Preview

Ken Macrorie The Poison Fish Summary

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
289 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ken Macrorie The Poison Fish Summary
“The Poisoned Fish” Journal #2 The article “The Poisoned Fish” by Ken Macrorie is about a way of writing called Engfish. Engfish is the way students have been conditioned to write that, in a way, hinders the creativity in their writing. It is when students write exactly what they think their teachers want, in terms of grammar and word choice, and quit writing with their own voice. Not purposefully, but I am sure that I have written Engfish before. When you know what a teacher wants, it is hard not to just write exactly what they want, and ignore the possibility of taking risks and writing in your own style. This is because in most classes that’s exactly what it is, a risk, and most people don’t like to risk their grade for creativity’s sake

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The major claim in McEwen’s article is how the river restoration of the Salmon in the San Joaquin River might be both a good and bad idea. “The fish” are exceptionally vulnerable to climate change.” McEwen is explaining both sides or both outcomes that might happen if the river restoration does or does not happen and he even brings in the experts from UC Davis that study California's rapidly declining Salmon population. This is important to see because even though McEwen has a opinion nothing beats cold, hard facts.…

    • 89 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the book Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky, the author tries to prove that the discovery of the cod fish changed the world. Gadus morhua, or cod, had turned from a commercial fish eaten by all, to a reason for war and travel. The book starts by following a group of Canadian fishermen who were struggling to sustain their livelihood on overfished seas. What they didn’t know was that they were “at the wrong end of a 1,000-year fishing spree.” As early as the 1600’s, the main source of food was cod. Cod had become a main source of food for long time as it was one of the only fish that could go without rotting. Along with its long lasting appeal, it was also one of the easiest fish to catch, being considered one of the laziest in the water. During a time where knowledge of other sources of food maintenance wasn’t as expanded as it is today, cod fish was essential for anyone near a body of water. Profit was the first outcome from this fish. Many people had begun to learn that salt was something that kept the fish lasting longer, one of the first being the Basques. Basques were located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France. Since as early as the 1000’s, the Basque people knew how to use both their boats and salt. They knew exactly where to catch the most cod fish and how to preserve. They started to put together, from what they thought, an unlimited supply of the fish because of their new way of storing it and traded it with other groups. Even the trade of salt was successful, due to the fact that other groups valued cod just as much. Basques had transformed flaky cod fillets into a protein-rich nutritious meal. Cod preserved became food for the masses; the salty stuff continued by the Vikings and large populations throughout Europe during the…

    • 1533 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Devil Fish Research Paper

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Devil fish, also known as suckermouths, have invaded the waters of the Mexican state of Tabasco. This armored catfish is cherished among aquarium owners because they eat the algea that grow in the tanks, but out in the wild, this behavior harms underwater plant life and erodes shorelines. Along with this, the introduction of these fish has resulted in a decrease in numbers of Robalo, or snook, in these impacted waters. It’s unclear as to how these devil fish became a problem, but it’s thought to be a combination of aquaculture facilities accidentally releasing them, and the “Nemo effect, where the fish grew too large for their tanks and were then released into the wild by. After the initial release, the populations exploded due to their abilities to mature quickly, lay 500 eggs at a time, and their long life spans (7 to 15 years). In an effort to try and reduce the number of devil fish, Acari was born, a company that has attempted to catch and sell these invaders as food. Although this fish isn’t poisonous, marketing it for human consumption has proven to be difficult. In addition to selling fillets to restaurants, Acari hopes to help migrants and refugees through the donation of fish.…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They Say I Say Summary

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The reason behind this movement was to prove that writing is no different and is simply a matter of practicing routine movements of wordings. Thus, they introduce the reader with templates. Graff and Birkenstein argue that writing is a more than stating smart or true facts, and great writing is a conversation, or discussion of which the writer should…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “‘The black bass thinks he can be king of the fish, but all he wants is to eat them. The black bass is a killer. But the real kind is the golden carp, Tony. He does not eat his own kind-’ Cico’s eyes remained glued on the dark waters. His body was motionless, like a spring awaiting release. We had been whispering since we arrived at the pond, why I don’t know, except that it was just one of those places where one can communicate only in whispers, like church. We sat for a long time, waiting for the golden carp. It was very pleasant to sit in the warm sunshine and watch the pure waters drift by. The drone of the summer insects and grasshoppers made me sleepy. The lush green grass was cool, and…

    • 2634 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Silverfish are a common pest in homes. They are attracted to damp, dark spaces and eat cellulose. This includes books, papers, cloth and wallpaper. Although they don't bite or carry germs and diseases like other insect pests, they can do extensive damage to your possessions. Silverfish are hard to eradicate. Even exterminators are challenged in getting rid of these nuisances and keeping them gone.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Paul Klee's Fish Magic

    • 94 Words
    • 1 Page

    Paul Klee’s painting “Fish Magic” is very profound. It looks like it is trying to tell a story about kids visiting an aquarium. What seems very interesting is the clock in the picture. It only has 4 digits and it represents the date that the painting was created. I don’t believe that this painting is a reflection to the paintings of the 1920’s even though it has an expressionist style. I believe the quote “my aim is to create much spirituality out of little” means that he can create anything big out of…

