random comments and punctuate it with a bon mot in your source’s voice that she would have said if she had thought of it. It’s another thing to agonise that your article or essay or book is lacking, and to rationalise that the only way to remedy the shortcoming is to invent or copy.

And he then adds the perfect conclusion:

Whether it comes to contemplating bank robbery or writing, opt for earning your money the hard way — honestly.

Read the article in its entirety here: "The Facts Are Good Enough".

Also read:

• "The plagiarism case that shook the New York Times to its foundations".

• "What were you smoking, Fareed Zakaria?" 

• "The India Today plagiarism scandal"

And for those who are not clear about what plagiarism is exactly, here's a primer: "What is plagiarism?"

How to write a gripping article on office lunch thieves (yes, you read that right)

If you have read "25 commandments for journalists" and "How writers can overcome reader resistance", you are sure to appreciate a Bloomberg BusinessWeek feature on, of all things, office workers who steal your lunch.

I hear you ask, "Is that even a story idea?"

Yes, big-time. Ask anyone who has been the victim of lunch theft at work. Ask youngsters who live in a hostel that provides a common kitchen and refrigerator. Ask Tapasya Mitra Mazumder who told me earlier today that she stopped leaving food in her hostel refrigerator after she found a creepy bite mark in her wad of butter.

"But," you continue, "what can you write after you have put down a couple of points? How do you make this story interesting enough for readers?"

Well, there's a lot you can learn on that front from Claire Suddath, who wrote this piece on office lunch thieves in the July 30-August 5 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek.

She begins with a colourful anecdote to engage her readers:

My friend Peter’s boss always eats lunch in the office — it’s just not always his lunch. If his boss finds a sandwich lying around, he scarfs it down without a second thought. People warned Peter about this when he took the job, at an aerospace tooling company near Seattle. Once his boss snatched an apple right off his desk; Peter has now taken to hiding his snacks in drawers.

Having engaged her readers, Suddath proceeds to "entertain" them. The opening line of the second paragraph makes it clear that Peter's boss is not the only aberrant around:

Everything is up for grabs in office kitchens: soda, coffee creamer, potato chips, it doesn’t matter.

Then we get an example from Suddath's own experience, which is followed by advice from a business etiquette expert. You will marvel at the wit in this particular paragraph.

After some more interesting nuggets of information presented in a smoothly flowing manner, Suddath tells readers how the problem can be tackled, with the help of Kerry Miller, the creator of a blog (you have to read Miller's advice, and also visit the blog concerned).

By the time you have come to the final sentence of the feature, you realise you have not only been engaged and entertained but also enlightened. What more can you ask of a writer?

• Read the feature in its entirety here: "Stop! Lunch Thief!"

• Illustration courtesy: Bloomberg Businessweek/Erik T. Johnson 

FROM PASSIVEAGGRESSIVENOTES.COM: “People steal other people’s food and drink so often in my office that security put up a notice,” says our submitter in Florida. “Apparently, the sign isn’t working.” Instead, the notes left by the victims have turned into an ongoing office-wide joke.

How writers can overcome reader resistance

Following on from yesterday's Reading Room post on Tim Radford's 25 commandments for journalists, here is some terrific advice from an experienced editor and author, Arthur Plotnik, who has contributed a guest post to the very useful Daily Writing Tips blog.

I was hooked by Plotnik's electrifying opening line:

All we writers crave is to charge into the resistant, overloaded brain of a reader and shoot forked lightning through every last dendrite.

Who can resist such a creative intro? Who can hold off the urge to read the next line and the next paragraph and all the paragraphs that follow? Not me. And, I hope, not you either. Especially if you want to be engaged, entertained, and enlightened. And definitely if you want to be a good writer.

Here are the points Plotnik is emphasising:

1. Specificity.

2. Supercharged verbs.

3. High performance modifiers.

4. Fresh intensifiers.

5. Sound words.

6. Surprise images.

7. Nowness.

8. Street beat.

9. Big nature.

10. Tough talk / Irreverence.

11. Understatement.

12. Torque through intensity.

And here is his post in its entirety with all these points explained in detail, with examples: "Twelve Non-Negotiable Elements of Force in Writing". Have a ball!

"When you sit down to write, there is only one important person in your life. This is someone you will never meet, called a reader."

Thus begins possibly the most important list of 25 commandments for journalists. Tim Radford, a former Guardian journalist whose brilliant work this is, says he began compiling these commandments after he was invited to train some editors "because I had just asked myself what was the most important thing to remember about writing a story, and the answer came back loud and clear: 'To make somebody read it.' "

For media students who aspire to a career in journalism, obeying each commandment on this list will, I guarantee, make you a better journalist.

• MY FAVOURITE COMMANDMENTS:

Journalism is important. It must never, however, be full of its own self-importance. Nothing sends a reader scurrying to the crossword, or the racing column, faster than pomposity. Therefore simple words, clear ideas and short sentences are vital in all storytelling. So is a sense of irreverence.

If in doubt, assume the reader knows nothing. However, never make the mistake of assuming that the reader is stupid. The classic error in journalism is to overestimate what the reader knows and underestimate the reader's intelligence.

There is always an ideal first sentence — an intro, a way in — for any article. It really helps to think of this one before you start writing, because you will discover that the subsequent sentences write themselves, very quickly. This is not evidence that you are glib, facile, shallow or slick. Or even gifted. It merely means you hit the right first sentence.

Words have meanings. Respect those meanings. Get radical and look them up in the dictionary, find out where they have been. Then use them properly. Don't flaunt authority by flouting your ignorance. Don't whatever you do go down a hard road to hoe, without asking yourself how you would hoe a road. Or for that matter, a roe.

Read. Read lots of different things. Read the King James Bible, and Dickens, and poems by Shelley, and Marvel Comics and thrillers by Chester Himes and Dashiell Hammett. Look at the astonishing things you can do with words. Note the way they can conjure up whole worlds in the space of half a page.

Read the post in its entirety here: "A manifesto for the simple scribe – my 25 commandments for journalists".

• Thank you, Maitreya Jagalur, for the alert.

Who is a "cousin sister"?

OCCASIONAL RANT NO. 7:

From an article in "Open" magazine -- "My first grown-up book was Jeffrey Archer’s As the Crow Flies, gifted by a cousin sister at 16."

Who is this "cousin sister" (or "cousin brother" as the case may be)? Do only we Indians use this phrase? 

Write "cousin" or, if necessary, "female cousin", or "my cousin Nirmala" (as an example).

And Then There was One

www.openthemagazine.com

At last, there is someone to satisfy an Agatha Christie aficionado’s longing for old school whodunits—Japanese author Keigo Higashino

 ·  · Share

• Apar Dham and Sneha Abraham like this.
• • 

    Ramesh Prabhu I have say, though, that other than this blemish, this is a very well-written feature about a book I loved reading -- http://goo.gl/kww3M.

    

    THE READING ROOM: A novel you will want to finish reading in one sitting (or standing or sleeping)

    engageentertainenlighten.blogspot.com

    This blog is for students of Commits, a media college in Bangalore, where I teac...See More

    about an hour ago ·  · 
  • 

    Apar Dham Ha ha ha! I remember you RANTING about this cousin business in class once! :-D I miss you, Mr.Prabhu!

    about an hour ago · 
  • 

    Apar Dham And please check the typo in your comment! Forgotten the rule of reading thrice before submitting your work? :-P

    about an hour ago · 
  • 

    Ramesh Prabhu Ha3! That is a terrible typo, folks! That comment should read: I have to say, though, that other than this blemish, this is a very well-written feature about a book I loved reading..."

    about an hour ago · 
  • 

    Ramesh Prabhu So here's a rule for you: Do as I say; don't do as I do. :-)

    about an hour ago ·  · Ankana Sinha + 2 others
  • 

    Ann Thomas grown-up book? does no one have an issue with that...am i the only one it seems to bother?

    about an hour ago · 
  • 

    Apar Dham Sorry for constantly changing the tone of your post and the purpose behind it, but I have one last question. Is Ha3 a new way of saying ha ha ha? Genuine question! No jokes!

    about an hour ago · 
  • 

    Ramesh Prabhu Yes, Apar. Ha3 = hahaha.

    about an hour ago · 
  • 

    Ramesh Prabhu Better than LOL? Ha3!

    about an hour ago · 
  • 

    Apar Dham Yup, I like it! Ha3. Any combination of numbers and letters is better than Ra1! Ok sorry. #LameJoke

    about an hour ago · 
  • 

    Ramesh Prabhu Good question, Ann. But "grown-up book" seems to be a well-understood and frequently used term.
    
    1. http://goo.gl/WPnDE
    
    2. http://goo.gl/8gsHu

    

    3 Grown-Up Books For The Hogwarts Grad : NPR

    www.npr.org

    This Friday the credits will roll on the phenomenon that is Harry Potter. As fan...See More

    about an hour ago ·  · 
  • 

    Ann Thomas it still irks me :(

    46 minutes ago · 

Why Nipun Mehta's commencement speech is making waves around the world

NIPUN MEHTA

Nipun Mehta has never applied for a job. He has also not worked for pay in nearly ten years. Nipun writes on his website, Inner Net, that he wants to live simply, love purely, and give fearlessly. His life, he says, is "an attempt to bring smiles in the world and silence in my heart".

Given his background, it may seem odd that Nipun was chosen to address the graduating class of 2012 at the University of Pennsylvania in May. But what he said was so inspiring that not only did he receive a standing ovation but his commencement speech also began making waves around the world.

