MOOCs or "Massive Open Online Courses" had virtually revolutionized the higher education in the recent past. To gain first-hand knowledge of this phenomenon, I decided to enroll in one of Coursera's Writing II: Rhetorical Composing course. The course is being taught by The Ohio State University's Susan Delagrange, Cynthia Selfe, Kay Halasek, Ben McCorkle, and Scott Lloyd DeWitt. This essay was written as part of the assignment, "Getting to know one another," which requires a writer to pick any three essays written by the fellow writers and compose an essay while sharing their own experiences as writer in relation to others.
In my previous assignment, “Getting to know you,” I wrote about “English, a universal language of mankind.” I discussed my experiences as a writer and the importance of learning English or any language for that matter in its original and unadulterated form and stressed the need for giving importance to the pronunciation in our classrooms. My commitment towards scientific writing and the importance of taking the latest research findings and discoveries to the common man was also highlighted.
While searching Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives (DALN) as part of my writing assignment, “Getting to know one another,” I was overawed by the sheer number of essays written by fellow writers. Each is a masterpiece in its own right. Reading a plethora of lifetime experiences written in a wide variety of styles, syntax, semantics, and phonology by native as well as non-native English writers has not only enhanced my knowledge of English writing skills but also enriched various aspects of my life. Choosing only three among them is not an easy task nor would I be doing justice to the heaps of knowledge laid before my eyes on my computer monitor. For constraints of time and space, I limit my discussion to three of them here.
Firstly, Karim Teresa Rochelle’s “William Strunk taught me how to write,” particularly caught my attention. This essay is more of Karim’s tribute to the great literary legend William Strunk and his book, "The Elements of Style." Indeed I could relate to Karim’s saga of learning English writing in more ways than one. I join her in paying my tribute to this literary gaint through this essay. I came to know of Strunk’s master piece “The Elements of Style,” myself a decade ago when I was just beginning to write my Ph. D. thesis through one of my mentors. Though I have written few research publications for peer-reviewed Journals earlier, most of the writing was supported by my mentors at the university. Like any university setting at the time, my role was more or less limited to doing experiments in the laboratory. I then used to present the results with the help of exotic figures, schemes, and tables and discuss the same with my mentors in weekly group meetings. My mentors did most of the writing part. But when it came to writing my Ph. D. thesis, the onus fell on me. I had to do all the writing part myself, which I did. Thanks to this bible called “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I learned for the first time from this book, the proper usage of simple things like comma, semicolon, or the use of colon after an independent clause, or hyphen etc. My emphasis is to learn the language in its original and unadulterated form. I truly believe in writing simple and yet effective, which I learnt from this book. I must add, I may not be perfect in English writing, but whatever little I could, is because of this book. I could relate to every element of Karim’s journey of English learning.
Hailing from India and a non-native speaker of English, my attention then turned to global Englishes. This led me to pick my Polish counterpart, Mr. Kamil A. Lipinski’s essay “The Gap.” Here, Kamil describes his ordeals of learning English in a highly Russian-influenced Polish society and how Hollywood movies and video games played a key role in his English learning process during childhood. This is in quite contrast to my personal exposure to English learning. India was largely influenced by the “British Raj,” a euphemism for the British Rule in India, which dates back to the late 16th century and mid 20th century. If the colonial past had left an indelible impression on India through English as the official language of governance, the multitude of languages spoken across the length and breadth of the country also solidified English as the unifying force and the preferred medium of choice in India. Having said that, the differences end there. The ordeal of learning to write and speak English remains as such. I fully share and concur with Kamil’s feelings that being a non-native speaker, how hard it is to express inner artistic self on paper or to impress the audience with a vivid narrative. I could empathize with Kamil and how he felt when that coveted prize for his poetry recital went to some influenced son of a jury member. A similar incident occurred in my life when I attended an interview for an assistant professor post at a university. I topped the formal written test and did the oral very well. Despite this, I was shown the door. Later on, I came to know that the job has gone to a more influenced person, who has the blessings of the sate's education minister. This incident did not dampen my spirits in any way. A scientist myself, I knew the importance of writing and publishing in peer-reviewed journals. The only way to do it is through learn how to write and write well in English. The thumb rule of success in scientific world is to "publish or perish" and I couldn’t agree more with Kamil that learning to write in English, the international language of science (may I add, "a universal language of mankind!") is the only way to succeed in the scientific world.
Finally, my association with social organizations and my interest in social service has prompted me to pick this touching essay, “Stop Remembering Now” by Kiran Sergeeva. This deals with one of Kiran’s unforgettable experiences in her life. This is a story of a socially ostracized and a HIV-positive woman called Rekha, who is a sex-worker in one of Asia’s largest red-light districts located in India. The story was told in a touching style by Kiran, which captivated my attention. First and foremost, I appreciate the desire and passion displayed by the author to devote the rest of her life for social cause. She chose to work as a project coordinator for an international NGO that deals with mainstreaming sex-workers, their children, and HIV-positive women. The courage shown by the author while choosing to work in such unsafe environments as red-light areas; bearing the brunt of social stigma that comes with it; and even against the wishes of her parents, who opposed her initially; is particularly laudable. The details of her first encounter with a HIV- positive Rekha during a community visit and the drama that unfolded thereafter was described in a compelling manner. Author’s remorse in the end towards Rekha is worth the mention. This story captures the inner beauty of a socially ostracized and HIV-positive woman in the society. Kiran succeeded in bringing out that eternal bond of Love between a daughter and a mother, who is a HIV-positive sex-worker and wasn't even invited to attend her own daughter's marriage because of her illness. Author’s imagination and her ability to convey the inner feelings cannot be understated.
In conclusion, if the essay by Karim Teresa Rochelle’s “William Strunk taught me how to write,” highlights the importance of basic Elements of writing in English; Kamil A. Lipinski’s essay “The Gap.” describes the ordeals of non-native speaker learning English in a highly Russian-influenced Poland, his setbacks in poetry recital, and his experiences as a scientific writer. In the essay, “Stop Remembering Now,” Kiran Sergeeva delineates the eternal bond of Love between a daughter and a HIV-positive mother, who was also a sex-worker. Thus this assignment has brought back my memories and experiences as a writer and sharing the same with all my fellow writers is a great feeling in itself.
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