THE POWER OF LOOKS
I’m quite the formatting freak and as you can see from above, this is because I love formatting.
Sometimes my siblings give me their papers to edit – sometimes – and other than correcting grammar/spelling, and helping them develop their arguments, I’m always interested in seeing that they are using correct formatting. Or, at least consistent formatting. Nothing bugs me more than a person who gives you one paper formatted one way, and another with completely different formatting.
Beyond Black and White: Document Design and Formatting in the Writing Classroom was right up my alley. It is so true that “the visual treatment of text itself” is often times never addressed or taught. We’ve all been forced to follow MLA , yet we are never told why. This chapter did a great job explaining that very question. Even as someone who takes these things seriously, I am glad for deeper and broader explanations of why I should do many of the things I have been doing. When it comes to MLA, I’ve always been a fan. However, I really wish that teachers would have explained why we use standardized style guides when I was in 7th grade; I know it would have helped a lot of students with their attitudes!
Understanding that CRAP helps your readers appreciate your writing makes it so much more evident why formatting matters. Without CRAP, writing would be confusing and ugly. (CRAP, by the way, refers to Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity, key elements in visual design and formatting). And thinking about formatting as a type of design also makes it easier to get your head around. The word “format” sounds rather technical, but “design” allows us to remember that the written word can also be a form of art.
So, respect it, live it, and love it — whether you call it formatting or design.
That Inane Laugh 