The theme of Nipun's address was... the benefits of walking. "You are some of the world's most gifted, elite, and driven college graduates — and you are undeniably ready to fly," he told the students. "So what I’m about to say next may sound a bit crazy. I want to urge you, not to fly, but to — walk. Four years ago, you walked into this marvellous laboratory of higher learning. Today, heads held high, you walk to receive your diplomas.  Tomorrow, you will walk into a world of infinite possibilities."

And then Nipun elaborated on his theme by talking about the 1,000-kilometre walking pilgrimage through India's villages which he undertook with his wife Guri in 2005.

Nipun told the students that soon after he and Guri ended their pilgrimage, his uncle wanted to know what he had learned from his walk. "I didn't know where to begin," Nipun told the students.

But quite spontaneously, an acronym — W-A-L-K — came to mind, which encompassed the key lessons we had learned, and continue to relearn, even to this day. As you start the next phase of your journey, I want to share those nuggets with the hope that it might illuminate your path in some small way too.

Those nuggets are sure to illuminate our paths, too. Read Nipun Mehta's commencement speech in full here: "Paths are made by walking".

• Incidentally, Daily Good, the website that has published the transcript, is an unusual one because it features only good news from around the world. Surely, a site worth bookmarking.

• Inner Net is Nipun Mehta's website. Access it here.

• Also read: "Wisdom and inspiration from Neil Gaiman".

• Thank you, Gabrielle Gonsalvez, for sending us the link to Nipun Mehta's speech. 

“I can’t believe people like Nipun Mehta even exist”

POORVI KOTHARI

By Commitscion Poorvi Kothari (Class of 2014)

What amazing thoughts! I can’t believe people like Nipun Mehta even exist. His speech is truly inspirational.

We are all taught that life is a race and to win you have to make sure you are the fastest. Yes, in some ways that’s true but what about the other side? If you run all your life what is it that you have experienced? You have just “passed through” all the experiences without actually experiencing them.

I particularly liked a few lines from Mehta’s speech:

• "When the things around you are seen as gifts, they are no longer a means to an end; they are the means and the end."

• "When you come alive in this way, you'll realize that true generosity doesn’t start when you have something to give, but rather when there’s nothing in you that’s trying to take."

• "Which is to say, don't just go through life — grow through life. It will be easy and tempting for you to arrive at reflexive answers — but make it a point, instead, to acknowledge mystery and welcome rich questions ... questions that nudge you towards a greater understanding of this world and your place in it."

Thanks for this one, Sir!

Is philanthro-journalism the way forward?

An excerpt from a well-researched, thought-provoking feature in a recent issue of The Economist:

Readers and advertisers have switched to the internet. Profit margins have shrunk or vanished. Papers are dying and journalists being sacked. Costly foreign and investigative reporting has been particularly squeezed, as has local news. One increasingly popular — if limited — response to these travails is the sort of “philanthro-journalism” long practised elsewhere...

Read the article in its entirety here: "Reporters without orders".

Also read, in the same issue, "Non-news is good news" (The threat of the internet has forced magazines to get smarter).

Are subs a disappearing breed? Is that why there are so many typos in our newspapers? Also: How do Times group journalists deal with Medianet?

Here's Meenal Baghel, the founder and editor in chief of the Mirror (Mumbai Mirror, Bangalore Mirror, etc.), responding to a question on why the Mirror has a number of typos:

I think there is a very real problem with journalism today, and it’s not only limited to Mirror. The problem is that the deskie is a disappearing breed. And it’s going to be a big challenge over the next few years. Also, there are very real problems we are facing, and these are going to change the profession drastically. It’s so rare to find people who want to come into journalism because they want to be journalists. For example, when you ask people, ‘Who edited this copy?’. Invariably the response will be: ‘I looked at it/I glanced at it/I skimmed through it.’

And here's the Q&A concerning Medianet:

Being a hard-edged journalist, how do you reconcile with something like Medianet?
That’s easy, because we don’t have Medianet in Mirror.


But it’s there in your group.
It doesn’t affect my life, so I don’t care about it.


You aren’t asked to carry plugs?
No. And it’s one of the things that has pleasantly surprised me. They have maintained the Chinese wall from the start.


They have left you alone?
Yes. And there’s another reason. Mirror is a small paper in the group, so it’s not necessarily the focus. We are a small cog in comparison.


Have you ever been asked to drop a story?
(Pauses) Not drop a story. I think what one learns over a period of time is that you have to pick your battles. I’ll give you an example: If there’s an entertainment story which is coming right ahead of the Filmfare awards, where somebody is going to be performing, and I have a damaging story on that person, would I delay it by a few days? Yes, I would.

• Read the full interview here: "Our battle is to out-think TOI: Meenal Baghel". (Ignore the PR-ish elements in the standfirst.)

• Thank you for the alert, Nilofer D'Souza. 

• Also read: "Why subs, or copy editors, are the lifeblood of a news organisation".