    • 94 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over decades, many Americans reject the ideas of evolution and there were many arguments against the theory of human evolution. However, in order to understand how the human developed, we must look at the human evolution. For many centuries, we have been curious about our origins and our human bodies structure. How we got to be the kind of species we are today, such as the way we look; walking upright on two legs, our hands has five fingers, the size of our brain and teeth, and what makes us a unique species. Our animal ancestors have shaped our body structure in many ways, we humans have a lot in common than you might think with apes, reptiles and even fish.…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Being exposed to different kinds of poetry from childhood, I grew fond of it though now I prefer fictional prose to poetry. As a profoundly sensuous form of creative writing, poetry both challenges my mind and conquers my aesthetic sense with its subtle wording. But specifically because it is a thought provoking and demanding form of writing I do not read poetry often. Therefore, the variety of topics, styles and forms of poems collected in Alehouse Journal 2011 disoriented me completely. However, the poems were carefully selected and united under the common styles, topics, and forms. Dreams was one of such topics. The complex nature of dreams make them one of the most prolific topics in poems.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Secret Goldfish

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Cited: Means, David. "The Secret Goldfish”. Approaching Literature: Reading + Thinking + Writing. Ed. Peter Schakel and Jack Ridl. 3rd Ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. 215-22. Print.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Engfish is writing how you think someone else would want you to write instead of how you would like. Nearly everything we have written up to now and more than likely many more things we write in the future will be Engfish. Though it may sound difficult to do, the pure simple solution to Engfish is to make the assignment your own. When having trouble writing an assignment, the best thing to do is to “use some butt glue” and “write about dogs” which basically just means sit down, remove as many distractions as possible, and write about what you know. When writing about something that you know it is easier to avoid Engfish and in some cases will even lead to a better grade.…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “Take This Fish and Look at it*” by Samuel H. Scudder is the most compelling essay for this week’s reading assignment because the author wrote in an organized, laughable tone; therefore, allowing its audience to perceive the lesson as the professor intended it to be learned. Likewise, Scudder used three different apparent modes in his essay, these include: comparison / contrast, narrative, and description. I particularly liked this essay because it relates to the great significance that in every scenario, even writing, that things can be overlooked and need to be re-examined to find better, more sufficient details. Scudder also uses humor throughout his narrative, which compared to some essays, is quite enjoyable. Overall, every individual…

    • 155 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Narration Sickness

    • 589 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Freire believes that "Education is suffering from narration sickness" (1). He believes that students are being filled with just words and not with significant content. He says, "narration leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated content. Worse yet, it turns them into containers, into receptacles to be filled"(Freire 1). Narration education is to make the teacher better not to help the students learn. The more humble and open a student is the better the student they are. Freire feels that the banking concept of education is, "in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits" (1). Knowledge should be thought of as a gift for those who will embrace themselves as being knowledgeable. Education must begin by allowing the student/ teacher role to coincide with each other and allow them to learn from each other. Banking education mirrors this contradiction of teacher being omnipotent and student being ignorant. Such examples of oppressing society are, “ the teacher teaches and the students are taught; the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing; the teacher talks and the students listen” (Freire2). This concept of education has always been around as long as I’ve been in school. In order for the teacher to prove herself as an educator the more content she has to fill the students with. It doesn’t matter if the students are actually learning and acknowledging the information but they are being presented it and tested on. As long as they repeat what was learned new content will keep being filed away. Freire believes that the “humanist, revolutionary educator cannot wait for this possibility to materialize…his efforts must coincide with those of the students to engage in critical thinking and the quest for mutual humanization” (4).…

    • 589 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On Becoming a Writer

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In “On Becoming a Writer,” the author, Russell Baker, expressed his interest in writing as a way of thinking about himself and forming an identity. “The only thing that truly interested me was writing, “he states. “It was the only thing for which I seemed to have the smallest talent…” Even though he used to dislike English classes in high school, in his third year, the chance of being a writer knocked on his door. When Mr. Fleagle, the English professor, with an out of date look and behavior, took over the class, he brought on an opportunity to Russell to realize his talent and stay with open eyes for the future.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Literacy Narrative

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Can you remember what your teacher taught you back in kindergarten? Chances are she was introducing you to the basics of reading and writing. Literacy is the ability to read and write, and because I did not think I was very good at either of the two, it had never been my favorite thing to do. It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I had an English class that I actually enjoyed. My teacher was Ms. Holly Eubanks. The past classes had boasted about how good of a teacher Ms. Eubanks was and how, even though she may take a while to grade your papers, she was always trying to help you improve in every possible way she could. On the first day I learned that Ms. Eubanks happened to quite attractive as well, which made it a little easier to pay attention in class. She had blonde hair, green eyes, a fit physique, and she had a very caring and considerate personality which helped her talk to her students and give them confidence in her class. Before taking the class, I knew from her former students that her biggest essay was the one thousand-word “Senior Reflection” that she had us write for our final. Ms. Eubanks’s essay just so happened to be the single most important project that changed my outlook on literacy forever.…

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays