Discussion English
Week 1 Discussion Forum
This week’s DF covers the following module and materials. Use them to answer the questions below:
The documentary film AltheaLinks to an external site.
Basic Principles of Academic Writing
Types of Rhetorical Modes
Steps of Writing a Paper
Prewriting Techniques
Building Your Paper
Quoting and Paraphrasing
The Importance of Wording
Word Choice
Tone
Diction
IMPORTANT: You must answer ALL questions for credit. THERE IS NO PARTIAL CREDIT! Where indicated, write at least 250 words. Post the word counts for all of your answers.
1. Write a brief analysis of Althea, including its thesis (primary claim/main idea). (Write at least 250 words.)
2. What makes writing academic? How does academic writing differ from non-academic, casual writing? (Write at least 250 words.)
3. Which method of persuasion (pathos, ethos, logos) does Althea use primarily? Is this method impactful? Why or why not? Might another method work better? (Write at least 250 words.)
4. As described in the Steps of Writing a Paper and Prewriting Techniques sections, in answer to this question, perform either a brainstorming or freewriting session for Essay 1.
5. Based on your brainstorming or freewriting session, outline Essay 1 as described in Steps of Writing a Paper.
6. Essay 1 requires you to compare and contrast two subjects. Though it is not an argument or persuasive essay, modes of persuasion still apply because you want your writing to be engaging and worthwhile. Which mode of persuasion, ethos, pathos, or logos, will you primarily use in Essay 1? Why? You can use your outline from question 5 to pull examples of this mode of persuasion.
For the sake of demonstration, let’s say I am going to write a narrative essay about the time my dog escaped while my friend was watching her and how technology helped me find her. The moment I was reunited with my dog would be significant. From my outline, I pull that I am planning to spend an entire paragraph on that reunion. I am specifically going to describe how dirty my dog’s face was, and how much her eyes had changed, indicating lack of care. This would be an example of pathos, an attempt to elicit emotion from my audience.
7. Write your thesis from the perspective of each of the three modes of persuasion. Going back to my example in question 6, here is my thesis, three ways. See if you can tell which is which (then scroll to the bottom to see if you got them right):
- A) As an early adapter of smartphone technology, I well know the pitfalls of spending too much time scrolling and staring at a screen, but it was my so-called addiction that prevented me from losing my dog.
- B) It took a photograph of my poodle, her white face crusted with rusty tears, to show me that the true value of staying connected is being able to save someone you love.
- C) Though nomophobia, fear of being without a cell phone, gets a bad rap, it worked to my advantage the day my dog almost ended up on a missing poster.
8. The “Grabbing the Reader’s Attention” section of Building Your Paper lists seven strategies for opening a paper. Keeping your thesis and primary mode of persuasion in mind, write seven introductory sentences for your paper; that’s one for each of the seven strategies. Please go in order and label them so that it’s obvious which strategy you’re using. (You will choose one of these opening sentences for question 9.)
9. Take one of your opening sentences from question 8 and one of your thesis statements from question 7 — the thesis that best fits your primary mode of persuasion — and write an introductory paragraph. Use the concept-funnel structure mentioned in Building Your Paper. (Write at least 250 words.)
10. What is the difference between quoting, paraphrasing, and citation? When should you apply each one?
11. Paraphrase this passage from Roger Ebert’s 1972 review of The Godfather:
The remarkable thing about Mario Puzo’s novel was the way it seemed to be told from the inside out; he didn’t give us a world of international intrigue, but a private club as constricted as the seventh grade. Everybody knew everybody else and had a pretty shrewd hunch what they were up to.
The movie (based on a script labored over for some time by Puzo and then finally given form, I suspect, by director Francis Ford Coppola) gets the same feel. We tend to identify with Don Corleone’s family not because we dig gang wars, but because we have been with them from the beginning, watching them wait for battle while sitting at the kitchen table and eating chow mein out of paper cartons.
“The Godfather” himself is not even the central character in the drama. That position goes to the youngest, brightest son, Michael, who understands the nature of his father’s position while revising his old-fashioned ways. The Godfather’s role in the family enterprise is described by his name; he stands outside the next generation which will carry on and, hopefully, angle the family into legitimate enterprises.
Paraphrase this passage from Ta-Nehisi Coats’s “The Case for Reparations”:
Clyde Ross was a smart child. His teacher thought he should attend a more challenging school. There was very little support for educating black people in Mississippi. But Julius Rosenwald, a part owner of Sears, Roebuck, had begun an ambitious effort to build schools for black children throughout the South. Ross’s teacher believed he should attend the local Rosenwald school. It was too far for Ross to walk and get back in time to work in the fields. Local white children had a school bus. Clyde Ross did not, and thus lost the chance to better his education.
Then, when Ross was 10 years old, a group of white men demanded his only childhood possession—the horse with the red coat. “You can’t have this horse. We want it,” one of the white men said. They gave Ross’s father $17.
“I did everything for that horse,” Ross told me. “Everything. And they took him. Put him on the racetrack. I never did know what happened to him after that, but I know they didn’t bring him back. So that’s just one of my losses.”
12. For Essay 1, you are required to incorporate 3 direct quotes from Althea. On this note, do the following exercises based on the “Introducing a Quotation” and “Formatting and Punctuating Quotations” sections of Quoting and Paraphrasing:
A) Work with the following excerpt. It is from The Washington Post newspaper:
Caines spent much of his life stockpiling his paychecks of up to $700 a week to buy a home. Now, the 72-year-old worries that the Category 5 storms that took his roof also blew him and an entire generation of Virgin Islanders out of the middle class.
- Quote the excerpt using a signal phrase.
- Quote the excerpt by introducing it with a brief explanation. Use your imagination since you haven’t read the whole article. Make up an explanation that sounds suitable.
- Quote the excerpt with a formal introduction.
B) Work with the following excerpt from the same Washington Post article:
“I’m now going to die in debt,” said Cains, who expects repairs to his home will cost $100,000, far exceeding his savings or expected insurance payout. “It feels like hell,” he said. “I didn’t get the help I needed, and now I’m out here suffering.”
- Quote the excerpt with an omission, and indicate that omission with an ellipsis mark.
- Quote the excerpt and use brackets to either clarify meaning, change verb tense, or explain a word.
C) Quote the following excerpt as a two-paragraph long quotation:
On St. John, where million-dollar villas cling to hillsides overlooking teal ocean waters and coral reefs, business owners estimated that overall revenue is down as much as 70 percent this winter. But second-home owners are returning to high-end restaurants for lobster dinners and $100 bottles of wine. For Livio Leoni, who owns Da Livio Italian Restaurant in Cruz Bay on St. John, the major lingering post-storm inconvenience is that the island’s U.S. Customs and Border Protection office has not reopened. Without it, he said, he cannot import the cheese, cured meats, and bottles of wine bearing his family name directly from Italy. He instead would have to take a 25-minute ferry ride to St. Thomas to pick up those goods. Meanwhile, 25 miles away in Coral Bay, roofs and walls remain crumbled alongside roads. Some residents in this port town, known for sailors and a bohemian culture, sleep in tents on their front porch or in vehicles. A few hundred yards from the bay, Pearlette Lawrence was sweeping the front porch of the house where she had lived with her husband. The house has no roof, and the couple has been living in a shelter, but they return each day to cook meals and hand-wash clothes. Before the hurricanes, Lawrence had worked as a live-in maid and healthcare aid for an elderly woman who owned the house, earning $900 a month. The homeowner died shortly after the storm, the couple said.
13. One of the things student writers often struggle with is maintaining an academic tone. What elements convey tone? How might tone differ in an argument essay versus a narrative essay?
14. Read the introductory paragraph you wrote for question 9. Look for imprecise, general language. Revise that language to be more specific, being careful to keep the balance mentioned in “Word Choice.” (Write at least 250 words.)
15. Let’s be clear: It is not appropriate to write an academic essay in 1st person (unless you’re writing a personal narrative essay, which you are not). Academic essays require a 3rd person perspective. As a reminder:
- 1st person = subject is I/we
- 2nd person = subject is you
- 3rd person = subject is anything else, examples — dog, table, Mary, Jana, Shawn, sky, pencil, it, etc.
Changing from 1st person to 3rd person:
- I believe that we should come together and push the government for better legislation while we can.
- Everyone must come together and push the government for better legislation while they can.
Now, for practice, write a paragraph in 1st person. Then rewrite it in 3rd person. The topic of the paragraph doesn’t matter. (Write at least 250 words.)
16. Write 5 sentences using gender-specific language. Rewrite those sentences using gender-neutral language.
17. Write 5 sentences in the passive voice. Rewrite those sentences using the active voice.
Pay attention: Questions 1 – 3, 9, 14, and 15 require at least 250 words each. The rest have no word-count requirement. Again, always post word counts for all answers.
This is the link to Althea documentary…i will provide login
http://docuseek2.com.libaccess.hccs.edu/cart/product/882
Basic Principles of Academic Writing
Academic writing presents thoroughly investigated ideas to an informed audience.
Learning Objectives
Contrast academic and popular writing
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Academic writing makes a claim or an argument, and uses a combination of evidence (details and facts ) and clear explanations of logical reasoning to support that claim in order to persuade the reader.
· Good academic writing is concise; rather than using flowery language and overly complex sentence structures, which can distract from an argument, writers should use the simplest language possible to let their ideas shine through.
· Academic writing usually uses objective language, which allows writers to convince the reader that their argument is true, rather than just subjective opinions.
· A good academic writer is able to see both sides of the argument, or claim, and counter it with supporting evidence.
Key Terms
· analysis: A critical examination by the writer which draws connections (or notes disconnections) between points of evidence.
· counter-arguments: Ideas and evidence which refute or oppose the original claim.
· claim: An assertion, used as the basis for an academic piece of writing, that must be proven with evidence.
· academic writing: Writing that is published or presented to a specialized audience in order to inform, persuade, demonstrate, explore, or achieve some other specific purpose.
· genre: A category or type of writing, usually in reference to different academic disciplines.
“Academic writing” is a broad term that covers a wide variety of genres across disciplines. While its features will vary, academic (or scholarly) writing in general tries to maintain a professional tone while defending
a specific position or idea.
There are many different approaches to academic research, since each discipline has its own conventions that dictate what kinds of texts and evidence are permissible. Scholarly writing typically takes an objective tone, even though it argues in favor of a specific position or stance. Academic writing can reach a broader audience through more informal venues, such as journalism and public speaking.
Overarching Principles of Academic Writing
Academic writing comes in many forms and can cover a wide range of subject matter; however, successful writing will demonstrate certain conventions, no matter what is being written about.
The Thesis Statement: Making and Supporting a Claim
Strong academic writing takes a stance on the topic it is covering—it tries to convince the reader of a certain perspective or claim. This claim is known as the “thesis statement.” The majority of an academic paper will be spent using facts and details to “prove” to the reader that the claim is true. How this is done depends on the discipline: in the sciences, a research paper will present an original experiment and data to support the claim; in a literature class, an essay will cite quotations from a text that weave into the larger argument. Regardless of discipline, the overarching goal of most academic writing is to persuade the reader to agree with the claim.
Concision
Concision is the art of using the fewest words possible to convey an idea. Some students mistakenly think that longer words and more complicated sentence structures make their writing “better” or more sophisticated. In reality, the longer and more complicated a sentence gets, the harder it is for a reader to interpret that sentence and stay engaged with your argument. For example, if you find yourself using a phrase like “due to the fact that,” you can simplify your wording and make your sentence more powerful by saying “because” instead. Similarly, say “now” or “currently” rather than “at this point in time.” Unnecessarily complicated wording distracts your reader from your argument; simpler sentence structures let your ideas shine through.
Objectivity
Most academic writing uses objective language. That is, rather than presenting the argument as the writer’s opinion (“I believe that…”, “I think this means…”), it tries to convince the reader that the argument is necessarily true based on the supporting facts: “this evidence reveals that…”
Breaking the Rules
There are countless examples of respected scholarly pieces that bend these principles—for instance, the “reader response” school of literary criticism abandons the objective stance altogether. However, you have to know the rules before you can break them successfully.
Think of a chef putting chili powder in hot chocolate, a delicious but unexpected bending of a rule: typically, desserts are not spicy. In order to successfully break that rule, the chef first had to understand all the flavors at work in both ingredients, and make the choice knowing that it would improve the recipe. It’s only a good idea to break these rules and principles if there is a specific, good reason to do so. Therefore, if you plan to dispense with one of the conventions of academic writing, it is a good idea to make sure your instructor approves of your stylistic choice.
Building Academic Writing Skills
Academic work is an excellent way to develop strong research and writing skills. Try to use your undergraduate assignments to build your reading comprehension, critical and creative thinking, research and analytical skills. Having a specific, “real” audience will help you engage more directly with the reader and adapt to the conventions of writing in any given genre.
The original Dallas Public Library: Across many academic disciplines, research is often required for writing assignments.
Developing Your Voice as a Writer
Develop and showcase your unique voice while adhering to the rules of writing content and style.
Learning Objectives
Differentiate between voice and style
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· While academic writing stresses formal conventions, opportunities exist to experiment with a wide range of styles and voices.
· A more casual writing style might include contractions, humor, exclamations, and/or familiar vocabulary. Others writings may include clause-heavy sentences, esoteric terminology, and formal language. Still others favor analogies, idioms, metaphors, and colorful imagery.
· “Authorial voice” is a characteristic of a writer’s distinctive style. It is an important element of academic writing, fiction, and nonfiction.
· Voice is developed over time and through experience.
Key Terms
· format: The arrangement of images, titles, headers, content, and other formal elements of writing within a work.
· style: An author’s unique method of putting together words, phrases, sentences, analogies, metaphors, idioms, and expressions.
· voice: The distinct personality that comes through in a writer’s work which may convey the author’s attitude and character. It may represent the characteristic speech and thought patterns of the writer.
You’ve probably heard that one quality found in good writing is voice. “Voice” refers to elements of the author ‘s tone, phrasing, and style that are recognizably unique to her or him. A distinctive, persuasive voice will successfully engage your audience — without it, your writing risks losing your reader despite your top notch research or how well you adhered to sound writing practices. Yes, academic writing has rules about format, style, and objectivity that you must follow, but these will not rescue boring, impersonal prose. Whatever you choose to write about, be certain to develop an authorial voice!
Having a “unique voice” does not translate into having a radically different style from others. In academic writing, voice boils down to seemingly insignificant small habits and personal preferences. But they matter! If each student in your class was told to explain a complex concept, not one would do it in the same way. Each would use different language and syntax to say the same basic thing. Over time, each student would continue to make similar choices in language and syntax, and readers would eventually associate those choices with particular writers — each student would have developed an authorial voice.
Keep in mind that voice is not something you can automatically create. It may be tempting to use unusual syntax or fancy vocabulary hoping to make your writing stand out. Be forewarned – that would not be your genuine style. There is no quick way to create a recognizable voice, as it can only be developed over time. The key to developing your voice is to keep writing and to think about what specific types of writing excite you. Pay attention to how you say things — what words you use, what sorts of phrases and sentence structures you favor, even what kind of punctuation appears in your work frequently. These are the choices that will eventually become markers of your authorial voice.
Individual style at the Ohio Renaissance Festival: Much like the people shown above dressed in different costumes, every writer has a distinct style. You should maintain the distinctive elements of your voice and style in the academic context. Even when you’re outside your comfortable, everyday environment, you can still find ways to express your unique style.
Getting Help Meeting College Writing Expectations
Your college can provide several resources to help you through the process of planning and drafting an academic paper.
Learning Objectives
Give examples of places to find campus resources for writing
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· The conventions of academic writing can be confusing at first, but there is no need to struggle alone.
· Colleges provide students with a variety of resources and advisers to help students adjust to writing at the collegiate level. Take advantage of whatever resources your college offers.
· Taking advantage of these resources has the added benefit of pushing you to begin the process early so you will have enough time to write and revise several drafts.
Key Terms
· workshop: A gathering of students who share brainstorming, research, drafting, revision, and editing tips by reading and responding to each other’s papers. This can be done virtually, as well as face to face.
· drafting: The process of beginning to write and revise a paper, with the understanding that no one else will see it.
The typical student enters college with a wealth of experience writing five- paragraph essays, book reports, and lab reports. Even the best students, however, need to make big adjustments to learn the conventions of academic writing. College-level writing obeys different rules, and learning them will help you hone your writing skills. Think of it as ascending another step up the writing ladder.
Many students feel intimidated asking for help with academic writing; after all, it’s something you’ve been doing your entire life in school. However, there’s no need to feel like it’s a sign of your lack of ability; on the contrary, many of the strongest student writers regularly get help and support with their writing (that’s why they’re so strong). College instructors are very familiar with the ups and downs of writing, and most universities have support systems in place to help students learn how to write for an academic audience. The following sections discuss common on-campus writing services, what to expect from them, and how they can help you.
Kings College, Cambridge: College writing can seem daunting at first, but there are methods to help you master it.
Writing Mentors
Learning to write for an academic audience is challenging, but universities offer various resources to guide students through the process. Most instructors will be happy to meet with you during office hours to discuss guidelines for writing about their particular discipline. If you have any doubts about research methods, paper structure, writing style, etc., address these uncertainties with the instructor before you hand in your paper, rather than waiting to see the critiques they write in the margins afterward. You are not bothering your instructor by showing up for office hours; they’ll be glad to see you.
Learning by Example
Many students like to learn by example, and find it very helpful to read other students’ academic writing. Some universities publish outstanding student essays. Some professors keep copies of student papers, and they may be willing to show you examples of writing that meets their expectations. Genuine student papers are universally better models to follow than any of the “sample essays” on the Internet.
Student-Led Workshops
Some courses encourage students to share their research and writing with each other, and even offer workshops where students can present their own writing and offer constructive comments to their classmates. Independent paper-writing workshops provide a space for peers with varying interests, work styles, and areas of expertise to brainstorm. If you want to improve your writing, organizing a workshop session with your classmates is a great strategy. In high school, students submit their work in multiple stages, from the thesis statement to the outline to a draft of the paper; finally, after receiving feedback on each preliminary piece, they submit a completed project. This format teaches students how to divide writing assignments into smaller tasks and schedule these tasks over an extended period of time, instead of scrambling through the entire process right before the deadline. Some college courses build this kind of writing schedule into major assignments. Even if your course does not, you can master the skill of breaking large assignments down into smaller projects instead of leaving an unmanageable amount of work until the last minute. Academic writing can, at times, feel overwhelming. You can waste a great deal of time staring at a blank screen or a troublesome paragraph, when it would be more productive to move on to drafting other parts of your paper. When you return to the problem section a few hours later (or, even better, the next day), the solution may be obvious.
Writing in drafts makes academic work more manageable. Drafting gets your ideas onto paper, which gives you more to work with than the perfectionist’s daunting blank screen. You can always return later to fix the problems that bother you.
Scheduling the Stages of Your Writing Process
Time management, not talent, has been the secret to a lot of great writing through the ages. Not even a “great” writer can produce a masterpiece the night before it’s due. Breaking a large writing task into smaller pieces will not only save your sanity, but will also result in a more thoughtful, polished final draft.
Sample schedule:
· Monday: Visit your instructor’s office hours to discuss ideas, sources, and structure for the essay.
· Tuesday: Do research at the library from 5:00 to 9:00, taking detailed notes and planning how each piece of research will fit into your paper.
· Wednesday: Do research at the library from 2:00 to 6:00, take detailed notes, and give yourself permission to write an imperfect draft.
· Thursday: Begin a first draft of the essay.
· Friday: Continue expanding/editing the first draft.
· Saturday: Look again at the draft and continue to make changes/additions/deletions.
· Sunday: Write a final draft. Print out your paper for proofreading (it’s worth it).
· Monday: Don’t look at the essay. However, if there are any remaining questions, go to your instructor’s office hours.
· Tuesday: Revise, edit and proofread the essay one more time. Relax while everyone else in your class is panicking.
· Wednesday morning: Give the essay a final read and proofread, and print it out.
· Wednesday afternoon: Turn in your essay.
Emailing Your Instructor
Example Email
Subject: Composition II: Office hours on Tuesday
Dear/Hello Professor [Last name],
I have a few questions about the next essay assignment for Composition II. Would it be convenient to discuss them during your office hours on Tuesday? Let me know if there is a specific time when I should stop by, or if we can meet over online chat. Thank you for your help with these assignments.
Many thanks,
[First name] [Last name]
Comp II, Section 12345
Tips for Emailing Your Instructor
· Be polite: Address your professor formally, using the title “Professor” with their last name. Depending on how formal your professor seems, use the salutation “Dear,” or a more informal “Hello” or “Hi.” Don’t drop the salutation altogether, though.
· Be concise. Instructors are busy people, and although they are typically more than happy to help you, do them the favor of getting to your point quickly. Sign off with your first and last name, the course number, and the class time. This will make it easy for your professor to identify you.
· Do not ever ask, “When will you return our papers?” If you MUST ask, make it specific and realistic (e.g., “Will we get our papers back by the end of next week?”).
Discussing Writing in Class
Class discussion is an essential part of the feedback and revision process, since it provides a space for students to communicate differing views.
Learning Objectives
Identify techniques for discussing writing in class effectively
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· The goal of classroom discussion is not only to promote comprehension of a shared text, but also to encourage students to listen to, understand, and exchange their assessments of a text.
· As a learning method, classroom discussions are generally more fun and interactive than simply listening to a teacher lecture or taking a written test.
· Class discussions encourage learning through active participation, comprehension, and listening. They help students to think, solve problems, listen to others, and analyze the ideas of other students, all while backing up their own thoughts with evidence from past class teachings.
· Incorporating perspectives and ideas from class discussion into your paper allows you to strengthen connections between course concepts and demonstrate your engagement in what others have to say.
· Workshops can provide you with valuable feedback from your peers about how to improve your paper, and also teach you to be a more careful and critical reader of your own and others’ work.
Key Terms
· workshop: A discussion in which people can give one another feedback on each other’s writing.
Classroom Discussions
Classroom discussion isn’t simply a way of gaining points; it’s an essential part of learning, comprehending, and sharing knowledge. Class discussion is often used together with other forms of assessment to calculate your grade, even if there are no points expressly awarded. Together with lectures and individual study, discussing course readings and materials with your peers and the instructor can open up new insights that are impossible to achieve on your own. In order to get the most out of class discussion, the instructor and all students should engage in an actual conversation, not simply question -and-answer.
Classroom discussion: This class discussion is engaging.
As a learning method, classroom discussions are generally more fun and interactive than simply listening to a teacher lecture or doing written work. When presenting a question to a class of students, teachers open up the classroom discussion to different ideas, opinions, and questions, and can mediate while students come up with their own conclusions. Class discussions encourage learning through active participation, comprehension, and listening. They help students to think, solve problems, listen to others, and analyze the ideas of other students, all while backing up their own thoughts with evidence from past class teachings. Discussions also encourage the practice of informal oral communication, which is a much-needed skill later in life.
When participating in a class discussion, the following strategies are effective:
· Try to stay on topic. Outside references are often good for context, but remember that the focus here is on learning.
· Try to use relevant vocabulary from the lesson to confirm your understanding of new concepts and demonstrate your authority.
· Try to build upon the ideas of others; listen and respond as much as you speak.
· Always be respectful to others, especially if someone in the discussion offers an opinion that differs from your own.
· Try to provide constructive criticism to others regarding their thoughts, comments, or work: “I think you’re on the right track here, but this point doesn’t seem to be supported with direct evidence.”
· Don’t get too worked up if you disagree with the instructor or another student. A strong emotional response is good, since it indicates you’re engaged with the topic, but always keep a calm demeanor to show your classmates your ability to work in this setting without getting angry or flustered.
Writing Workshops
A workshop is a special kind of classroom discussion in which students discuss each other’s work. The advice given above on class discussions also applies when you and your peers are given time in class (or in a group study session, in the writing center, etc.) to workshop drafts of each other’s papers. A writing workshop is an excellent way to get suggestions from peers that help you improve your paper, since fellow students may be able to offer a perspective your instructor cannot. Constructive, focused workshop critiquing also allows you to become a more critical reader and writer. Here are some questions that might be helpful for class discussions about student writing:
· What is the author saying in this text?
· Use three words to describe the tone and style the author uses in his/her argument. Is this the best tone and style to achieve the author’s purpose?
· Where does the author present rhetoric that is based on emotion? On facts? Which of these seem to be most prevalent in the argument?
· Why does the author think this argument matters? Have they convinced you that it matters? How might the “so what” factor be raised?
· What special terminology does (or should) the author use?
· How does this text relate to other things that have been read in this class?
· Give the author two positive comments, and three suggestions for improvement in the next draft.
Types of Rhetorical Modes
Argumentation
and
Persuasion
Argumentation and persuasion are rhetorical modes used to convince others of an opinion, belief, or the merits of a course of action.
Learning Objectives
Determine the purpose and structure of argumentation and persuasion.
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Argumentation and persuasion are both used to convince others of an opinion, belief, or the merits of a course of action.
· Argumentation uses logic and objective support to convince the audience of the veracity of an argument.
· Persuasion appeals to the emotions of the audience to convince them of the inherent value of a stance.
· There are appropriate settings in which to use both argumentation and persuasion.
· The decision to use either argumentation or persuasion (or both) will guide the writer as to the writing process and the selection of primary literary tools.
· There is a generally accepted structure for a persuasive/argumentative essay that allows within it the opportunity for creative expression.
Key Terms
· logos: A method of convincing people through logic and reason.
· ethos: A method of convincing the reader/listener
through the credibility of the writer/speaker.
· pathos: A method of persuading others by creating an emotional response in them.
Why, Oh Why?
When we decide to put an opinion out there, we’re doing it for a reason. Usually, the reason is that we want people to agree with our perspective and even take up the cause themselves. This is where you give your audience the why: why your point makes sense, why your suggested course of action is the best, why other ideas are not as sound, and why your thesis should be tattooed over their heart. Well, okay, maybe that’s going a little far.
Tattoos aren’t a bad example, though. Someone or something had to be pretty inspiring or convincing to get them to emblazon a symbol permanently on their body.
How can you be that convincing? There are two major strategies for answering the “why” of your thesis: arguing through logic and convincing through emotion.
Argumentation
We can think of a constructed “argument” not so much as an adversarial endeavor, but a search for the truth of a matter. Just as Supreme Court justices are charged with listening to all evidence before coming to a conclusion that will best serve the Republic, you may assume that your reader is seeking the most reasonable perspective to take, based on all the facts.
Your job, then, as the writer of an argument, is to present the reader with the arguments and evidence supporting both (or all) perspectives and reason out why your thesis is the most logical conclusion. The tone of such writing is dispassionate and objective; reason is king.
A common mistake about writing argumentation is presenting only the arguments that support the opinion you want your audience to adopt. That approach is less effective, because the reader’s mind naturally jumps to logical objections and counter-arguments, and if those doubts are not addressed, the reader remains suspicious and therefore unconvinced. When you contend with all the potential objections, however, the reader’s mind is satisfied and he or she can rest comfortably in your conclusion.
Another common error in argumentation is presenting a weakened argument for opposing opinions, in hopes that a cursory glance at and dismissal of the counter-arguments will satisfy the readers’ doubts. Most readers will see through this strategy, though, and lose respect for both the writer and the argument as a result. You want your thesis to be strong enough to stand up to strict critical scrutiny and demonstrate that strength in your argument.
For these reasons, argumentation is a rigorous endeavor. You usually won’t even begin to formulate a thesis for such a paper until you’ve done extensive research, because you’ll want to be well-educated on the topic before coming to any conclusions yourself. The good news is that your process in deciding what you believe is fodder for informing your audience: once you’ve done the discovery, you can lead your readers on the path you yourself followed to the conclusion that feels natural to you. If your own search was thorough enough, and if you express it clearly, your audience will be more likely to agree with you, or at least to respect your opinion.
Consider an argument, then, a sincere effort to find the “truth,” or at least the best option for the situation in question.
Tools for Argumentation
The most effective tool in argumentation is solid support for each aspect of the argument. You will create an ethos of credibility to the extent your reader finds you trustworthy. To this end, you will need to consider both the effectiveness of the source for making your point (whether it is a quote, facts, or data ), as well as the reader’s perception of the source of that information.
· Reliable research has certain markers that make it credible. In a quantitative study, for example, sample size is important to ensure the data is truly representative. Data saturation is a key in qualitative research. An example of unreliable research would be the claim, “Voted best fish taco in the world three years in a row!” Who voted? The kitchen staff? Though you don’t have to be a researcher yourself to make quality arguments, you need to learn where to look to find studies that are, in fact, reliable. Which brings us to the next point.
· You’ll also need to assess the perceived reliability of the source. Studies funded by cigarette companies on the effects of cigarette smoke are less likely to find deleterious effects than studies commissioned by the National Institutes of Health, or at least we might logically assume that. You’ll want to avoid any appearance of bias, along with any actual bias. If your reader perceives your sources as objective and reliable, he or she will trust you and be willing to follow your argument to its conclusion.
Persuasion
If you’re less “Dr. Spock” and more “Captain Kirk,” though, you might be more inclined toward persuading your audience to believe as you do. We’ve all had friends who can talk us into almost anything. How do they do that? They get us in trouble by effectively prodding our emotions.
Your intentions, of course, will be noble, but the technique works either way.
Persuasive writing is about convincing the reader that your opinion is the one he or she should adopt. The focus is on the opinion itself, rather than any counter-arguments, and the reader is led (or lured) step by step to feel increasingly more comfortable with the thesis. The tone can be more aggressive and passionate than in argumentation, because the writer is appealing to the reader’s emotions, rather than to the logical mind.
You’re in a plane for the purpose of skydiving with your daredevil buddy, but you’ve never done it before and you are hesitant to jump. Your friend doesn’t discuss the possibility of your leg breaking or the chute not opening. No, instead your friend talks of the thrill you’ll feel as you soar through the air, the confidence it will give you to have done something so daring, and the bragging rights you’ll have once you’re on the ground. There might be a statistic or two thrown in about how few people get hurt skydiving, and there may even be a warning about what you’ll feel like if you don’t jump, but mostly your friend is there to inspire.
Naturally, you jump.
How does one translate such prodding into writing? It’s all about conviction and anticipation. Your friend intuited your objections, but rather than mentioning them, simply countered with an affirmation of the thesis (jumping out of airplanes is great). The benefits of believing this way are going to make all counterarguments obsolete, so rather than entertain those, we’ll just keep stepping up the emotional pressure to embrace the thesis.
Tools for Persuasion
The most effective tools in persuasive writing are examples and sensory images.
· Examples (illustrative stories) help your reader identify with someone experiencing the plight you describe. Identification with another being is a powerful pull on the emotions. “The homeless man, finding the shelter closed once again due to overcrowding, casts his eyes to the bustling sidewalk, hoping someone, anyone, will catch his eye and offer help, even if it’s only the feeling of connection to another human being.”
· Sensory images, unlike logic, appeal to our emotional center. Reading or hearing how something looks, tastes, smells, sounds, or feels can create a visceral response in us. “He sighs and shuffles off to the tattered old refrigerator box that provides little insulation from the icy ground and reeks of the garbage piled inches from his face.”
Choose Your Method
You may have come to the conclusion that an argumentative essay is a more sophisticated way of getting someone to see a particular perspective. It’s true that the argument is usually considered the more formal writing style, but there are cases in which pathos may be more appropriate than logos. How do you know which to choose?
· Audience – Know to whom your words will be directed. Are your readers more likely to be swayed by peer-reviewed research or emotional appeals?
· Occasion – There’s something to be said for gauging the right time for facts and the appropriate time for conviction. Are you writing a State of the Union address, where you’re hoping the audience will leap to its feet with applause every few paragraphs, or are you explaining to your board of directors why your company should go public in six months?
· Purpose – Similarly, you’ll want to keep the end-game in mind. Asking your readers to take an immediate action might require a different approach than asking them to permanently alter their belief system.
Here is an example of the use of a persuasive piece of writing. Do you think it would have been more effective as a logical argument?
The Black Panther Party’s 1966 Ten Point Program outlined demands and beliefs that the organization believed would begin to repair some of the damage of slavery and racism in the United States. Here is #5 from the “What We Want Now!” section (note that even the exclamation point hints at the persuasive nature of the argument):
“We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present day society.”
Over a decade earlier, Thurgood Marshall had presented a petition along the same lines to the Supreme Court, only he chose to use argumention:
Although he raised a variety of legal issues on appeal, the most common one was that separate school systems for blacks and whites were inherently unequal, and thus violate the “equal protection clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Furthermore, relying on sociological tests, such as the one performed by social scientist Kenneth Clark, and other data, he also argued that segregated school systems had a tendency to make black children feel inferior to white children, and thus such a system should not be legally permissible.
Though both pleas relate to offering a stronger system of education for people of color, the context for each assertion was different. One had as an audience the general public; the other, at least initially, spoke to court justices. The occasion of arguing before the Supreme Court required Marshall to make a formal and objective case, whereas the Black Panthers were seeking a dramatic shift in the public perception of the status quo. Marshall’s purpose was to build an argument that would stand up to scrutiny for decades or even centuries to come, in any instance of societal segregation, and while the Black Panthers would likely have agreed with that goal, their immediate purpose was to lift the veil of white privilege.
You might notice, though, that there are elements of persuasive language in Marshall’s argument: he speaks of “a tendency to make black children feel inferior,” which hints at pathos. The reason we wouldn’t categorize it as such, though, is because he is citing sociological data: he is presenting this tendency as a fact, not trying to manipulate the court’s emotions.
Similarly, the organization of the Black Panthers’ Ten Point Program might seem akin to a logical argument, but the content of “What We Want Now!” is grounded in ideas of right and wrong, rather than objective data.
So, impassioned plea or reasoned argument, let’s look at the steps to creation.
Steps to Creating an Argument
1. Consider your topic. What are some questions that come up for you about this topic? What do you expect to find as you research it? How might people disagree about the topic?
2.
Research
the topic. Find out what’s being said about the topic on both or all sides of the issue. Look at the primary writers or speakers championing each perspective and allow yourself time to marinate in each of their ideas.
3. Choose the perspective you agree with. Having read material representing each general idea about the topic, you will likely find yourself agreeing with one or another. Formulate a preliminary thesis statement based on your conclusions.
4. Go back to the literature to support your thesis statement, but be open to changing it if more information comes to light.
5. Identify each counterargument, finding the most cogent resources for each, and make your best argument against these using the most applicable and reliable sources to support your perspective.
6. Organize your paper in a way that will most effectively anticipate the reader’s mental journey through the topic.
Steps to Persuasion
1. Search your feelings for a response to the topic. What kind of emotions come up around it? What is your initial gut reaction to a statement for and a statement against the topic?
2. Decide what you want to convince others about concerning this issue. What feels meaningful to you concerning this topic? Create a thesis statement that reflects this desire.
3. Outline an argument based on what you believe and feel, then dive into the literature to find out what others have had to say on the topic. You’ll want to look at objections to your opinion as well as supporting evidence in order to anticipate your reader’s thought process, even if you won’t be including all of these references in your paper.
4. Find or create stories and sensory imagery that will speak to the reader’s emotions.
5. Organize your paper in a way that puts increasing pressure on the reader’s emotions. Often, this means beginning with imagery that orients the reader to the situation and then intensifying the pathos as you go. Keep counterarguments in mind as well, as you attend to organization.
If you are combining the approaches, you’ll want to create your paper based on the steps to creating an argument and then incorporate sensory imagery, stories, and impassioned pleas into the structure as appropriate — often in the introduction and conclusion.
Structure of the Argumentative and Persuasive Essay
While you can use argumentation and persuasion in any type of writing, a common venue is the essay, in which you’re asked to argue for or against a position.
While there are no hard and fast rules to structuring your essay, there are some generally accepted conventions that will give you a head start in creating your argument and allow you to focus on content.
Introduction
Think of the introduction as an inverted triangle; a funnel. You want to begin with a broad introduction to the realm of thought and end with a very specific thesis that the rest of the paper will prove. The purpose here is to capture the reader’s interest and quickly move him or her to an understanding of your point of focus.
· Introductory sentence. This is where you can spark your audience’s interest in the topic. You can use pathos here or make a bold statement of fact, either of which can serve as a “hook” to capture the reader’s attention.
· Linking sentence. Here, you narrow in on your topic more specifically. Again, you may choose to accomplish this through imagery, a statement of fact, or by simple explanation. By the end of this sentence (which could actually be as many sentences as you need to accomplish the task), your audience should know the problem you wish to address and why it’s important.
· Argument #1. Here, you’ll preview the first argument in favor of your thesis, which you’ll expound on in the first body paragraph. You haven’t stated your thesis yet; these three sentences will lead your reader to it naturally. So think of these three (or more) sentences as priming the pump for the rush of clarity that is your thesis statement.
· Argument #2. Again, this sentence is merely a statement of what you’ll expound on in the body of the paper: this time, in the second body paragraph.
· Argument #3. Here, you’re simply stating the argument for the third body paragraph.
· Thesis statement. The thesis statement should flow naturally out of the arguments (hence, the funnel analogy). It should be clear, concise, and one-sided.
Body
Paragraphs
Each of the paragraphs in the body of your paper will serve the thesis statement. Each of these paragraphs will have its own point to prove related to the thesis. A well-structured argument will grow stronger with each paragraph, whether the technique is argumentation or persuasion.
Each body paragraph (and three to five paragraphs for a body are the standard guideline) should contain
· A topic sentence. Also called a “sub-thesis,” the topic sentence is a main point that supports your thesis statement. You can refer to the thesis statement in this sentence to remind your audience how this main point relates to it.
· Evidentiary sentences. Here is where you offer evidence and explanations to support the veracity of the topic sentence. Rather than a simple listing of supporting evidence, though, you’ll want to form a coherent paragraph linking each item thoughtfully. Phrases like, “not only,” “therefore,” “in addition to,” and “moreover” are commonly found linking pieces of evidence in a body paragraph.
· Concluding sentence. Here, you will link the first topic sentence — the one you just gave evidence for — to the second topic sentence which you are about to introduce. Think of this sentence as a vital link of a chain. Without it, your audience will not be able to follow your line of thought. How does the point you just proved relate to the one you’re about to prove?
Counterarguments
In an argumentative essay, you can include counterargument paragraphs either directly after the main point they attempt to contradict (thereby getting the objection out of the reader’s mind right away), or you can entertain counterarguments in a series of body paragraphs after your main points supporting the thesis. The structure mimics the body paragraphs but instead of offering evidence for the topic sentence, you are offering evidence disproving the counterargument.
Persuasive essays generally do not entertain counterarguments.
Conclusion
Just as the introduction began broadly and ended with the specific point of the thesis, your conclusion will begin with the thesis and broaden. Ideally, it will also link back to the imagery or facts that began the introduction. Such linking works with the reader’s memory to create a satisfying feeling of completion.
· Restatement of the thesis. In this first concluding sentence, you remind the reader of the thesis statement you have now given evidence for. Common lead-ins for this sentence are phrases like, “It is clear now that…,” “We have seen how…” and “Given the preponderance of evidence…”
· Summary of the main points. Here, you’ll restate the main points of your argument. You can present them in a different way here than in the body of the paper, perhaps by combining them or incorporating them into a story or image.
· Broadening statement. This is where you can link back to the first sentence of the introductory paragraph. Has the sad image you led with found a happy ending with your thesis in place? Might the disturbing facts turn around based on following your main points?
Keep in mind that while you don’t want to sound like you’re following a script or a formula and simply plugging in your topic, using a structure can allow your creativity to shine by allowing you to focus on content.
Have fun with your argument! Play with the ideas until you feel a spark ignite. Come at it from various angles and surprise your reader with new perspectives. Arguing your position can be both effective and enjoyable— both for you and your audience.
Classification
Classification is a method of creating better understanding of a subject by identifying the categories to which it belongs.
Learning Objectives
Determine the purpose and structure of classification.
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· The purpose of classifying is to reveal in a subject what might remain obscured if left uncategorized, in order to know the subject more completely.
· The classification system selected indicates the meaning the writer wants to reveal about the subject.
· Initial brainstorming and subsequent research are important steps in selecting a system of classification for a subject.
· The introduction to a classification essay includes an extended definition of the subject, identifies the classification system and categories, and explains why this exercise of classifying will enhance the reader’s understanding of the subject.
Key Terms
· mind map: An artistic representation of thought patterns, created during brainstorming around a specific topic. The representation usually includes lines linking circled concepts, with subcategory link lines emerging from larger category circles.
· classifying: Arranging things, ideas, or people into groups based on certain characteristics.
· classification: The process of classifying something according to shared qualities or characteristics.
Why Classify?
We spend most of our time trying not to fall into the trap of stereotyping and “pigeon-holing,” so as not to limit the potential of a person or thing. After all, aren’t we supposed to be looking for our similarities, rather than our differences?
Well, yes, of course, and yet there are times when identifying what categories a person, a group, a phenomenon, or a thing might fall into can create a better understanding of it — and even of the whole.
Our purpose in classifying is to reveal what might otherwise remain obscured, which can help us know something more completely.
Take love, for example. We can take it as a whole concept and revel in its consistency; its sameness; its consistent effects. There’s nothing wrong with that. And yet, if we want to really understand love, we begin to suss out its nuances and intuit various types of love. We see that romantic love is one thing, but the love between a parent and child has some different qualities. And the love of a divine being seems to differ from the human love we generally experience. Even love between a dog and its master has unique qualities. Oh, and then there’s teacher-student love and the kind of love you feel for the world when everything is going well, and what about the love of self?
Examining anything can take you down a similar path. You could categorize people by common behavioral traits; horses by physical attributes; chairs by style; wind by speeds; trees by leaf shape.
Of course, you could also categorize people by belief systems; horses by temperament; chairs by comfort level; wind by direction; and trees by root structure. And herein lies the key to classification: choice of system.
Choice of Classification System
Remember, your purpose in classifying is to illuminate the parts to better understand the whole. You can think of selecting a system of classification, then, as choosing your magnifying perspective. What kinds of things do you want to reveal? And why?
Let’s get back to love for a moment. What purposes might it serve to classify love by type? Well, as a reader I will likely want to see if I can find each kind of love in my own life experience. That might be helpful to see where there might be gaps. If I don’t have a child, and I feel a sense of longing when I read about “storge,” and the empathy bond, I might identify a need I didn’t realize I had. Or if, when I read about “eros,” I roll my eyes, I might discover how cynical I have become because of my last failed relationship. C.S. Lewis’s categorizations of love, then, might assist the reader in discerning the types of love one can identify in one’s own life and the types that may be missing. Psychological or spiritual growth are possible results from this illumination.
Another way to categorize love might be the various ways people tend to feel loved. Some people tend to feel loved when they received gifts, others when their partner gives them words of affirmation. Physical touch, acts of service, and quality time are other indicators for people that they’re loved. Finding out which of these ways speak most to you can help you ask for what you need, and quizzing your partner about the categories can be revelatory, assisting you in knowing how best to communicate love to him or her. Gary Chapman’s work categorizing expressions of love, then, can affect the quality of relationships.
You can see that choosing by Lewis’ categorizations system or Chapman’s, you will be laying bare different aspects of the phenomenon of love. And so much of the work that goes into a categorization essay, or any categorization effort, will be in the identification of the system.
Steps to Choosing a Classification System (Pre-writing)
Since it’s such an important part of classification, let’s take a look at how one might begin to select a classification system.
Small Furry Mammals: Brainstorming the various classification systems your subject could be categorized under can help reveal which you might find the most meaningful and elucidating.
1. Brainstorm. One way is to begin with your own brain. Having chosen a topic (lets go with furry mammals this time), simply start brainstorming on your own or with friends about how the topic could be broken down. You might choose to create a mind map for this process, as it will then be easy to see, when you’re finished, where most of your thoughts centered.
2. Do some research. Choose the brainstormed category that most interests you and do an initial search to see what other divisions exist in that category. For example, if you want to write about the grouping types of small furry mammals, you’ll want to find out what scientists call this, and the names they use for each category. If you’re still interested in this categorization system, you can move on to the next step, and if you’re not, your research can lead you in a new direction.
3. Select the three (or so) most applicable categories to use for your topic. Three categories is a general guideline, so you may need to group categories together if there are more, e.g. mammals who live in family groups would include both mammals who mate for life and those that live together when the offspring are growing. You can talk about the distinctions in the paragraph for that category, if necessary.
4. Check your categories to be sure they do indeed exist in the same categorization system and are distinct from one another. For example, if you are categorizing woodland creatures by habitat, you’ll be choosing what “habitat” means. There can be tree-dwelling mammals who live in the rainforest and tree-dwelling mammals who live in the dessert, and still more in woodland areas; so you wouldn’t want “tree-dwelling” and “rainforest” to be presented as two different categories in the same system.
5. Place your subject into the categories you’ve selected and see how they fall. Do these categories shed light on the subject as a whole? How? Why is it interesting and important to look at the subject through the lens of this categorization system? Once you answer those questions, you’re ready to write your paper.
Structure of the Classification Essay
Introduction
You’ll generally begin your essay with an extended definition of the topic and a description of the classification system you’ll use. This will lead to your thesis statement, which will:
· identify what you will be classifying (a brief reminder of the topic you’ve defined),
· explain the classification system you will use,
· list the categories you’ve selected, and
· explain why this classification system is important to the reader’s understanding of the topic.
Body Paragraphs
Each body paragraph will be centered around one of the categories from the classification system. You’ll want to choose an order for the body paragraphs that makes the most sense to you. You may choose to present the categories in order of impact, or from most important to least important, or from least surprising to most surprising. If you were the reader, which order would be the most convincing?
Body paragraphs include
· an explanation of the category
· how the topic fits into the category, and
· what makes this categorization meaningful
Conclusion
In the final paragraph, you’ll want to bring the parts you’ve just created back into their status as a whole. Here is where you lay out the meaning you’ve shed on the topic by putting it into categories. What more do we now know about small, furry mammals now that we’ve seen the variety of their habitats? Might it say something about evolution? About their adaptability? About their usefulness as research subjects? You’ll want to consider the interests of your audience here.
As with most essays, your conclusion will be like an inverted funnel:
· starting with a restatement of the thesis,
· broadening to discuss the meaning of the findings, then
· making a more general statement that relates back to the introduction’s opening.
Classification essays can be quite useful in clarifying concepts and revealing a subject’s deeper meaning if the paper is well-constructed. The keys are selecting a classification system and categories that are coherent and clearly revealing the relevance of each category to the whole.
Cause and Effect
The rhetorical mode “cause and effect” is used to link an event with its consequences.
Learning Objectives
Determine the purpose and structure of cause and effect.
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· The rhetorical mode ” cause and effect ” is used to link an action, event, or decision, with its consequences.
· In linking causes with effects, it is important to examine root causes and to avoid labeling coincidental occurrences as causes.
· The organization approach to cause and effect essays will describe the subject of the essay and examine either its causes or its effects.
· The result of reading an effective cause and effect essay will be to see links between previously unlinked events and to find links between the subject of the essay and broader phenomena.
Key Terms
· cause and effect: A relationship between events where one creates or initiates the other.
Just Because
The rhetorical mode “cause and effect” is used to link an action, event, or decision, with its consequences. It answers the question, “Why X?” with “X because Y.”
We use cause and effect thinking all the time; it’s the way our brains function. We look for patterns and linkages everywhere.
My stomach is upset. I bet it was the fish I had for lunch. I had a funny feeling about it, but I just added more lemon juice and ate it anyway. That’ll teach me not to listen to my intuition!
We talk to one another about causes and effects all the time, too:
Nikki’s middle fingers on her right hand are deformed because they were broken when she was eleven year old and her sister slammed the piano top down. That’s why she looked at you funny when you said it must be nice to have siblings.
Sometimes (some would say far too often), we even link effects to the wrong cause:
I have to wear my red blazer to the game this afternoon! I’ve worn it to the last three games, and they won every time. The time before that, it was too hot and I didn’t wear the blazer, and they lost by three points. I shouldn’t have let them down like that. Never again!
Purpose of Cause and Effect Exposition
You can use cause and effect as the basis of an essay or as a clarification tool in any writing. Mystery novels are often based on figuring out the cause of a particular undesirable effect.
Why make links between causes and effects in your writing?
· to clearly identify linkages between an event and its consequence
· to establish a precedent that will inform future decision-makers
· to better understand the nuances of a phenomenon’s evolution
Common Pitfalls in Linking Cause and Effect
Whatever your purpose, you will want to avoid the following:
· Mistaking coincidence for cause and effect. Just because two items happened at the same time or place, or because one followed the other, doesn’t mean that one event caused the other. Remember the red blazer example, above.
· Misattribution of cause. In a similar vein, sometimes we can make attribute an effect to a cause that is related to the actual cause but may not be the cause (or isn’t the whole story). For example, you may assert that cash depletion in your bank account is due to the high cost of gas, but the reason you have spent so much on gas is because you’ve taken several extra trips since buying the car. You could argue for either reason, but if there is a related cause like this that you choose not to address, your argument will be insincere and weak.
Organization of the Cause and Effect Essay
You have an initial choice to make in your cause and effect essay: which is your focus? You might choose to focus on one effect (e.g., Hitler’s rise to power in the 1940s) and explore its possible causes:
Effect: You may wish to examine the multiple reasons a phenomenon occurred.
Another option is to explore the multiple effects of one event, action, or decision.
Cause: You may wish to examine the various effects of a particular phenomenon.
For clarification purposes, we will identify the subject as the phenomenon in the circle on the left side of the graphic, either the one cause or the one effect.
Introduction
· Begin with a sensory image having to do with the subject of your essay (which could be either cause or effect). Here is an example from an essay that will go on to link “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland, which ended with the murder of Robert McCartney, to a series of decisions to militarize efforts at Irish reunification:
Bridgeen Hagans stood bleary-eyed at the door, trying to understand what the Belfast policeman was explaining: Her fiance, Robert McCartney, had been slit from chest to stomach by members of the Professional Irish Republican Army. There would be no wedding.
· Link the image to the effect(s) that will be examined.
Over 3600 people died in the 30-year span of The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
· Link the effect to the event(s), decision(s), or action(s) your paper will discuss.
Though the conflict is officially dated from 1968-1998, several decisions both before and after these dates comprise the reasons behind the deaths: decisions to militarize political action groups
· Expound on the specific event(s), decision(s), or action(s) your paper will focus on:
We will look specifically at the origins of the conflict dating all the way back to 1609, with the Scottish and English settlement of Ireland, the Civil Authorities Act of 1922, and the civil rights march in Derry in 1968. We will also examine the post-Good Friday Agreement violence resulting from militarization.
· Transition to your thesis statement by exposing the purpose of examining these linkages.
In the interest of lasting peace in Ireland and around the world, it is imperative to understand the roots of its undoing. By identifying the causes of The Troubles, we can begin to pinpoint the precursors of mortal conflict between cultures.
Body Paragraphs
· Your first body paragraph will describe your subject (the cause, or the effect, depending on your organization). Your reader will need to fully understand what it is you are attempting to explain or identify:
Most climate scientists agree the main cause of the current global warming trend is human expansion of the “greenhouse effect”— warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping. Long-lived gases that remain semi-permanently in the atmosphere and do not respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are described as “forcing” climate change. Gases, such as water vapor, which respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are seen as ‘feedbacks.’
· Subsequent body paragraphs, except for the final body paragraph, will each be dedicated to the causes or effects you will be examining (the causes of the phenomenon you have just described or the effects of the event/decision/action you have just described).
· Body paragraphs can be organized by the impact you anticipate they will have on the reader (often from less dramatic to most), or in chronological order. Choose the order that will make the most sense, both logically and emotionally, to the reader.
Water vapor. The most abundant greenhouse gas, but importantly, it acts as a feedback to the climate. Water vapor increases as the Earth’s atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of clouds and precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the greenhouse effect.
Carbon dioxide (CO2). A minor but very important component of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is released through natural processes such as respiration and volcano eruptions and through human activities such as deforestation, land use changes, and burning fossil fuels. Humans have increased atmospheric CO2 concentration by more than a third since the Industrial Revolution began. This is the most important long-lived “forcing” of climate change.
Methane. A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and human activities, including the decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture, and especially rice cultivation, as well as ruminant digestion and manure management associated with domestic livestock. On a molecule-for-molecule basis, methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but also one which is much less abundant in the atmosphere.
Nitrous oxide. A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Synthetic compounds entirely of industrial origin used in a number of applications, but now largely regulated in production and release to the atmosphere by international agreement for their ability to contribute to destruction of the ozone layer. They are also greenhouse gases.
· The final body paragraph will describe the significance of the relationship between the subject and the causes/effects just discussed.
On Earth, human activities are changing the natural greenhouse. Over the last century the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). This happens because the coal or oil burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO2. To a lesser extent, the clearing of land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities has increased concentrations of greenhouse gases.
Conclusion
Your conclusion will offer:
· a brief summary of your points linking cause(s) and effect(s)
· an indication of why these linkages are important, and to whom, and
· a link back to the introductory paragraph’s imagery, if appropriate.
· The following example is the conclusion to a 2015 article by Francisca Carvajal and Jose Manuel Lerma-Cabrera: Alcohol Consumption Among Adolescents — Implications for Public Health.
· At 1.8 billion, adolescents and young adults represent more than a quarter of the world’s population. Many health-related behaviors usually starting in adolescence (i.e. alcohol use) contribute to disease in adulthood. Several studies have indicated that a considerable amount of adolescents drink alcohol, and this number is continually growing. Nevertheless, the increase in alcohol use and abuse among adolescents has been coupled with increasing social, health and economic consequences. Adolescents who drink alcohol may experience a range of adverse short-and long-term consequences, including physical and mental health problems, violent and aggressive behavior, and adjustment problems in school and at home. Clearly, underage drinking and its consequences present a significant public health problem that must command our attention.
Comparison and Contrast
Efforts at comparison-contrast look at the commonalities of and differences between subjects in context in order to discern deeper meanings than might otherwise be possible.
Learning Objectives
Determine the purpose and structure of comparison and contrast.
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· The comparison-contrast method is used to expose the similarities and differences between two (or sometimes more) ideas.
· The point of comparison-contrast is to find a deeper understanding of both subjects and their context than you would in looking at the subjects alone.
· You can compare and contrast two subjects on even terms, or you can use one subject as a lens through which to view the other.
· The context for the comparison/contrast is as important to examine and explain as the subjects.
·
Prewriting
exercises using Venn diagrams or charts can be especially useful for this type of essay.
· Research on the context and both subjects of the essay will deepen your thought process and better ground your discussion.
· Body paragraphs in the comparison/contrast essay can be organized in a variety of ways, depending largely on the conclusions you want your reader to make.
· Both the introductory and concluding paragraphs of the comparison/contrast essay need to include explanations of and links between the context and subjects of study.
Key Terms
· comparison-contrast: A method of investigating a topic by comparing two or more subjects to discern their similarities and differences in a particular contextual frame.
This and That
The comparison-contrast rhetorical method is used to expose the similarities and differences between two or more ideas, resulting in a deeper understanding of both ideas and their relationship. Notice that we’re talking about ideas here, rather than “things,” or “texts.” That’s because the underlying theme, even when comparing two texts or two things, is always about the ideas they represent.
Comparing and contrasting are common activities our minds play with all the time. Like objects in space, we are drawn to one another almost gravitationally and want to know how we are all alike and different.
Knowing (or at least thinking about) how our behavior, our attitudes, our ideas, and our dreams match up to other people’s helps us make decisions. We may decide to try new things based on cultural patterns, or we might choose to buck the trends in favor of inner directives. Either way, though, this constant, subtle wondering about how we match up to others keeps our brains busy: for better or worse.
When we use this capacity for comparison in the realm of ideas, our intellect sparks to life. Diversity of opinion and thought is what perpetuates intellectual evolution. Exposure to two ideas that may be radically or only subtly different is exciting to the mind. We want to discern exactly how these ideas differ, what they have in common, and which might be the better option to choose in a given context.
You have an aunt who’s gone prematurely gray and wears her long locks proudly. Her mother (your grandmother), however, continuously dies her hair various shades of purple — violet one week, indigo the next — and relishes the wide-eyed wonder she sees in her grandchildren’s eyes. “You’re whatever age you want to be!” she laughs, while her daughter, your aunt, rolls her eyes and retorts, “You need to accept your body and yourself for who you are now.”
There’s nothing inherently wrong with either idea, right? But your mind will want to choose. That’s its nature. The exercise of comparing and contrasting makes this process conscious, turning “judging” into “discernment.” In the end, you might decide that both grandmother and aunt have hit upon important wisdom that, though different on the surface, both speak deeply to the idea of freedom.
Comparison-contrast essays distinguish themselves by their discernment capability. When looking at both similarities and differences between ideas, we are examining them with more care and rigor than some other methods require. Looking at a zebra and describing it gives you one level of information, while comparing its similarities and differences to a horse gives you another level: more nuanced and specific.
How to Recognize an Invitation to Compare and Contrast
In an academic setting, you might be assigned a comparison-contrast essay outright, but you might also be asked to compare and contrast using subtler language. Here are some examples:
· Discuss the role of “the stranger” as presented in D.H. Lawrence’s Snake and J. Rumi’s The Guest House. (Here, you’re being asked to compare two poems using a particular lens.)
· Tennessee Williams said that “We’re all of us sentenced to solitary confinement inside our own skins… Personal lyricism is the outcry from prisoner to prisoner from the cell in solitary where each is confined for the duration of his life.” How do the characters of Blanche Dubois, and Laura Wingfield embody both the solitary confinement metaphor and the outcry to other prisoners? (In this paper, you’ll be using two characters from different plays to delve into a meaningful comment by their creator.)
· How do the dual themes of socio-economic status and personal innocence compete to create the primary conflict in John Knowles’s A Separate Peace? (This is a question relating to two plot threads and their effects on the climax of the story.)
· Mina Loy, then in Florence, Italy, wrote to the feminist movement in 1914, “Cease to place your confidence in economic legislation, vice-crusades, and uniform education — you are glossing over Reality (sic). Professional and commercial careers are opening up for you — Is that all you want?” How might her comments be more or less applicable to the feminist movement of the 1970s and to women’s issues in present day? (You’re being asked to re-contextualize criticism of a particular movement in two different time periods.)
· Which of the currently available typesetting machinery would be appropriate purchases for a newly incorporated, mid-sized printing company? (Even in business settings, you’ll need to use effective compare-contrast methods; in this case, comparing machinery based on a variety of factors important to a new business.)
· Of the brassicas, which are the most likely to thrive in low pH soils with high levels of micronutrients? (Though we’re in the field of botany now, you’re still being asked to compare a group of things in a particular context.)
You can see that comparison-contrast works in a variety of different environments. In a general sense, any time you’re asked to evaluate two or more things in one context, you’re being asked to use this strategy.
Types of Comparison-Contrast Essays
The classic comparison-contrast essay gives equal time and equal emphasis to both of two subjects. You use this type of essay to discern similarities and differences, but also to reveal surprising revelations about their relationship.
A keyhole essay uses one subject as the frame to look at the other subject. Looking at the women’s suffrage movement through the lens of the women’s liberation movement would be an example. This kind of essay yields more specialized information than might otherwise be found.
How to Compare and Contrast
Prewriting
· The Venn diagram is a useful tool when approaching a comparison-contrast essay. Simply create two overlapping circles and begin putting in the similarities you see in the overlapping section and the contrasting pieces in the separated sections. Do this as a brainstorm, without worrying about whether items are parallel or important enough to be analyzed. That comes later.
Comparing/Contrasting Poems: You can use a Venn diagram or a chart or table to brainstorm and record your initial ideas about how the subjects are alike and different.
· A table/chart/graph exercise similarly helps you organize your ideas and research.
Great Divergence- 1550-1850: Laying out the similarities and differences in graph or table form can give you the visual your brain needs to formulate a coherent comparison between subjects.
Research
You’ll naturally want to learn everything you can about the subjects you’re working with—the two or more things you’re comparing and contrasting. But just as important is research about the context you’re comparing them in.
For example, in discussing the role of “the stranger” in both D.H. Lawrence’s Snake and J. Rumi’s The Guest House, your context is the concept of “the stranger.” You can research psychological and sociological views about strangers and fears; religious spiritual ideas and imagery speculating about what the presence of a stranger might indicate. You can go deeper and look up the Jungian concept of “shadow” and explore what other philosophers and psychologists have postulated. You could even find other literary references to strangers and shadows to get an idea of how the concept has been treated over time.
Structure of the Comparison-Contrast Essay
Introduction
The introduction will include exposition of
· the context for the comparison,
· a description of the subjects,
· the rationale for choosing the subjects you’ve chosen, and
· the thesis statement, which needs to make the relationship between subjects clear (often beginning with the word, “while” or “whereas”).
The Body Paragraphs
Body paragraphs can be organized by examining each subject one at a time:
Subject A
·
Point 1
·
Point 2
·
Point 3
Subject B
· Point 1
· Point 2
· Point 3
This way of organizing can be especially useful if you are describing topics that may be difficult to understand and need a cohesive description. Its downfall is that the compare/contrast section that follows can either get repetitious (because you’ll have to repeat points you’ve already made) or look more like a list than a coherent discussion.
You could choose a paragraph by paragraph comparison of the subjects:
Point 1
· Subject A
· Subject B
Point 2
· Subject A
· Subject B
Point 3
· Subject A
· Subject B
This is a common method of organization, with the advantage of being able to present your points and your subject comparisons together. The disadvantage is that switching back and forth between subjects can get tedious or confusing for the reader if the writing is either too repetitious or unclear.
Another organization option is to first compare and then contrast.
Point A (Similarity)
· Subject A
· Subject B
Point B (Similarity)
· Subject A
· Subject B
Point C (Difference)
· Subject A
· Subject B
Point D (Difference)
· Subject A
· Subject B
In this way, you are emphasizing the differences, since you leave them for last, so if you want the main thrust of your paper to be that the differences reveal the crux of the issue, this style of organization may be the most useful approach. One drawback, however, is that in waiting so long to find contrasts, the reader may get a little bored.
However you organize the body of your paper, each point of your argument must be linked back to the thesis; each point must shed light on the relationship of the subjects to the context of the argument.
Conclusion
Here, you will summarize your points succinctly in a way that makes it clear how your points have proven your thesis. (E.g., “So while so-called “alternative” sources of power are, in the short term, more expensive than more conventional types of power, it is clear that increased seed money will decrease these cost differences and even the playing field. In the long run, the cost-benefit analysis so clearly favors renewable energy, there is no question of its superiority both fiscally and in terms of environmental cost.”)
As with most essays, you will then want to broaden your point and link back to the introductory paragraph, if appropriate.
Definition
The rhetorical mode “definition” explains a term that may be contentious, controversial, or ambiguous so that the audience and writer develop a common understanding of the idea.
Learning Objectives
Determine the purpose and structure of definiton.
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· In order to be worthy of being defined in an essay, a term should be complex, with meanings that can be traced historically that might even be controversial, and that will yield important insight upon examination.
· Definitions include an exploration of the thinking of other scholars on the topic.
· Exploring the history of words and phrases can give the writer, as well as the reader, a new respect for the language and its evolution.
Key Terms
· definition: As a rhetorical mode, a detailed explanation of a term and the way it is being used in a particular context; possibly including historical uses and ideas about the term over time.
What, Exactly, Do You Mean?
A definition essay, or the definition portion of an essay or other type of writing, guides the audience to a common understanding of a word or concept. No need to overuse this form: you won’t want to waste your readers’ time defining ideas that are in standard usage. At times, though, there will be sufficient vagueness or dispute around a term that you’ll want to lead your readers through the process of defining it. And at times, the exploration of a term can be both topical and exciting!
The Definition Litmus Test
Of course, “vague” and “disputed” can exist in various degrees, so here’s a way for you to decide whether or not the idea you’re putting forward requires a definition:
1. Is the term complex enough to need clarification? The word “sentience,” for example, applied to philosophy, was originally used to distinguish emotion from reason, referring to the former exclusively. It has also been applied, through metaphysics and even science fiction, as a synonym for “consciousness” or “self-awareness,” and some traditions even argue that there are degrees of sentience.
2. Is there contention around the usage of the term? Tension and conflict make for compelling reading. In order to take the reader’s time, you’ll want to address issues fraught with contention. The idea of what constitutes a “sentient being,” for example has been disputed in relation to human and animal rights. Some say “sentience” connotes an ability to suffer and should indicate the need for protection. Others say that the ability to create abstractions is necessary for sentience, linking it to consciousness and therefore excluding animals and fetuses in any class protected as “sentient.”
3. Does the term have a storied history? Will tracing the origin of the idea offer insight into the usage(s) you are advocating? For example, the word “sentience” comes from the Latin word, “to feel” (sentire) as distinct from “to reason.” In the hands of later Westerners, it was used to indicate “the ability to experience sensations,” which offers a slight variation. It then entered the metaphysical parlance as “the ability to have subjective experience,” and so on.
4. Will creating a definition move the reader toward a new understanding of a broader issue? Why do you want to define the term? You’ll usually have a motive that includes persuading others to adopt one or another view of the topic.
Supporting Your Points
While speculation is not unheard of in definition essays (you are positing an opinion, after all), the bulk of your essay will need to be undergirded by supporting documents: the words of other thinkers on the topic, research done on the subject, and documentation of the various definitions that have evolved over time.
Structure of the Definition Essay
Introduction
You’ll want your reader to know right away why you’re choosing to define (or re-define) this term. You can begin with a sentence that illustrates the importance of the term, the reason it needs to be reexamined at this time, or even its controversial nature.
Body
In the body of the paper, you’ll need to address the evolution of the term, the controversy over the term, and the complexities that have caused confusion. Here, we will use the Sociology 2e text on the definition of “family,” by OpenStax CNS, as an example for each. They are in the order in which they appear in the original; note that the order in which the authors address the necessary parts of the body paragraph is dictated not by any particular form but by the way they flow best for the reader’s understanding.
· Controversy – Notice that in addition to referencing definitions that different groups hold of “family,” the authors lay out how they define family in this text. They also further define family by distinguishing types of families. They could have gone on to create more categories, but the two mentioned here are sufficient for this introduction to the concept.
The question of what constitutes a family is a prime area of debate in family sociology, as well as in politics and religion. Social conservatives tend to define the family in terms of structure with each family member filling a certain role (like father, mother, or child). Sociologists, on the other hand, tend to define family more in terms of the manner in which members relate to one another than on a strict configuration of status roles. Here, we’ll define family as a socially recognized group (usually joined by blood, marriage, cohabitation, or adoption) that forms an emotional connection and serves as an economic unit of society. Sociologists identify different types of families based on how one enters into them. A family of orientation refers to the family into which a person is born. A family of procreation describes one that is formed through marriage. These distinctions have cultural significance related to issues of lineage.
· Complexities – Here, the authors delve deeper into the meaning of “family” by exploring two approaches to its definition: “interactionism” and “functionalism.” Notice the supporting reference regarding the latter line of thought. Also notice that the authors are not asking the reader to make a choice between these two streams (as they did in the area of controversy) but are embracing both paradigms as valid and relevant and including them both in their definition.
Drawing on two sociological paradigms, the sociological understanding of what constitutes a family can be explained by symbolic interactionism as well as functionalism. These two theories indicate that families are groups in which participants view themselves as family members and act accordingly. In other words, families are groups in which people come together to form a strong primary group connection and maintain emotional ties to one another over a long period of time. Such families may include groups of close friends or teammates. In addition, the functionalist perspective views families as groups that perform vital roles for society—both internally (for the family itself) and externally (for society as a whole). Families provide for one another’s physical, emotional, and social well-being. Parents care for and socialize children. Later in life, adult children often care for elderly parents. While interactionism helps us understand the subjective experience of belonging to a “family,” functionalism illuminates the many purposes of families and their roles in the maintenance of a balanced society (Parsons and Bales 1956).
· Evolution – For this portion of the body, the authors offer a variety of current perspectives on the term “family” using studies to trace popular opinion. They have woven in the traditional interpretations of the concept, but to articulate them more explicitly might have proved tedious reading, since most of us have some familiarity with the history of this particular concept. Even if the historical information proved surprising, the authors were right to focus on current evolution since they are posing the question of how the concept is currently perceived. You will have to decide how far you want to delve into the history of the term you are exploring based on the relevance of each part of its evolution to your current thesis.
People in the United States as a whole are somewhat divided when it comes to determining what does and what does not constitute a family. In a 2010 survey conducted by professors at the University of Indiana, nearly all participants (99.8 percent) agreed that a husband, wife, and children constitute a family. Ninety-two percent stated that a husband and a wife without children still constitute a family. The numbers drop for less traditional structures: unmarried couples with children (83 percent), unmarried couples without children (39.6 percent), gay male couples with children (64 percent), and gay male couples without children (33 percent) (Powell et al. 2010). This survey revealed that children tend to be the key indicator in establishing “family” status: the percentage of individuals who agreed that unmarried couples and gay couples constitute a family nearly doubled when children were added.
The study also revealed that 60 percent of U.S. respondents agreed that if you consider yourself a family, you are a family (a concept that reinforces an interactionist perspective) (Powell 2010). The government, however, is not so flexible in its definition of “family.” The U.S. Census Bureau defines a family as “a group of two people or more (one of whom is the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together” (U.S. Census Bureau 2010). While this structured definition can be used as a means to consistently track family-related patterns over several years, it excludes individuals such as cohabitating unmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples. Legality aside, sociologists would argue that the general concept of family is more diverse and less structured than in years past. Society has given more leeway to the design of a family making room for what works for its members (Jayson 2010).
Conclusion
Your conclusion will offer a clarified working definition of the term, a brief restatement of the evolution of your reasoning, and a comment on the consequences of this decision as you and the reader move forward.
Georgia Wall’s ethnographic essay on the meaning of food and foodways to Italian immigrants in London as an exploration of the definition “heritage” offers such a conclusion:
The concept of heritage emerges through the narrative of Sud Italia as a key intersect between private affect and public articulation. Contradictions are implicit in the term, which appeals to institutional authorities, such as UNESCO, for the valorization and reification of apparently intensely personal values and practices; making pizza, or speaking a local language. These tensions are reflected in the pertinence it acquires in individual expression. Heritage is on the one hand an imprecise resource that is seen as embodied in family members and transmitted as an indefinite set of values, affects and practices, to which subscription marks out the boundaries of a collective. On the other, through the concept of “global heritage”, specific perspectives—predominantly Western—transform reservations regarding the present and/or future into a celebration of the past, bestowing significance upon certain practices and artefacts. Heritage therefore represents both personal explorations of meaning and the articulation of group affect and anxiety, and implicates both in hierarchies of power and authority. Further critical attention to the concept promises not only alternative ways of conceptualizing the life course and intergenerational transfer, but also new insights into the mobility of people, ideas, and things through and across time, and the changes in value these processes generate.
Writing definition essays can give you an entirely new way of looking at writing, having had the experience of delving deeply into the history of a word or phrase. Just like anything else, language is in a process of evolution. As writers, we are documenting the current climate in which these words exist, providing edification wherever it will be useful to the reader.
Description
The rhetorical mode “description” conveys sensory images to the reader so as to deeply connect him or her to the subject.
Learning Objectives
Determine the purpose and structure of description.
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Good description makes the reader feel as if they’re experiencing the subject.
· Sensory description can connect the reader emotionally to the material.
· While detailed sensory images are key to good descriptive passages, it is important to be discerning when selecting both type and number.
Key Terms
· sensory: relating to one of the five primary senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling
· Description: A rhetorical mode used to convey a mental image of an object, idea, situation, or event so that the reader feels connected to it through the senses.
A Mode of Transportation
Description is a rhetorical mode you’ll want in your toolbox because it places your reader in the scene you’re describing. You’ll likely relate this tool to fiction, because the best novels use description to capture our imagination.
Description in Fiction
Note the detailed imagery in this example from the Custom House Introductory to the Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which foreshadows the lack of mercy found by Hester Prynne.
Over the entrance hovers an enormous specimen of the American eagle, with outspread wings, a shield before her breast, and, if I recollect aright, a bunch of intermingled thunderbolts and barbed arrows in each claw. With the customary infirmity of temper that characterizes this unhappy fowl, she appears, by the fierceness of her beak and eye and the general truculency of her attitude, to threaten mischief to the inoffensive community; and especially to warn all citizens. careful of their safety, against intruding on the premises which she overshadows with her wings. Nevertheless, vixenly as she looks, many people are seeking, at this very moment, to shelter themselves under the wing of the federal eagle; imagining, I presume, that her bosom has all the softness and snugness of an eider-down pillow. But she has no great tenderness, even in her best of moods, and, sooner or later,–oftener soon than late,–is apt to fling off her nestlings with a scratch of her claw, a dab of her beak, or a rankling wound from her barbed arrows.
Using Description in Non-Fiction to Persuade or Inform
Note that description is equally useful in essays, especially when you are making an emotional appeal of some kind. Transporting your reader to a different place and time with sensory language can be a very convincing way to make a point.
The following passage, for example, could be used in a petition to give the Jemaa el-Fnaa, a marketplace in Marrakesh, protected UNESCO status:
During the day it is predominantly occupied by orange juice stalls, water sellers with traditional leather water-bags and brass cups, youths with chained Barbary apes and snake charmers, despite the protected status of these species under Moroccan law. As the day progresses, the entertainment on offer changes: the snake charmers depart, and late in the day the square becomes more crowded, with Chleuh dancing-boys (it would be against custom for girls to provide such entertainment), story-tellers (telling their tales in Berber or Arabic, to an audience of locals), magicians, and peddlers of traditional medicines. As darkness falls, the square fills with dozens of food-stalls as the number of people on the square peaks. The square is edged along one side by the Marrakesh souk, a traditional North African market catering both for the common daily needs of the locals, and for the tourist trade. On other sides are hotels and gardens and cafe terraces, and narrow streets lead into the alleys of the medina quarter. Once a bus station, the place was closed to vehicle traffic in the early 2000s. The authorities are well aware of its importance to the tourist trade, and a strong but discreet police presence ensures the safety of visitors.
Vivid description can help your audience make an emotional connection to your subject, which is where the true power of the written word lies.
Writing Descriptive Passages
It’s all well and good to read and appreciate descriptive passages, but how does one actually write one while avoiding the common pitfalls of overdoing sensory images or confusing the reader with too little specificity?
To use the following chart, put yourself in the scene you want to describe for your reader. Notice the sensory impressions you witness in your imagination (or in reality) and record them. When you begin writing a descriptive passage, you can use these details to help you convey the sense images you experienced.
Sensory Image Notes for Descriptive Passages: Make notes of the sensations you experience as you imagine the phenomenon you’re describing to your reader.
While you’ll want to fill in the chart as completely as possible, you’ll want to choose only a selection, only the most salient, to share with the reader. Here’s an example of going overboard a bit with description:
Chedwick’s hairy arm was slung carelessly over Luce’s delicate, birdlike shoulders. Her tiny, crooked nose wriggled involuntarily as the breeze crossed his armpit and gently carried his piquant scent her way. Her hair, meanwhile, had drifted lazily onto his neck and Chedwick had to resist slapping his Adam’s apple, so like a spider did it feel on his moist skin.
You can find a balance that sparks the reader’s imagination without overdoing the description. You can even add humor to the mix:
Shawn Achor “The Happiness Advantage: Linking Positive Brains to Performance”: Detailed description is an important part of humor, as well as pathos.
Notice how phrases like, “ready for a calvary charge,” “landed with a crash to the floor,” “she had landed on all fours on the ground,” “this wail of pain and suffering and surprise,” “my frantic seven-year-old brain,” and “scrambled back up onto the bunkbed with all the grace of a baby unicorn… with one broken leg” serve to draw the listener into the room with Shawn and his sister Amy.
Also notice that in each of the descriptive examples presented here, there is a sense of order, similar to a narrative, that serves to guide the reader’s imagination from one place to another. It may help to envision a film camera zooming in and around an area or a subject.
Whether you’re informing or persuading, putting your audience in the scene draws us in and makes us want to know more.
Illustration and Exemplification
Illustration and exemplification offers the reader internal images and stories to which to relate more abstract concepts and ideas.
Learning Objectives
Determine the purpose and structure of illustration and exemplification.
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Images and stories can serve to enhance a reader’s understanding of a concept or idea.
· While there may be a temptation to rely on cliches as illustrations, original language is usually more effective.
· You may choose to simply make reference to a story if you’re certain your audience will be familiar with it, but if you’re not certain, it’s better to retell the story.
· One story may be used and revisited throughout an essay as an example of the variations or the intricacies discussed.
· It’s useful to take the time to create or find an example that most closely relates to the concept you are discussing so that the reader feels an immediate “Aha” of recognition.
Key Terms
· exemplification: A rhetorical mode in which the writer uses one or more pertinent and concrete real or imagined examples of a concept in order to enhance the reader’s understanding.
· illustration: A literary device in which one uses imagery-rich examples to enhance understanding of a concept.
For Instance…
Before enlightenment: chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment: chop wood, carry water.
This short proverb serves to illustrate a concept that’s a bit abstract: that not much on the material plane changes once one has attained spiritual transcendence, though a great deal shifts internally. Those on a spiritual path will often chuckle on hearing this, because it is an apt description of the apparent irony of working so hard for something that shows so little outward change — but which is nonetheless the most meaningful transformation they can envision.
This moment of recognition in your audience is what you’ll be going for when you use the tools of illustration and exemplification in your writing. Consider these other examples of illustration, which have served (and yes, perhaps over-served) to clarify some abstract concepts over the years:
“He’s barking up the wrong tree.”
“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
“She’s just following the herd.”
Each of these illustrations gives us a picture in our minds of a situation analogous to the point we’re trying to get across and thereby clarifies the concept for us in an instant.
Exemplification serves the same purpose, but explains using specific examples. If you were trying to describe the “law of diminishing returns,” for example, in economics, you might say:
While the first ice cream cone tastes creamy and delicious, the eighth ice cream cone is enough to make you sick.
In just one sentence, your reader has a solid idea of the concept of diminishing returns because you’ve related it to something familiar to most of us. While we haven’t all tried eating eight ice cream cones in a row, we’re probably able to imagine what it’s like, based on similar experiences and extending them through our imagination.
Too Many Ice Creams: An illustration demonstrating the law of diminishing returns.
Don’t Get Tripped Up
The caution with illustrations and examples is to use original language as often as possible. One or two cliches like that above might serve the point well enough, but your real goal is to use language that will capture the reader’s imagination. Originality is the key.
How might you illustrate the following concepts without relying on cliches?
· flexibility in parenting (without referring to a willow tree)
· the love of a student for his mentor (without using the word “worship”)
· a suspicion that something isn’t safe (staying away from “gut feeling”)
· a very difficult task (avoiding “heroic”)
Now, consider how you would exemplify each of these concepts. Which do you find more effective?
There are little phrases in our language that combine illustration and exemplification. A “Sisyphean task,” for example, recalls the story of Sisyphus rolling a boulder up a hill endlessly, only to have it roll back down each time it gets almost to the top. People use it to explain a fruitless and frustrating endeavor.
A “Herculean task” has its roots in the stories of the challenges Hercules was forced to face and can refer to any deed that is very challenging to perform. (The Greek myths, in fact, are both illustrative and exemplary, as are Aesop’s Fables, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and the like.)
Using this kind of reference may be useful if you know your audience is familiar with the stories, but if you’re not certain, you’ll need to either tell the full story or use a different way of illustrating your point.
Storytelling
Telling a story can transcend many blocks to a reader’s attention, including the most difficult to overcome: defensiveness. Illustration and exemplification are ways to offer the reader a connection to the material you’re presenting: drawing them in by getting specific.
Dana had just finished her radio broadcast and was rushing out the door to get to the day care center when her boss called after her. “Dana, I was just talking with Conrad from accounting, and he had some ideas I’d like to bounce off you. Could you come in here for a moment?” Dana stopped and for a split second considered pretending she hadn’t heard, but instead she sighed, plastered on a pleasant expression, and followed her employer into his office.
Using this illustration at the beginning of an essay about the many roles women have to play in their daily lives immediately humanizes and depoliticizes the issue for the audience. Instead of telling us what it’s like, the author is showing us, and that’s the first rule of effective writing.
This device is often used to introduce a concept, and the example or illustration can be revisited throughout the paper to further explicate the points you are making. Dana, for example, might have different experiences based on your ideas of how to solve the problems women face. Or you may simply outline your points without using examples and then revisit Dana at the end of the paper as having implemented all the changes you suggest. Hopefully, she’s better off in this new illustrative story.
Cautions
· Be judicious and discerning with illustrations and examples. Make sure that you’re using the most appropriate example or illustration possible to enhance understanding.
· Don’t overuse exemplars, or your audience may become confused.
· Be cautious about using negative examples or illustrations that either disprove your point or show what happens if your point is not taken. Since imagery and examples tend to stick with a reader, it’s generally more effective to show what you do mean, rather than what you don’t mean.
· If you do refer back to one example throughout the paper, be consistent with the description of the character or scene, changing only one variable at a time to illustrate a point.
How to Write an Illustration/Exemplification Essay
While most of the time, you’ll be using illustrations and examples to reinforce points in an essay, there will be times when the whole point of your essay is to explain a concept using illustration and exemplification. When that’s the case, here’s how to organize it:
Introduction
This paragraph tells your audience about the concept you’ll be illustrating. You may wish to initiate one example that you’ll be using as the anchoring theme throughout the paper, or you may wish to simply describe the concept here.
Illustrative/Exemplifying Paragraphs
Two or more paragraphs offer illustrations or examples — usually one per paragraph — to show the audience what the concept looks/smells/feels/tastes/sounds like in life (real or imagined life). Your examples can also serve to distinguish the concept from similar concepts or opposite concepts, if that will help clarify.
Conclusion
Here, you will restate the concept you’re examining and revisit the introductory example, or all examples. Or you may choose to create one final strong example to cement your reader’s understanding.
Using Examples to Explain a Concept: The filmmaker uses references to heroes in popular books and movies to exemplify the hero’s journey.
Narration
The narrative rhetorical mode is a natural and appealing way to present or reinforce a perspective in the form of a story.
Learning Objectives
Determine the purpose and structure of narration.
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· The narrative rhetorical mode uses storytelling to support a point or to educate an audience on a particular topic.
· Storytelling is so deeply ingrained in human relationships and society that readers may be more open to and enthusiastic about narrative as a technique.
· Satirical narrative offers one story as an allegorical criticism of a real-life event or situation.
· Narrative is made clear by exposing the events in small pieces, in chronological order.
· Narrative is made more interesting using literary devices like suspense, imagery and verisimilitude to put the reader in the scene.
Key Terms
· verisimilitude: The inclusion of seemingly truthful details appropriate to the story being told so as to make it believable to the reader.
· imagery: Language used in description through sensory experience.
· Narrative: In writing, telling a story, using descriptive elements, in chronological order, to support a point.
The Thing We Need Most in the World
I had decided to become an anthropologist—in May, 1923—because Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict had presented the tasks of anthropology as more urgent than any other task which lay ready to the choice of a student of human behavior.
What feelings and thoughts does this quote by Margaret Mead bring up in you when you read it? Why does she include this personal glimpse in her preface to the 1949 edition of Coming of Age in Samoa?
By using even a brief personal story, Mead is helping her readers relate to her and open to her viewpoint. Her mentors and teachers instilled in her a sense of purpose — an urgent one, at that — to study human behavior as it happens naturally in a variety of societies and cultures. We can all relate to the feeling of longing for a sense of purpose, even though we may not have an interest in anthropology specifically. Most of us will nod knowingly at her decision because we understand that when one finds a sense of purpose, the will to make it happen follows strongly.
Narrative reports to the reader a story related to the point the writer is trying to make. The reason we use narrative is because storytelling is the most natural way for us humans to communicate. Not unlike ethnography, it’s both a way we find of relating to one another and a way we learn to understand our differences.
We use stories to educate and to entertain. Stories feel friendlier than lists of facts or citations of scientific studies. Humans seem to hunger for stories, and so narrative may be the most well-received of rhetorical devices.
As Philip Pullman said,
After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.
Using Narrative
You’ll find narrative useful in an essay when you want your reader to identify with your perspective or with the view taken by one of your characters or subjects. Documentary filmmaking is full of narrative examples: people tell us the story of what happened as if they were witnesses, even if the event happened many years before they were born. It’s an effective technique because the filmmaker weaves a tale for us through each narrator.
You can take a similar approach in writing, laying out the facts of a story interspersed with first-person perspectives. Or you might, as Mead did, offer your reader insight into your own thought process as you came to understand the concept or event.
Satire can be a particularly effective form of narrative, exemplified by Animal Farm and Gulliver’s Travels, as it exposes the defects in an idea or society by telling a fictional tale of a different social group. Fictional characters stand in for real people or play out social ideas, usually political in nature.
Satire: Stephen Colbert made a career of satirical narrative, using the “personal experience” of a character he pretended to be to illustrate the opposite of his actual viewpoint.
Writing the Narrative Essay
If you are using narration as the primary strategy in writing a paper, you will use some semblance of the following format:
Introduction
Here, you will give a description of the event you will be spelling out in the essay and the reason(s) you’re examining it. Why should your audience be interested? Your final introductory sentence will state simply that you are offering a narrative account of the event.
Narrative Paragraphs
You will divide the event into smaller events and give each of these smaller incidents a paragraph. These will be simple explanations of what happened when, though in a more complex essay you might include reasons for each event and comparisons to another, more current circumstance. Accounts by historians, witnesses, or thought leaders can be woven into the narrative to strengthen the perspective you’re offering or to offer the possibility of another perspective, in an effort to provide an objective report.
You’ll want to make each portion of the narrative interesting to the reader, so use literary devices like suspense, imagery, verisimilitude, and surprise, perhaps along with a little humor, if appropriate, to keep your audience engaged.
Conclusion
You’ll leave your reader with a summary of the event and make reference to the reason(s) for examining it that you presented in the introduction. You may decide to end with some ideas about how this event is relevant to the reader and to the world at this time.
The checklist for a narrative essay:
· Have a clear purpose.
· Tell the story clearly and chronologically.
· Make the narrative interesting.
· Relate it to something larger than itself, either overtly, or covertly.
Happy storytelling!
Process Analysis
Process analysis describe in detail how something is accomplished or created.
Learning Objectives
Determine the purpose and structure of process analysis.
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Process analysis describes how something is done.
· An informative process analysis describes how something happens.
· A descriptive process analysis gives instructions for how to do something.
· Process analysis consists of breaking a whole into its parts and explaining each part.
· The body paragraphs of process analysis essays may be organized in a variety of ways, depending on what will be most useful to a reader seeking clarity of instruction.
Key Terms
· informative analysis: A description of how something happens or is accomplished.
· directive analysis: A step-by-step instructive tutorial.
· Process analysis: A step-by-step explanation of how something is done.
Here’s the How
Process analysis answers the “how” question with the idea that readers will be able to replicate a process themselves, or at least thoroughly understand it, after reading the paper. That means it needs to be both detailed and thorough.
It doesn’t follow that it needs to be long, however. Consider this example:
Laws begin as ideas. First, a representative sponsors a bill. The bill is then assigned to a committee for study. If released by the committee, the bill is put on a calendar to be voted on, debated or amended. If the bill passes by simple majority (218 of 435), the bill moves to the Senate. In the Senate, the bill is assigned to another committee and, if released, debated and voted on. Again, a simple majority (51 of 100) passes the bill. Finally, a conference committee made of House and Senate members works out any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The resulting bill returns to the House and Senate for final approval. The Government Printing Office prints the revised bill in a process called enrolling. The President has 10 days to sign or veto the enrolled bill.
A complex process has been explained completely by breaking it into parts and briefly describing each step.
Purposes
There are two possible reasons you’d want to write a process analysis. One is illustrated by the paragraph above explaining how a bill becomes a law: the informative analysis. The purpose here is to help people understand how something happens.
A directive analysis shows the reader how to do something himself or herself. You might teach the reader to fish, for example, or demonstrate the steps to defuse an incendiary device.
In either case, gathering all the steps and putting them into the correct order are your two prewriting tasks.
The Process Analysis Essay
You may, of course, decide to use process analysis as part of any kind of writing, from a blog post about house cleaning to a letter to your grandmother about advanced Google searches. But in academic work, you maybe asked to write a specific essay dedicated to process analysis. Here’s how it will look:
Introduction
Here, you’ll want to briefly explain the “why” of your paper. What purpose does the soon-to-be-described activity or process serve? You’ll also list each step and then state the general idea of what you’re describing in the last sentence of the paragraph.
Body Paragraphs
Each paragraph of the body of the paper will describe a specific step or stage of the process. You can begin with the “why” of the step, including how it naturally follows the previous step, if appropriate, and then describe the step in detail. You can end the paragraph with a lead-in to the next stage of the process.
You will want to organize the material in whatever way will be the most useful to your audience. For example, a process analysis of pruning an apple tree will need to be divided based on the stage of growth of the tree, the time of year, and the goal of pruning. In such cases, numbering sections can help if you direct the reader, as in, “If you are dealing with old or neglected trees, skip to Section Two.”
Conclusion
Here, you’ll recap the steps briefly and expand on the usefulness of the process. As usual with conclusions, you’ll move from the specific to the broad. Here is an example of the last sentence of a concluding paragraph:
Whether your work is rescuing an old orchard, cultivating a new one, or simply trimming a single tree, your reward will be a bounty of blooms in the spring, followed in the fall by the supreme sweetness that can only come from fruit you’ve grown yourself.
Examples of process analysis are all over the web. It’s one of the most exciting benefits of the internet. Here’s a creative tutorial:
An Example of a Process Analysis: Useful, interesting, and fun to implement!
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Steps of Writing a Paper
Step 1: Prewriting and Choosing a Topic
Prewriting can help you take a general topic and make it more specific.
Learning Objectives
Explain the different types of prewriting exercises
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· During prewriting exercises, it is important to record everything that comes to mind without editing as you write. You can use the various techniques to generate a number of different ideas to choose from to formulate your topic.
·
Brainstorming
can help you find where your true interests lie and what part of a topic you might want to delve into further.
·
Freewriting
can help you generate new ideas about a topic by writing nonstop, without editing, for a set amount of time.
·
Clustering
, or concept mapping, can help you refine your thoughts and narrow the scope of a topic by making a map or diagram of different ideas you associate with a central topic.
Key Terms
· clustering: A prewriting technique consisting of writing a central idea in a circle on a sheet of paper, adding related ideas around the circle, and connecting them with lines to show how they related to each other.
·
Outlining
: A prewriting activity that allows you to organize to your ideas by placing them into an ordered sequence of primary and secondary ideas, which shows the relationship of the parts to the whole.
· concept map: A diagram that shows the relationships between concepts. Concepts are written in circles or rectangular boxes, which are connected by arrows that are labeled with phrases such as “is a,” “gives rise to,” “results in,” “is required by,” or “contributes to” that denote the relationships between concepts.
· freewriting: A prewriting technique in which the writer writes continuously for a set period of time without regard to spelling, grammar, or topic.
· brainstorming: A prewriting technique intended to generate creative ideas quickly and without editing, through word
or idea association.
Writing often feels demanding and difficult because you are doing two seemingly contradictory things at the same time: creating and containing. You want your ideas to flow like a river, swift and strong, but if you pour out your ideas indiscriminately, the river will overflow its banks. You have to be judicious about the amount of information you include and selective with your word choices. Both freedom and structure are necessary to contain and direct the flow.
When you have no idea what to write about, prewriting can help get ideas flowing. Prewriting refers to what you do before you begin writing, whether that’s brainstorming, making a concept map, or making an outline. By prewriting, you can give organization and logical coherence to your ideas. You might be tempted to save time by skipping the prewriting stage, but, ultimately, putting a little extra work in at the beginning can save you time—and stress—especially when you’re writing a paper close to your deadline. The tools used in the prewriting stage can be used at any point in the writing process to help you clarify your ideas, to help you decide what direction to take, and to nurture creativity when you’re feeling stuck.
Brainstorming, freewriting, and clustering are three forms of prewriting that help spark ideas and can move you closer to the heart of what you think and feel about a topic. And, yes, even in an expository composition, heart matters! You’re much more likely to write an interesting paper if you care about the topic. Let’s explore how these three primary methods work.
Brainstorming
You might have heard the phrase, “There are no bad ideas in brainstorming.” This is another way of saying that it can be helpful to gather all of your ideas about a topic (even the bad ones) just to get started. This process is called brainstorming. You do this with another person or in a group, and each person contributes thoughts about the subject in a rapid-fire way. Afterwards, you can pick the best ideas and compile a list. Often, in the process of brainstorming, you will discover that many of your ideas are already connected to one another. Having these connected ideas already laid out will help you to form an outline more easily.
Notebooks: Freewriting can be a great way to get ideas moving.
Freewriting
Freewriting can come in handy if you have a general topic but are not sure what you want to say about it. The purpose of freewriting is to help you develop ideas spontaneously and naturally. Set yourself a time limit, and then start writing about your topic, recording thoughts in full sentences as they come into your mind. Do not edit as you go or even look back at what you have written, and try to avoid any distractions. Just keep writing as thoughts occur to you.
Clustering
The goal of clustering, or concept mapping, is to generate lots of ideas about a very broad topic, much like freewriting. You begin by writing down a key word in the middle of a blank page. You continue without pausing to jot down the words you associate with the key word, circling them, and drawing a line to connect them with the key word. As each word triggers new ideas, you write those down, circle them, and connect them with the word that inspired them, radiating out to create a concept map. You can then choose the ideas you think are best suited for your assignment and use the organization of the concept map to guide your writing.
Outlining
After collecting your ideas, but before turning them into an essay, many people find it helpful to produce an outline. Outlining shows how particular ideas fit—or don’t fit—into a cohesive whole. You designate your primary ideas and group subordinate or supporting ideas underneath them. This is the first stage in structuring the essay itself.
Step 2: Researching
Researching your subject is an important step in writing because it helps you narrow your focus.
Learning Objectives
Identify useful techniques for the research process.
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Research is done to back up claims and verify specific data.Research is done to inform your own opinion, not to echo others’ thoughts.
· Continually asking increasingly specific questions about your topic will help keep your research focused and under control.
· Staying open to alternative ideas during the research phase will make for a better-informed opinion and a stronger paper.
· Keeping records of resources as you do your research will make the writing process less daunting.
· A strong thesis statement is specific, focused, and holds tension between ideas.
· Using prewriting techniques during the research phase can help refine and reorient the direction of research.
The primary thing to keep in mind during the research phase
is that you’re seeking primarily to inform your own thinking on the topic. You’re not looking at what others have written in order to provide you with an opinion. The point of
writing the paper is to explore your own thoughts about a topic. Research also helps you verify specific data and back up any claims you may make in your paper.
It’s useful to begin with a few questions related to your topic. These should be aspects of the topic that have made you curious. If you haven’t found such questions, do some more prewriting exercises to get your creative juices and intellectual passions flowing.
The attitude with which to begin searching is, “I want to know what other people have discovered when examining the same question.” At this point you’re not looking for evidence to prove a position. Your mind is open to all the possibilities. Think of it as gathering all the best thinkers on this topic in one room to have a discussion. You’re the moderator of the discussion, and you want to hear from everyone before you make up your mind. If you keep this mindset during the research phase, you’re more likely to write an engaging final paper.
Narrowing the Scope
Of course, with the vast amount of information available at our fingertips today, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to read everything ever written on a topic. It’s useful, therefore, to create some guidelines for your search that will narrow the pool.
Ask yourself, for example, whether your topic has a timeless quality or is best informed by recent opinion. A paper exploring whether Hamlet’s goal of revenge was achieved could draw on sources from all ages, whereas the theme of revenge in recent political events would require current sources.
When you write expository essays, you hear a lot about primary and secondary research. A primary source is authored by the person who conducted the study, or who created the particular theory or line of thought being discussed. Secondary sources may quote primary sources to support a point or draw conclusions from examining many primary sources. Most of the time, it’s useful to initially consult secondary sources because they can point you toward the primary sources that most interest you.
For the purpose of your paper, you’ll want to quote the study or the thinker (the primary source) directly—first, because you want to be sure you really understand what the author is concluding (secondary sources can misrepresent the primary source), and second, because by reading the primary source, you’ll get the whole picture, rather than just the part selected by the secondary source’s author. Remember, you’re assembling the best thinkers, and you want to understand all of their arguments.
Diving In
So, how does one begin? With all the cautions about not using the Internet for research, if we keep in mind that we’re after primary sources, we needn’t be afraid of using a search engine to begin our investigation. While Wikipedia isn’t acceptable as a source itself, it can certainly give us a starting point. Putting your question right into your search engine can start you on a treasure hunt. Even just scanning the list, you can jot down some ideas that help better define what you’re interested in finding out. As you click, you can begin to follow “clues” to what leading thinkers or researchers (depending on my topic) have concluded.
Here’s how a student might winnow a research topic about the women’s movement in the 1970s. She begins with the question, “How has the women’s movement of the 1970s affected today’s women?” Putting that question into a search engine yields many articles, some very recent. Reading a few of these (and taking notes as she goes on exactly where she got her information) leads her to make the statement, “Largely due to the radical feminist faction of the 1970s women’s movement, girls born in the twenty-first century have opportunities and expectations well beyond what was possible for those born in the middle of the twentieth century.” Though this will not be her final thesis statement (find out why, below), it is narrow enough for her to start finding more specific information.
Be Ready to Change Course
As you narrow the scope of your research, you’ll be finding out things you didn’t know and encountering perspectives you hadn’t considered. Resist the temptation to ignore that which contradicts the conclusion you were heading toward. You might actually change your mind in the course of your research, and that just shows how flexible your thinking is. You can also keep an open mind about how you’re going to present your paper. The student above, for example, may find so many comparisons in her reading to the women’s suffrage movement that she becomes intrigued and writes an essay contrasting the ERA campaign with the campaign for women’s suffrage.
Back to the Drawing Board
At any time during the research process, you can clarify your thinking by using one of the prewriting exercises. Sometimes, a concept map can be of use during this phase, helping you see how things are related. You might find that what you thought was the central question is actually one of your arguments, and most of your lines come off a different bubble, which you can decide to make your thesis.
How Researching Can Go Wrong
Too Many Sources: Continually making your search more specific will help you avoid getting overwhelmed by research.
The reason some people dread research is that they feel overwhelmed. It’s easy to do if you continually look at all the information available on a topic. It’s simply impossible to read and digest all that information! The solution is to recognize that you’re in control of the process. You have a question, you find information that informs you, and you make your question more specific. You keep at it (a more specific question, finding a variety of well-thought-out answers to the question, which lead to a still-more-specific question) until you feel confident creating a statement you can stand behind.
Another thing that can trip us up is neglecting to keep track of where we find what. There are useful software programs designed to help organize quotes and points with their source material, but all that’s necessary is pen and paper or a computer document. As you read, if you find something relevant, immediately make a note of the reference material for that source (book, article, website) and then underneath, enter the relevant research. There are more complicated methods for longer papers, but generally this works fine for essays. Just be sure you know in advance what form your references will need to take, so you gather all the information you’ll need. You don’t want to have to seek out every source again when you’re writing your reference page. Ideally, you’ll code each piece of text you put into your paper so that you always know which reference it’s attached to, even if you move it around in the paper.
Step 3: Outlining
After you choose your topic and assemble your research, organize your ideas before you start drafting.
Learning Objectives
Recognize the different uses for an outline as a tool
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Outlining the structure and organization of your paper before you start writing will save you time and help you form a stronger argument.
· The order in which you lay out your evidence can determine how convincing your argument is to your readers.
· Assembling an argument is a three-step process: (1) drawing conclusions based on evidence; (2) clearly explaining how you drew those conclusions; and (3) structuring your argument for maximum impact.
The Purpose of the Outline
Now that you have chosen your thesis statement and researched evidence to support your various claims, you need to organize it all into a coherent, logical structure.
An outline is a great way to troubleshoot and firm up your argument before you commit to it in a draft. It’s like planning out a route before you take your trip: it will save you a great deal of time and will help you foresee roadblocks before you get to them. You’ll be able to see whether you have enough evidence to support a given claim, whether your claims support your larger thesis, how to link your arguments and counter-arguments, and what order of presented evidence feels most powerful.
Putting the pieces together: Once you have the elements of your argument, you need to connect them together in an outline, forming the skeleton of an argument that makes sense.
Getting Started
1. Write your first claim/point on an index card, and then write each piece of supporting evidence on half an index card. (You can use shorthand for the research —as long as you know what it is.) Put all of your ideas on these cards, so you can get the full picture.
For example:
· Claim: Public-service campaigns designed to change consumer habits regarding electrical use, while successful, have had only minimal impact on factors contributing to climate change.
·
Evidence
: Study 1: Household electrical use falls by __% after consolidated ad campaign by environmental lobby.
· Evidence: Study 2: Scientists report that much more must be done to stem climate change. Lowered power usage by consumers is not sufficient.
· Evidence: Study 3: Pie graph showing reasons for climate change.
· Backing: Mention recent weather disasters?
2. Do the same with the other claims and pieces of evidence.
3. Now you can rearrange the pieces of evidence as necessary to go with the most appropriate claim. For example, the third piece of evidence, above, might not be necessary for that particular claim, because the other evidence is strong enough. The pie graph might make more of an impact if you wait and include it with the claim about the agricultural environmental footprint. You might also decide that the additional backing about recent weather disasters makes your argument weaker, rather than stronger, because it isn’t evidence-based and has little to do with the claim.
4. Once you’re fairly sure of your order, put tape on the back of the index cards and tape them, in outline form, onto a piece of poster board with the thesis written at the top. Leave this somewhere prominent in your work space, so you can make changes as they come to you.
Questions to Ask Yourself
There is no easy-to-follow formula for creating the perfect argument structure. The way you organize your paper will vary depending on what your goal is and what elements of the argument you want to emphasize. In general, ask yourself the following questions:
· Does the thesis introduce and give context for the discussion that follows?
· Do any ideas lack a foundation that needs to be addressed earlier in the paper?
· Does every claim have the evidence necessary to support it?
· Have you weeded out extraneous evidence?
· Do you want to lead with your strongest claim, or do you want to save it for the end of your paper so you can finish on a strong note?
· Where do you need to make claims explicit, and where will your audience understand them even if they are only implied?
· Where do you want to address your opposition? Does it make more sense to do it early on to preempt audience objections, or would you be better off building up your argument before addressing any counter-arguments?
The outline stage allows you to experiment with different ways of organizing. You can (and probably will) change the structure of your argument when you draft your paper, and perhaps again when you revise. If you plan your structure but realize that it isn’t working once you sit down and write, feel free to move elements around.
Using the Outline as a Tool
Here are some ways to use the outline to make a better argument.
· Read your thesis, claims, and evidence out loud to a friend. Ask your friend if the argument makes sense and what he or she would change to make it stronger. Ask what was the strongest part of the argument and why (so you can decide both where to put the strongest punch and how to shore up the other claims).
· Leave enough time after creating your outline to get at least a night’s sleep before writing your first draft. Often, some time away will allow your mind to reveal problems with the argument and may even provide the solutions!
· If you find that your argument doesn’t feel very strong, don’t hesitate to go back to the research phase to find additional evidence. Most successful writers go back and forth from stage to stage often as they write. As you learn more about both the topic and the argument you want to make, you’ll have a clearer idea of the kinds of studies to look for. As you find additional evidence, you may decide to create a new claim or even to tweak your thesis.
· Play devil’s advocate. Looking at your outline board, come up with counter-arguments and questions for each claim. You can even put these on the board on different color index cards. Make it your goal to address these questions and counter-arguments sufficiently in your essay.
· Think about transitions. Does one topic lead naturally to another? How is the subject of each paragraph related to the subject of the next paragraph? After each claim, ask, “What does the reader need to know next?” You may need to rearrange the order based on the ease of transition from one topic to the next.
· For each index card (each claim, piece of evidence, each backing concept), ask yourself, “How is this important to the thesis?” If you can’t answer, consider that you may be using evidence simply because you collected it, not because it supports the overall idea of the essay.
Step 4: Drafting
The drafting phase creates a coherent path for the reader to follow from thesis to conclusion.
Learning Objectives
Describe the different types of paragraphs in an essay
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· The drafting phase is about leading the reader down the path of evidence to reach the conclusion you set out in your thesis statement.
· The introduction needs to be both interesting to the reader and a coherent guide to the paper.
· Each body paragraph contains one point and the evidence to support the point.
· Evidence should not be used to support more than one point.
· Anticipatory questions should guide body construction.
· The conclusion synthesizes, rather than restates, the argument.
Your thesis will condense a series of claims into one or two sentences. To prove your thesis, you will need to articulate these claims and convince the reader that they are true. Consequently, the majority of your paper will be dedicated to presenting and analyzing evidence that supports your claims.
By the time you start writing, you should already have conducted research and assembled your evidence. You should also know from your outline which pieces of evidence you want to use to back up each claim. What you have probably not finished working out is how you want to present those pieces of evidence and tie all the claims together. The first draft is the time to focus on doing that.
Drafting Best Practices
Writing drafts makes the work more manageable. It also builds in the time necessary for your brain to integrate the information and come up with new ways to present it. With that in mind, here are some ways to maximize the benefits of drafting:
Write without editing: Drafting gets your ideas onto paper, which gives you more to work with than the perfectionist’s daunting blank screen. You can always return later to fix the mistakes that drove you crazy. If you get stuck, just jump to the next paragraph. At this stage, your goal is to keep writing.
Allow time between drafts: One of the great benefits of writing a series of drafts is that it allows your brain to sift through the information layer by layer. When you write and then take a break, especially if the break includes a good night’s sleep, the next time you approach your paper you’ll have new ideas, and problems will be solved.
Recognize that you may need to narrow the scope of the paper: If you’re feeling overwhelmed and trying to manage mounds of evidence, it may be that the scope of the paper is simply too large. The drafting stage is about seeing what works and what doesn’t, so don’t hesitate to trim, discard, and shift as necessary.
Revisit prior stages of the process as needed to move forward: If you’re feeling stuck or unsure, go play with your outline. If you haven’t already put your points on index cards, do that now so you can move them around. If you’re finding that your evidence seems scanty, go back to the research phase. And if you need creative inspiration, doodle a concept map around your paragraph’s claim or chat about it with a friend. Try not to resist these steps “back”—writing is not linear, it’s iterative. Enjoy the benefits of that.
Evidence
The first thing you should assemble is evidence. You cannot make a good argument unless you have strong evidence in sufficient amounts. It is the foundation of the rest of your paper—every claim you make and conclusion you draw must be backed up by the evidence you present.
Evidence can come in many forms: data, written reports or articles, graphs or visual representations, even anecdotes and interviews. Choose whatever forms work best for your argument. While it is important to provide enough evidence to support your argument, be selective about what you use. It is better to choose several very convincing pieces of evidence than to have many different pieces that are only vaguely convincing. Also be careful about how reliable your evidence is. Faulty evidence can damage the credibility of your entire paper, so make sure that everything you use is accurate and comes from a trustworthy source.
Next
, you want to be clear on what conclusions you are drawing. Make sure that every conclusion corresponds to some piece of evidence. Also have an idea of how you want to organize your conclusions, particularly the order in which you will present them.
Conclusion
s should build on each other. Figure out how they fit together before you start writing, and your paper’s structure will benefit from it.
Warrants are the way in which you link evidence to conclusions. Broadly speaking, “warrant” refers to the explanation of your reasoning. Even though you will not state every warrant openly, you need to make sure that they all hold up under questioning. If required, you need to be able to articulate to the audience why evidence supports claims and conclusions. You should also have an idea of what parts of your argument are complex or important enough that your warrants will need to be stated explicitly.
Paragraph Types
You have your thesis and all of the points of argument and counter-argument mapped out, along with their supporting evidence. The thesis often appears in the opening paragraph of the paper, although you may choose to construct a different form for your paper. Each point of argument or counter-argument will have a paragraph of its own. You’ll want to conclude the paper by bringing the points together and giving the reader a sense of closure.
Introduction
Your paper’s opening lets the reader know what the topic is and, usually, leads him or her to your thesis statement.
Guidelines for construction:
Consider writing the introductory paragraph(s) last, rather than first: It’s easier to introduce something you know thoroughly. Also, it’s vital to be creative in this first paragraph, and after you’ve written your paper, you’ll feel freer to play with words and ideas. You can go back to the prewriting exercises to spark ideas for the approach you’ll take.
Let your topic and style of argument guide your method of introduction: A controversial topic that includes strong parries with counter-arguments might best be introduced by a provocative statement. A story about how the topic garnered your interest might be an inviting introduction to a paper that includes personal anecdotes. You might decide to begin with the question or conundrum that leads to your topic sentence. An analogy or metaphor could be a way to introduce a subject that’s difficult to understand or is well-worn and needs a new perspective. Some topics are best described with imagery. Don’t limit yourself to pedantic facts that plod toward the thesis statement.
Make it interesting for the reader: A good writer always keeps in mind that there’s potential for publication in every piece of writing. Even if on the first round there will be only one reader, write as if you have a broad audience. You need a strong start if you want the reader to read more than the first few sentences. You make it interesting by making strong statements. If it doesn’t captivate you, it won’t interest your audience. Take a risk and be bold. Why should anyone care about this topic Show us!
Also make it a coherent guide to the paper: At the same time as you’re making your introduction intriguing and captivating, you want to make it logical. You needn’t give away the secrets of your argument in the introduction (e.g., “I will show that this thesis is true by proving X, Y, and Z”), but you will need to create a clear path to the thesis and give us an idea of the terrain we’ll be crossing.
Example
He’s eighteen years old, this soldier, just out of public school. The cliche about not being able to grow a full beard actually applies, and he’s cut himself shaving enough to have tiny scars healing on his thin face. He sits on the ground a few feet from the rubble, open-mouthed and barely breathing. The bomb must’ve been in the engine. The jeep’s door is a yard behind him and his buddies, well, he can’t see all the bodies, but there’s no question that they’re dead. And something inside him is dying too.
This story isn’t as rare as we civilians would like to think. Estimates from the Veterans Administration put the percentage of military personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) between 11 and 20%, and U.S. veteran suicides average one per day. Although the government is up to $2 billion dollars spent on treatment for PTSD, there is a cap on what is offered to an individual. Asking for additional assistance can simply be too stressful for an already vulnerable veteran. Clearly, more of the military’s financial resources must be directed toward rehabilitating men and women who’ve experienced military combat. It is our responsibility as civilians to ensure their treatment and recovery.
What technique did the writer use to capture your attention? Did it work? What other elements of a good introduction did you notice here? What elements are missing? Can you find the thesis? What do you think about the use of statistics in the second paragraph? What would you do differently if you were introducing this thesis?
Body Paragraphs
When analyzing your evidence, be as thorough and clear as possible. You may be familiar with the rhetorical strategy of logos, or step-by-step rational argument. It will probably be helpful to adopt that as a model and conduct your analysis through progressive points, each one of which builds off the previous one. Even if it seems like you are oversimplifying things, it is better to give your audience too much analysis than too little. Make sure every step is included, and that the description of your evidence’s purpose is clear. You do not want any part of your process to be ambiguous for your readers, or they may stop understanding or agreeing with your argument.
Revisiting your outline, you’ll see your strategy for building your argument. Whether you start off with your strongest point or a counter-argument, or you reel your reader in slowly, your body paragraphs will each have the following elements:
Each paragraph addresses one (and only one) idea in support of the thesis: Think of each paragraph as a point to be made, and then gather the resources around it. You can have several pieces of evidence in a paragraph, but each piece should be supporting that one point. In turn, of course, each paragraph (each point) supports the thesis. Keep in mind that with each paragraph, you’re wanting the reader to become less skeptical about your thesis. You’re creating an aha moment for the reader with each paragraph’s concluding sentence.
Eliminate redundancy: If you can make only three strong arguments in support of your thesis, don’t try to add more. You’ll weaken your case by muddling the reader. Don’t re-use evidence to support more than one point, either—it activates suspicion in the reader. And don’t make the common mistake of restating your thesis. Each paragraph needs its own focus. You want the reader drawing the conclusion that this point supports the thesis.
Paragraphs that articulate a counter-argument need to refute it: Perhaps it goes without saying, but if you’re going to bring up a counter-argument (and this is an excellent strategy), you need to acknowledge it and then give the reasons it does not lead to the conclusion its proponents espouse. You aren’t trying to make their argument, you’re bringing it up because you know it’s probably in your reader’s mind and you must address it to argue successfully.
Anticipating readers’ questions makes your argument flow: Look at your argument critically, asking yourself the same questions that you would of a scholarly article. Scholarly articles should be evaluated based on criteria such as thoroughness, credibility, and accuracy. Take the same approach with your paper. Think about the sub-claims you will need to make to clarify and support your main argument. If you make a claim, what other things will you need to prove in order to back that up? What assumptions have you made that need to be articulated to your reader? Anticipating readers’ questions and protestations will help guide the flow of the paper and make transitions smoother, as you’ll intuit what needs to come next.
There is a subtle art to transitions: You get a better sense of this art as you read and write more. You don’t want the reader thinking about form—you want the reader focused on your argument. Therefore, you link your paragraphs with transition sentences that make the path clear:
“So, we’ve found that solar power and wind power are economically viable in Costa Rica, but can geothermal power, with its high initial costs, prove a worthwhile investment over time?”
You can guess that this body paragraph follows others that discuss wind and solar power, and the thesis is about the use of alternative energy sources. This paragraph will likely show that geothermal power is also viable. As a reader, you have yet to be convinced, but your mind is open: you’re ready to hear whether or not it’s viable. You’re not wondering where the paper is going, and you’re not confused about the writer’s stance. If you find it difficult to create a transition, it may be that you need to move the paragraphs around so that a natural transition arises.
Conclusion
It’s sadly rare to read an interesting concluding paragraph, but it’s not a difficult challenge if you keep in mind that you’re not restating your thesis, you’re retracing your argument in a new way. Just because you’re not presenting new information doesn’t mean the conclusion must be stale. You have permission to get creative. Here’s what the conclusion must do:
Show how the ideas in the paper work together to support the thesis: You haven’t made your argument until you tie it all together. You’ve led the reader down the yellow brick road, but no heels have been clicked until they’ve read the conclusion. While you don’t want to introduce new points or evidence here, you can certainly use new techniques, like imagery or story. You might take the perspective of a skeptic and experience the argument through his eyes, or you might show us a vision of a brighter future now that your thesis has been implemented. The watchword is synthesis, rather than repetition.
Tie in the more compelling elements from the introduction and body paragraphs to provide a sense of cohesion: If you used an image in your introduction (think of the soldier from the example above), consider recalling it in the conclusion. This offers the reader a sense of symmetry and completion if it isn’t oversimplified. Similarly, you can recall images or stories used in other parts of the paper. These act as anchors for the reader’s memory, and when memory is triggered, our minds tend to be more open. Think of the crescendo in a piece of music, where the theme is woven together with other elements of the piece, and the listener is moved to tears. Revisiting and weaving, making something new in the process, is what makes a conclusion effective.
Read over your paper. What stands out to you? What gives you chills? The same will probably be true for your reader. These are the points to recall in your conclusion. Just as a lawyer lays out his case to the jury most powerfully in closing arguments, this is your chance to make your case clearly and concisely.
Step 5: Revising
Revising happens on many different levels of your paper, from individual words and sentences to larger issues of organization and coherence.
Learning Objectives
Distinguish between revising and editing
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Since the most significant changes will be made at the foundational level, it is best to start there.
· You revise for purpose and organization.
· Make sure that you end up fulfilling your stated purpose and that you remain on- topic for your entire paper.
· Also see if you maintain the same voice throughout the paper or if you ended up making unplanned shifts in tone or vocabulary.
· Taking breaks before, during, and after the revision process will make it easier.
· Letting go of what doesn’t work in the paper is a skill to be embraced and valued as a writer.
Key Terms
· organization: The way in which something is organized, such as a book or an article.
· purpose: An object to be reached; a target; an aim; a goal.
· consistency: In logic, a consistent theory is one that does not contain a contradiction. The lack of contradiction can be defined in either semantic or syntactic terms.
Good writing is essentially rewriting. I am positive of this. —Roald Dahl
One of the best tools in a writer’s toolkit is the ability to revise. As with the prior stages of writing, it’s actually not a distinct phase that happens only once, but part of a recursive process. Drafting and revising is a dialogue between the inner artist and the inner critic. The artist should not be bothered by the critic while in the creative zone, and the critic should be let loose unfettered during the revision process.
Writing and rewriting are a constant search for what it is one is saying. —John Updike
Revision is almost universally reviled initially, but the more experienced a writer becomes, the more he or she appreciates this pruning process. Revising tightens the argument, strengthens the voice, and smoothes the syntax so you’re left with only the best bits.
In the prewriting stage, we ask the inner critic to take a nice long nap all the way through the first drafting phase, but now we awaken it and put it to work.
Revision: Revising ideas so that they are persuasive, cogent, and form a solid argument is the real work of writing.
When Should I Revise My Paper?
Revision begins after you’ve finished your first draft and is repeated as often as necessary from that stage forward. It’s useful, though, to take at least a day and a night away from the draft, rather than jumping into revising immediately. The break will give you the necessary distance from what you have written to look at it with a critical eye and will give you the psychological space to shift from artist to critic.
Reviewing: Re-reading completed work is essential for more than just catching typos.
How Should I Get Started?
We first need to distinguish revising from editing. You’re going to have a separate round of going through your paper to fix grammar mistakes, adjust vocabulary, and make sure you have not repeated the word “very” too many times. There’s no need to think about that stage now. What we’re doing here is looking at how your argument is constructed.
The kinds of changes you make when revising relate to how well you’re making your case. You may have to alter how your argument works or how it’s organized. Changes at this level are the biggest ones you will make, which is why there’s no point in playing around with word choice or punctuation when you might be rewriting, or even deleting, the entire paragraph.
The first thing to look for when revising is purpose. Now that you’ve written the whole paper, look back at your thesis statement. Is it still what the paper is about? And if so, does everything in your paper relate back to that argument? Read through the paper now and check for purpose.
The next step is to ensure that your argument makes sense and has power. All of your claims may relate to your thesis, yes, but are you convinced? Remember, you’re wearing your critic hat now. Pretend you didn’t write the paper and are being paid as a critic. Make yourself very hard to please. Then go through the paper and make notes on these aspects and any others that strike you as you read.
The following are specific categories of things to watch for.
Argumentation
· Is the thesis set up in a way that makes you care about it?
· Are the claims related precisely to the thesis, or do they become tangential at any point? Are they interesting?
· Does the evidence prove what it is intended to prove?
· Are there well-placed examples? Are they entirely relevant?
· By the end of the paper, might someone who believed differently from the thesis be swayed by the argument? If not, why not? What’s missing? And if so, what were the strongest points?
· Are there extraneous paragraphs or sentences that seem less important to the point?
· Where is the climax of this paper, where you most feel the author ‘s mastery?
Organization
· Is the structure of the paper as effective as it can be?
· Does the order of the paragraphs make sense?
· Does each paragraph build off of what was developed in the previous one?
· Does the end of the paper relate back to the beginning?
· Are the different steps of the argument linked in a logical manner?
· Is every step adequately explained, or are there leaps or holes in logic?
· Do some ideas seem to come out of nowhere, or do you feel like you’ve been prepared for each new concept?
Voice and Consistency
· Does the topic capture your interest because of the way it’s presented?
· Can you tell from the tone that the author cares about the topic?
· Is the author’s tone maintained throughout the paper?
· Does everything in this paper work towards articulating or proving the thesis?
What to Do With Your Critique
Another reason students avoid revising is because they jump too quickly from the critique part of revision to the rewrite, asking the brain to do a creative activity when it’s still in the critical mindset.
So, if you have the time, it would be wise to take a break from the paper again at this point, at least for a little while. Once you’ve heard from the critic, taking a rest will give your brain time to relax and come up with ideas for revisions, moving naturally back into inspired, creative mode.
When you’ve taken that time, the process may flow quite naturally. If not, though, recognize that you’re repeating the steps you used in drafting.
Address Foundational Issues
First, you shore up the thesis statement (or rewrite it entirely), then address the claims—rewriting them for clarity or deleting them if they’re not strong. You can even go back to your outline and move things around again, reevaluating the order of the argument. Thesis, claims, order: these are the bones of the paper—the foundation. Only after you’re satisfied with these do you move to revising paragraphs.
Breaking Down the Big Picture: Revising at the Paragraph Level
For each paragraph and section, ask yourself two things:
· What do you want each paragraph to do?
· How well does each paragraph complete that task?
We begin with the body of the paper, leaving the introduction and conclusion for later. The body is the meat on the bones. It needs to be evenly distributed and form a powerful whole. For each one, ask the following questions, but ask them in gentler artist mode, rather than in ruthless critic mode:
· Is this paragraph necessary to the argument?
· Is every sentence relevant to the claim made in the paragraph?
· Is there anything missing from the first sentence to the claim—a piece of evidence or an argument that would make it more convincing?
· Is the argument fully explained?
· Does it flow well?
· How does each sentence make you feel? What is the trajectory of your feeling from sentence to sentence to claim?
· Does the information in this paragraph logically lead to the next one?
· Is the transition to the next paragraph smooth and easy to follow?
Fix these things now.
The introduction and conclusion bring in more of the artistic aspects of writing, and so you’ll want to relax the critic a bit here and look at these paragraphs from an interested reader’s perspective. Again, not a bad idea to take a break before addressing these two paragraphs.
Ask these questions for the introduction:
· Do the first few sentences intrigue me?
· Does the subject seem compelling?
· Does my attention lapse at any point?
· Does the narrative lead me to an understanding of the topic?
· How do I feel after reading it? Energized? Eager for more?
Take time to revise the introduction now, but consider beginning the revision with a prewriting exercise to get the creative juices flowing again.
Ask the following questions about your concluding paragraph:
· Is the argument woven together here or simply restated?
· Does this paragraph introduce new evidence or claims?
· Do I feel a sense of completion and satisfaction when I finish, or am I left with unanswered questions and unmet expectations?
· Is there a sense of artistry, of mastery, to this last paragraph or set of paragraphs?
If you can leave the revision of the conclusion for a few hours after answering these questions, your brain may solve any question of how to skillfully weave your argument together. Allow yourself some quiet time to let images and stories to arise. Re-read the revised introduction as a source of inspiration.
Letting Go
Revising can be a metaphorical journey in letting go. It’s easy to get attached to what we’ve written, and deleting something you’ve spent hours on can feel painful. Yes, you know it will make for a better paper in the long run, but you may bemoan all the lost time and effort.
If you can reframe it for yourself, though, and recognize that revising is not separate from writing but an integral and vital part of the process, you’ll see that the next paragraph you write is built on the one you just had to delete. Your final paper will be successful because you trusted the process—trusted your creative mind to come up with new material even better than the old.
That’s the magic of revisions—every cut is necessary and every cut hurts, but something new always grows. —Kelly Barnhill
Step 6:
Editing
and
Proofreading
Editing and proofreading ensure clarity, improve style, and eliminate errors.
Learning Objectives
Recognize language that is unclear or imprecise
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Editing and proofreading are concerned with the style of your writing, not the substance of your argument. Editing focuses on the clarity of your writing, particularly word choice, sentence construction, and transitions. Proofreading focuses on mechanics, such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
· Unlike revising for purpose, editing and proofreading focus on the sentence level of your work. When editing, you look at how clearly you have written. The goal is to make sure that your sentences are easily understood and tightly written.
· While editing focuses on improving your writing, proofreading is more like fact-checking it. The goal of proofreading is to find and correct mechanical errors.
· It can be helpful to do a peer review: ask one of your peers to edit and proofread your paper. Since they are seeing your work for the first time, they will probably be able to spot problems that you have missed.
· Reading a printed page of text backwards is a good way to catch errors.
Key Terms
· peer review: Assessment, before publication, by an authority or authorities in the pertinent field of study, of the written form of an idea, hypothesis, theory, and/or written discussion of such.
· proofreading: The reading of text to detect and correct production errors. Proofreaders are expected to be consistently accurate by default because they occupy the last stage of production before publication.
· editing: The process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audio, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete work.
· hyperbole: Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
After revising for purpose, you still have two levels of revision left: editing and proofreading. When you move on to editing, the emphasis is clarity. Then, once your sentence structure and language have been cleaned up, you move on to proofreading, where you check the accuracy of your spelling and grammar.
Editing
Editing, like revising, is something that you will do throughout the writing process. Most of the editorial process will take place after you have worked out your final argument and organizational structure. Editing looks at your work on a sentence-by-sentence level, considering ways to make everything you say as clear and precise as possible.
During the editing process you’ll mainly want to consider language, construction, and style.
Editing for Language
With language, the overall question is whether you are using the most accurate language possible to describe your ideas. Your reader will have an easier time understanding what you want to say if you’re precise. Be sure to check for the following.
· Pronoun clarity: Make sure it’s clear what each “it,” “he,” and “she” refers to.
· Precise vocabulary: Make sure every word means what you intend it to mean. Always use a dictionary to confirm the meaning of any word about which you are unsure. Although the built-in dictionary that comes with your word processor is a great time-saver, it falls far short of college-edition dictionaries, or the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). If spell-check suggests bizarre corrections for one of your words, it could be that you know a word it does not. When in doubt, always check a dictionary to be sure.
· Defined terms: When using terms specific to your topic, make sure you define them for your readers who may not be familiar with them. If that makes the paragraph too cumbersome, consider using a different term.
· Properly placed modifiers: Make sure your reader can clearly discern what each adjective and adverb refers to.
· Hyperbole: See if you can eradicate words like “amazing” and “gigantic” in favor of more precise descriptions. Also examine each use of the word “very” and see if you can find a more precise word or phrase.
Finally, pay attention to wordiness. Writing that is clean, precise, and simple will always sound best.
Editing for Sentence Construction
If you want to make everything easy for your audience to read and understand, start by simplifying your sentences. If you think a sentence is too complicated, rephrase it so that it is easier to read, or break it into two sentences. Clear doesn’t mean boring, by the way. Complicated is not a synonym for artistic!
Consider how balanced your sentences are within a paragraph. You don’t want every sentence to have identical length and structure or to begin the same way. Instead, vary your prose.
This is also the time to add transitions between clauses and sentences that aren’t connected smoothly to each other. You don’t need to introduce every sentence with “then,” “however,” or “because.” Using these words judiciously, though, will help your reader see logical connections between the different steps of your argument.
Editing for Style
Editing for style is more difficult, because as writers gain practice they usually develop their own unique stylistic quirks. That’s a good thing. Instead of thinking that you should write a certain way, what follows is general advice for the kinds of writing that can help or hurt your work.
Think about how you use active and passive verbs. Often, rewriting a sentence to take it from passive to active will make it simpler and easier to read. Consider the following sentences:
· Many of those who have held the office of governor of Illinois in the past twenty years have been met with charges of corruption due to political misdealings.
· Over the past twenty years, many Illinois governors have faced political corruption charges.
The second is shorter, less wordy, and clearer. In this case, changing from passive to active made a major improvement. Please note, this doesn’t mean that you should never use passive verbs. Some sentences do read better with them. It’s up to you to decide which works better for your scenario.
In general, whenever you can replace an “is” or a “was” with an action verb, your writing will feel more vibrant. “The horse was shaking with fear,” is slightly less powerful than “The horse shook with fear.” Better yet, if the context tells us the horse is frightened, we can say, “The horse trembled.” “Trembled” is a more specific form of “shook,” which is itself an improvement over “was shaking.” This step enlivens research papers perhaps more than any other.
Another thing to look at with your verb use is parallelism—using the same pattern of words to provide balance in a sentence. If you are listing things, try to make them all the same part of speech. Look at these examples:
· Unbalanced: “John likes reading, his studies, and talking.”
· Parallel: “John likes reading, studying, and talking.”
Both are grammatically correct, but the parallel sentence has a better rhythm.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the final stage of revision. It’s okay to correct typos or grammatical errors if you catch them in early drafts, but you should save thorough proofreading for your final draft. Wait to begin this step when you are sure that you will not be changing anything else in your paper.
Here are some of the things you should do every time you proofread:
· Check spelling. Be alert for typos.
· Check punctuation.
· Make sure that you are using the correct formatting and citation style.
· Check that your verb tenses remain consistent.
· Look at subject/verb and pronoun/antecedent agreement.
Try reading each page backward. This doesn’t work so well for editing, but it can really help with proofreading. You’ll catch many of the above problems this way.
Tips for Editing and Proofreading
Know your errors. As you get used to revising, you will probably realize that there are some errors you make more frequently than others. Maybe you have a tendency toward wordiness. Maybe there’s a particular rule of grammar that always gives you trouble. Whatever your particular weakness is, you can pay special attention to it when revising.
Secondly, take the time to do multiple re-readings. Start by going through for one particular kind of error, and only pay attention to that. Then choose another thing to focus on, and read your paper again. Keep going until you’re satisfied that your paper is as good as it can be. Prioritize the issues you know you’re most likely to find.
Before concluding any written assignment, you can use your word processor’s spell-check feature in order to identify any overlooked spelling mistakes in your work. However, it’s important to look for errors yourself as well. People are more capable of understanding words in context than word processors. For example, spell-check software can’t always tell whether “their,” “there” or “they’re” fits in a specific sentence, but a person always can. Therefore, it’s a good idea to use both computer spell-checking, and good old-fashioned human editing with a red pen and paper copy!
Spelling error: The aim of proofreading is to catch surface mistakes in spelling, punctuation, formatting, etc. — such as on the restaurant sign above, where the writer misspelled “omelette” as “omelate.”
Step 7: Completing a Final Review
When you’re done with all the steps of revision—revising for purpose, editing, and proofreading—make one final review of your paper.
Learning Objectives
List questions you can use to self-evaluate your paper
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Look one more time to make sure that you meet the criteria of the assignment and that you have taken care of all the changes you wanted to make.
· Ask yourself if you think the paper is now finished, or if you still have things you want to improve upon.
· A final review after revisions will help you determine if your paper is ready to be turned in.
Key Terms
· criteria: Standards for judgement or evaluation.
After spending so long looking at your paper on the level of individual words and sentences, it can be helpful to return to the big picture. Before you turn your paper in, read it over one more time. You do not have to look for specific problems. Just try to get a general sense of what your paper has turned into.
It can be helpful to imagine that you are reading somebody else’s paper during this final read-through. What would you say to a peer if this were his or her paper instead of your own? Does it have a clear thesis? Does the argument make sense? You can also try reading your paper out loud to see how it sounds.
Directions: Reviewing work throughout the writing process helps make sure it’s moving in the right direction.
The purpose of a final review is not to prompt major changes, as you already addressed those when you revised for purpose. Instead, doing a final review will help you see how all the changes you made work together as a whole.
This is also your last chance to make sure you meet the criteria of the assignment. Are you still saying what you intended to say? Did you complete the task you set for yourself in the introduction? Look at how your argument has developed and whether you are happy with it. If you’re not, you can go back into revision mode. If you are, then congratulations—you can finally say that your paper is complete.
Evaluating Your Process
At this point, you can make a final assessment of your process. The learning comes not only from your research and writing, but also from reflection about the process you went through. After you read your paper, ask yourself the following questions:
· How creative is the paper? If it feels a little bland to you, you might consider spending additional time using the prewriting activities the next time you write a paper. You might also consider reading more of the type of writing you’re doing to get a feel for the style and to spark your own imagination.
· Does it feel like your best effort? Do you feel some disappointment when you read your paper, as if you know you could have done better? Time is often a factor here. Budgeting in time for reflection isn’t often taught, but it’s a crucial aspect of the creative process.
· Where did you get tripped up? Looking back over the experience of writing, which parts of the process did you avoid? Which parts were difficult to wrap up and move on from? Which parts did you enjoy most? Can you see all of the answers reflected in your writing? Is the writing good but the research scanty, or is it heavily cited but disorganized? How might you address balance in the process next time around?
· What did you enjoy? Dwell for at least a moment or two on the parts of the process you most enjoyed. Did you have a great conversation with a friend during the brainstorming session? Did you write an especially strong paragraph for one of your claims? Did you let yourself sleep on a problem and wake up with the answer? Did you feel like you found your voice when writing the introduction? Now give yourself a moment to consider how to expand those good feelings into the rest of the process next time you write.
Writing is an art. It’s not something we’re born doing, yet it’s something we’re asked to do a lot in professional work. Making the process enjoyable for yourself is both useful and important. You have the power to make your next writing experience even better. Keep working at the parts of writing that are more difficult for you while expanding on the phases that delight you, and your next paper is bound to be more enjoyable, more inspired, and, ultimately, better.
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Prewriting Techniques
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a prewriting technique used to help generate lots of potential ideas about a topic.
Learning Objectives
Describe the process of brainstorming
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Brainstorming is listing all of your ideas about a topic —even the bad ones—without censoring or editing, in order to get your ideas flowing.
· Brainstorming is at its most effective when drawing on the power of interaction.
· Casual, free-form note -taking while reading or engaging in conversation can be a form of brainstorming.
· Group brainstorming can be a great way to engage with partners or team members on a project and make sure everyone’s ideas are heard.
Key Terms
· brainstorming: Listing ideas about a topic, even the bad ones, until you find one you like.
At its most basic, brainstorming is listing ideas. If you’re having trouble coming up with a good topic for a paper, sometimes it helps to write down every idea that occurs to you, even the bad ones, until you have a strong list going.
Brainstorming is useful for figuring out what you’re interested in.
The technique can take many forms, but perhaps the of them most effective is that it draws on the power of interaction. We’ve all had those great conversations in which someone says something that sparks an idea or memory in someone else, which then sparks a further idea, and before you know it, everyone is feeling energized.
You can create one of those conversations about the topic of your paper. Just start a chat with a friend or a group about the topic and have your pen and notebook handy. Jot down notes as the conversation progresses and you hear ideas that spark your interest. For an essay on the women’s movement of the 1970s, you might generate the following list by talking with friends or calling your mother:
· equal pay
· choice of career
· freedom
· purpose in society
· valuing the “feminine”—still an issue?
· messages girls get now
· effects of the movement on men
· successful or not?
Another way to brainstorm is to read an article or a book chapter on the topic and write down whatever occurs to you as you read, even if it has nothing to do with the text. You’re interacting with the text like you might interact with a person, letting the author ‘s ideas spark new thoughts in you.
You can also brainstorm in a group if you’re working on a writing project with a partner or a team. Find a whiteboard, pick someone to write, and record ideas, topics, and notes as they come up. In addition to being helpful in finding a topic, this process can be fun and help break the ice with your fellow students so that everyone feels as though they can share in the discussion.
Once you’ve generated a lot of ideas through brainstorming, you can choose a few of them to do further prewriting exercises with to eventually create your thesis statement. Perhaps the most important thing to remember about this process is that “there are no bad ideas in brainstorming.” While this saying is not strictly true—for example, it would be a bad idea to tackle an assigned essay about feminism in the 70s by writing about the life cycle of the lunar moth—it is valuable because it helps you remember that brainstorming isn’t about coming up with a perfect solution. It’s about considering your topic on many levels until you find an approach you’re excited about.
No bad ideas: Sometimes, it helps to stop censoring yourself and write down every idea you have—even the bad ones. You can decide on the best one later!
Freewriting
Freewriting, a prewriting technique, can help you break out of writer’s block by letting your ideas flow naturally.
Learning Objectives
Describe the process of freewriting
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Freewriting is writing without editing in order to get your ideas flowing.
· Freewriting can be a useful prewriting technique to help think of different directions your paper can take.
· To freewrite, get a pen and paper (or open up a blank computer document) and set yourself a time limit. Then start writing about your general topic, recording any thoughts as they come into your mind. No editing allowed!
Key Terms
· freewriting: The process of writing loosely, without self-censorship, in order to develop ideas spontaneously and naturally.
What Is Freewriting?
Have you ever experienced writer’s block, that frustrating feeling of knowing what you want to say but not how to say it? Freewriting is a great way to get away from that. It’s simple: You just write, and don’t worry about whether or not what you’re writing is good or not—you’re just trying to get yourself into a natural flow.
Freewriting is a great prewriting technique. It will come in handy if you have a general topic but are not sure what you want to say about it. Get a pen and paper (or open up a blank computer document) and set yourself a time limit. Start writing about your general topic, recording thoughts as they come into your mind. Do not edit as you go, or even look back at what you have written. Just keep moving on as thoughts occur to you. The purpose of freewriting is to develop ideas spontaneously and naturally.
Example 1: Hamlet
Consider this example, a two-minute freewrite on the topic of revenge in Hamlet:
People say Hamlet is a play about revenge, but is revenge successful if he dies at the end? Is killing Claudius enough to make Hamlet happy? Did he succeed at anything, or did he just destabilize Denmark further? Fortinbras seems like a better king—at least he is interested in government. But he isn’t the rightful ruler, which is part of why Hamlet was upset with his uncle in the first place. Or was he? Is he more upset about the murder or the usurpation? Does he want to rule or just to get revenge? Is his quest for vengeance the act of a justice-seeking prince or are revenge and rulership at cross-purposes?
There are a few good things to notice about this freewrite. First, the paragraph has many more questions than observations or answers. This is perfectly fine. Freewriting is not a place to work out answers to questions, but rather to figure out exactly what question you want to ask.
The other thing to notice is the general trajectory of the paragraph. The different questions are connected to each other, albeit very loosely. Again, this is fine. Freewriting does not need to be rigidly organized as long as it stays relatively close to its general topic. Often, freewrites will end up producing a unified line of thought even without you trying to connect everything. There is a significant difference between the starting point of “Is Hamlet’s revenge successful?” and the final questions of “Does Hamlet want to get revenge or become a ruler?,” and “Can you seek revenge and be a ruler?” All three are different approaches to the same broader question, though. In fact, those second questions can be refined into more specific answers to the first one.
A topic from the first question might be “Hamlet does not successfully achieve his goal of vengeance.” A topic from the last questions might be “Hamlet fills his stated goal of killing Claudius, but since he leaves Denmark without a king he ultimately fails at correcting the wrong he wanted to correct.” Both ideas are far more focused than what you started with.
Example 2: Lolita
Now that you’ve seen an example of freewriting and the research topics it can point you toward, try it with this example:
Humbert Humbert is a creepy dude who basically ruins Lolita’s life. But he recognizes that he’s being judged by the world for his actions and he says he’s full or remorse. Is he sincere or just playing it up for the “jury”? He sounds sincere, though flowery. Do his elaborate professions of guilt work to absolve him or make him seem purely theatrical? What about how he talks about Lolita? He doesn’t even call her by her real name, which is Dolores. In a lot of ways, she’s more of an object of his fantasy than a real person. Does that make his behavior less condemnable because he’s clearly nuts? Or more condemnable because he’s unempathetic to the extreme?
What research direction could this freewriting example bring you toward?
Clustering and Concept Mapping
Creating a concept map is an easy way to visually represent the relationships among your ideas.
Learning Objectives
Describe the process of creating a concept map
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Clustering is the process of writing down a broad topic, then creating a concept map where different clusters of related subtopics are represented visually.
· Clustering is an effective way to narrow your focus if your topic is too broad: you can pick one branch of your concept map to focus on, rather than the large central topic.
· To make a concept map, write down your main topic in the center of a page, then make branches and sub-branches with related subtopics as you think of them.
Key Terms
· concept map: A diagram of related ideas.
· clustering: A process in which you start with a main topic, then explore clusters of related subtopics.
If you are having trouble breaking a big topic down into smaller ones, you might want to try clustering. This is a tactic in which you write down a very broad topic or idea and then make a concept map, in which you diagram smaller ideas or categories (clusters) that relate to the central topic.
Say you are writing a paper that teaches your classmates how to perform a task. You have one page to provide detailed instructions about an activity. If you have chosen “gardening” as that activity, you will not be able to give an adequate description in the space provided. There’s simply too much information. You have to choose a smaller task associated with gardening. The question is, which one?
All the things you linked to “gardening” are smaller tasks you could describe. You can even break them down into further levels of detail. For example, the subcategory of “researching and purchasing plants and seeds” can be broken down into separate bubbles for research and purchasing. The purchasing bubble could be broken down into a) where to purchase plants, b) when to purchase plants, c) how much to pay for different plants, and so on, until you reach the right level of specificity. In this way, you can break your general topic down from “explaining gardening” to something like “explaining how to purchase a sunflower plant.”
The goal of clustering, much like freewriting, is to come up with lots of different possibilities. Then you can choose which ones you think are best suited for your assignment. Make sure that you don’t censor yourself when you’re making a concept map: add anything you feel is related to your topic and let it flow!
Building Your Paper
Modes of Persuasion:
Ethos
,
Pathos
, and
Logos
Careful rhetoric, or the art of crafting arguments through tone and presentation of evidence, can make your argument more convincing.
Learning Objectives
Identify appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Rhetoric involves the “how” of making arguments —it asks you to think about what kind of writing will make your argument most convincing to the reader.
· In classical rhetoric, there are three main strategies to appeal to the reader: logos, pathos, and ethos.
· Ethos, logos, and pathos each affect the reader differently. When choosing a strategy, think about what kind of argument you want to make and when each strategy might be most useful.
· Keeping readers’ potential objections in mind will help you select the most appropriate strategies.
· While persuasive strategies make a good paper more convincing, the most credible arguments are those which honestly examine the issue from all sides using the most reliable sources of information.
· Audience analysis, developing a
thorough understanding of an audience (education, values, beliefs, etc.), is
crucial in making choices relating to the use of logos, ethos and pathos.
Key Terms
· ethos: A Greek word meaning “character,” used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology.
In rhetoric, the term is often
used in reference to the credibility of an author based on his
or her expertise and/or personal character.
· logos: A technique that relies on reasoned argument.
· pathos: A communication technique that makes an appeal to the audience’s emotions; used most often in rhetoric and in literature, film, and other narrative arts.
Using Rhetorical and Audience Analysis
A rhetorical analysis calls upon readers to closely read a text and determine several characteristics about it, including author, context, purpose, and emotional appeal and/or effects. In other words, readers must take a look at Aristotle’s three persuasive appeals to the audience: logos, pathos, and ethos. As writers, you’ll use these tools to build a convincing argument.
Choosing persuasive appeals depends on the purpose of the argument, but it also stems from audience analysis. Knowing as much as possible about the audience you are trying to reach can help you to determine which appeals are most likely to be effective. Things to consider include the audience’s core values, beliefs, and the level of knowledge they already have about the subject you are addressing. Some arguments employ all three of these appeals, while others rely on a strategic application of just a couple of them.
Logos
Logos relies on the rigorous use of logic and reason. Arguments based on logos usually employ deductive and/or inductive reasoning. Deductive, or top-down, reasoning applies a general rule to draw a conclusion about a specific case or cases: “All men are mortal. Arturo is a man. Therefore, Arturo is mortal.” Inductive, or bottom-up, reasoning constructs a premise or rule by generalizing and extrapolating from a specific case or cases: “Every person I have ever known of has eventually died. I have never heard a report of any person living forever. Therefore, people are mortal.”
Pathos
In contrast to logos, pathos relies on evoking an emotional reaction from the audience. The evidence in a pathos argument is more likely to be personal or anecdotal. Moreover, the success of the argument depends on the author understanding the audience’s values and beliefs, and manipulating them.
Ethos
Ethos works by giving the author credibility. By building credibility with the audience, the speaker or writer also builds trust with his or her audience. Ethos can be used to stress the personal credentials and reputation of the speaker/writer, or cite reliable authors or sources. Writers and speakers who employ ethos to strengthen their argument should avoid attacking or insulting an opponent or an opposing viewpoint. The most effective ethos develops from what is stated, whether it is in spoken or written form.
Writers can pull elements from any of these strategies as needed to make a persuasive argument.
When and How to Use Pathos
Generally, pathos is most effective when used in the introduction and conclusion. You’re trying to grab readers’ attention in the beginning and to leave them with conviction at the end, and emotion is a useful tool for those purposes. Describing the plight of people affected by the issue at hand might open the paper, for example, and then be revisited in the conclusion.
There are subtle ways to use pathos throughout the paper as well, and you can do that primarily through word choice. Your reader is going to be looking for holes in your argument and will likely bristle at any hint of being manipulated with emotion in the body paragraphs, preferring that you stick to the facts. But by choosing your words carefully, you can make suggestions that have a subconscious effect on the reader. Here’s an example:
· Though the candidate is older than most who’ve held the office, he is known to be energetic and active.
· Though the candidate is older than most who’ve held the office, he is known to be spry.
When you read the first sentence, what image formed in your mind? Maybe an older guy smiling and jogging or shaking hands with supporters? And the second sentence? The word “spry” is generally used only for elderly people, so you likely imagined someone slightly different, perhaps a little older and a little less energetic. Since we’re talking about a politician, the word “spry,” while ostensibly meant to mean “active and energetic,” is putting a suggestion in the reader’s head that the politician might be a little old for the job. A little sneaky? Well, you might think of it that way, but you can also have a lot of fun building an effective argument using words that affect the reader in very particular ways.
There are countless words and phrases that hold a common meaning for your audience other than their defined meaning. Can you imagine when you might choose the word “backpack” over “bag,” or “uzi” over “gun,” or “guardian” over “parent,” or “paperback” over “book,” or “liberal” over “unrestricted”? What are the connotations of the chosen words versus their synonyms?
While the more obvious uses of pathos—in which you make a direct emotional appeal—may come to you early in the writing process, these subtle choices of suggestive words might emerge as you revise. Use this tool sparingly, though, so the subconscious suggestion doesn’t become obvious to your reader and therefore have the opposite effect.
When and How to Use Logos
Generally speaking, logos is what people expect in an argument these days. We are a society oriented toward logical reasoning and scientific proof, so you’re probably going to need to draw on logos at some point in your paper and will likely use it in every body paragraph. A good argument will usually include both facts and reasoning and may be bolstered by examples.
Consider this example from “Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking,” published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer.
1. Smoking is estimated to increase the risk—
· For coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times
· For stroke by 2 to 4 times
· Of men developing lung cancer by 25 times
· Of women developing lung cancer by 25.7 time
2. Smoking causes diminished overall health, increased absenteeism from work, and increased health care utilization and cost.
Perhaps you didn’t need convincing that smoking is bad for your health, but if you did, you’d have a difficult time arguing with these statistics, all footnoted on the CDC website, all based on reputable studies.
If we were including this evidence in a paper about the dangers of smoking, we could decide that such weighty evidence can stand on its own: excessive reasoning might actually weaken the argument. But if we are writing a paper about why cigarettes should be made illegal, or some other, more radical idea (and a more interesting paper), we might need to make our reasoning clear:
We know, then, that cigarettes are extraordinarily dangerous—many times more dangerous than car accidents—and highly costly. Yet, while we’ve increased safety standards for cars steadily since the 1970s, required drivers and passengers to wear safety belts, and are even considering technological innovations that will mechanize highways to eliminate driver error, we have as yet done little to regulate the use of cigarettes. Discouraged through taxation, yes, official warnings, yes, but direct regulation, no.
The reasoning in the above paragraph takes one of the statistics and explains its relevance to the argument. You’ll need to do this in almost every case so that the link you’re making between the evidence and the claim is clear.
It can be useful to think of logos as building a case, where your thesis statement is the thing you’re trying to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt. You’re the defense attorney. What would make this an air-tight case? What might be in the jury’s mind that you need to address so that they won’t go into deliberation with questions or doubts? What kinds of evidence might convince them? Planning out the body of your paper is like planning to present your evidence in the courtroom, step by step. Too much information will get boring and muddle the jury, so you’ll want to stick with your most salient examples and most convincing evidence.
The Art of Ethos
In Aristotle’s day, ethos usually applied to the technique a speaker used to establish credibility for himself, the “why you should listen to me” portion of the speech. Now, we establish our reliability mostly by demonstrating a thorough knowledge of the topic and by citing credible sources. We need to let our readers know that the studies we’re citing are from peer-reviewed journals, for example, and the opinions we’re quoting are from people who know what they’re talking about.
While acupuncture was once relegated to the realm of “quacks” and “snake oil,” it is now considered by mainstream medical science to be an effective treatment for pain. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) website states that, “Results from a number of studies suggest that acupuncture may help ease types of pain that are often chronic such as low-back pain, neck pain, and osteoarthritis/knee pain. It also may help reduce the frequency of tension headaches and prevent migraine headaches. Therefore, acupuncture appears to be a reasonable option for people with chronic pain to consider” (NIH, 2014). Doctors themselves seem glad to have found a possible remedy for chronic pain. In fact, a third of acupuncturists now practicing in the United States are also medical doctors (NCCAM, para. 2). This once-suspect art is increasingly embraced by physicians looking for additional options for their most challenging patients.
Here, we’re bolstering our claim that acupuncture is accepted as an effective tool for pain relief by quoting the governmental agency NIH, which is widely recognized and respected, and by talking about doctors—also well-respected—embracing the practice themselves in order to better serve their patients.
Your sources need to be credible to your skeptics. Most of the objections to our claim, above, will likely come from people who trust conventional medical practices and are wary of trying practices they haven’t encountered. This particular audience, then, would be more likely to consider the NIH and a group of medical doctors credible than they would, say, the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture or a group of Chinese practitioners. Part of the ethos of your argument, then, is finding resources your audience would find credible. By extension, you earn readers’ respect for quoting sources they consider trustworthy.
Don’t discount your own knowledge and experience, though, when considering the ethos aspect of your argument. The introduction and conclusion, again, might be the best spots to tell your audience how you’re connected to the topic. If you’re writing about school vouchers and you attended both public and private schools, that detail might give you some insight into both sides of the dilemma and, therefore, credibility with your readers. If you’re an artist and feel you would have dropped out of high school were it not for your art classes, you would do well to include your experience in a paper about funding for the arts in education.
Your reader is counting on your ability to be objective, as well as knowledgeable. You’ll demonstrate your objectivity by using sources that are widely respected and by gathering information from both or many sides of the issue. Real rhetoric is about honestly seeking answers, and while there is some persuasive technique involved, the most satisfying argument is one that is thoroughly explored. In the end, then, your credibility lies with your diligence and your willingness to present your findings with transparency.
Capture the attention of your audience with rhetoric: Using appropriate rhetorical tools and a well-thought-out argumentative structure is a way of ensuring the strength of your writing. In addition, rhetoric gives you ways of capturing the attention of your audience and leading them to the conclusions of your argument.
Approaches to Your Introductory Paragraph
The effective introductory paragraph introduces the topic in a way that makes the reader interested and curious.
Learning Objectives
Order the elements of an introductory paragraph that uses concept-funnel structure
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· An effective technique for introductions is to open with a sentence or two that grabs the reader’s attention.
· There are common ways to introduce a topic that are overused and therefore not recommended.
· The concept-funnel structure leads the reader from a broad concept of the topic to the thesis statement.
· The mirror construction hits each claim of the paper in the same order they’re presented in the body of the paper.
· Stylistically, it is advisable to leave out overt references to the construction of the paper.
· Leaving the introduction until the end of the drafting process makes it easier to write.
Grabbing the Reader’s Attention
There are many ways to begin a paper, some straightforward, others more creative. Papers generally need to aim for an objective voice and stay close to the facts. However, you have a bit more freedom in the introduction, and you can take advantage of that freedom by finding a surprising, high-impact way to highlight your issue’s importance. Here are some effective strategies for opening a paper:
· Make a provocative or controversial statement
· State a surprising or little-known fact
· Make a case for your topic’s relevance to the reader
· Open with a quote, a brief anecdote, or imagery that illustrates the issue
· Take a stand against something
· Stake a position for yourself within an ongoing debate
· Introduce a challenging problem or paradox
After you grab the reader’s attention with the opening, make a case for the importance of your topic. Here are some questions that may help at this stage: Why did you choose this topic? Should the general public or your academic discipline be more aware of this issue, and why? Are you calling attention to an under-appreciated issue, or evaluating a widely acknowledged issue in a new light? How does the issue affect you, if at all?
Concept-Funnel Structure
A popular introduction structure is the concept-funnel. In this structure, you begin with general information about your topic, narrow the focus and provide context, and end by distilling your paper’s specific approach. As you move from general background information to the specifics of your project, try to create a road map for your paper. Mirror the structure of the paper itself, explaining how each piece fits into the bigger picture. It is usually best to write the introduction after you have made significant progress with your paper, so you can accurately mirror its structure.
A Strong Beginning
A common interpretation of the funnel structure is to start very broad and sift down to the thesis, but if you start too broad, you will lose your audience in the first line. Resist the temptation to begin your introduction with phrases like these:
· From the dawn of time…
· Throughout human history…
· In today’s world…
· From earliest memory…
· Webster’s defines [topic] as…
These openings have been used so often, they no longer grab our attention but trigger us into anticipating something dull and predictable. Instead, think of that top opening of the funnel as piquing the reader’s interest about the topic you’re writing about. You can do this with imagery (“A six-year-old girl in a tattered blue dress stands on the street corner at 11 p.m., her eyes searching every car…”), with a provocative statement (“The U.S. government is no longer ‘of’ or ‘by the people ‘ but is controlled by billionaires”), with context (“On any given evening on 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam in the city that never sleeps, there are crowds gathering in front of Lincoln Center”), or even with a concession to an opposing argument (“Amanda Wilcox’s 19-year-old daughter was murdered while home on winter break. Amanda and her husband Nick were completely devastated and beset by both grief and anger”).
Mirroring the Construction of Your Paper
After grabbing readers’ attention with an interesting opening, you’ll want to lay out your basic argument. This provides your readers with structure, appealing to the logical mind, after grabbing them through their emotions or their imagination. Leading them from your claims to your thesis, which is generally at the bottom of the “funnel,” is also a subtle act of persuasion, whispering, “Once I’ve proven all of these points, you’ll see that [my thesis] must be true.” You could actually say that, but generally it’s better to let the reader draw that conclusion by reading the solid, well-substantiated argument that is your paper. What you want to do here is simply draw a line from your opening to your thesis statement, using your claims.
While you’re appealing to logic and reason in this part of the introduction, you needn’t leave artistry behind entirely. Think of this part as weaving together each claim with the emotion you brought up in the beginning, bringing the strands in one by one. Together, they create the thesis.
The basic structure is this:
1. Introduce the general topic in an interesting way
2. Claim 1
3. Claim 2
4. Claim 3
5. Any other claims
6. Thesis statement
Try to leave out overt references to the fact that this is an essay (e.g., “In this essay, I will prove that…”). The form is there to provide the structure, giving you the freedom to be artistic within it.
Amanda Wilcox’s 19-year-old daughter was murdered while home on winter break. Amanda and her husband Nick were completely devastated and beset by both grief and anger. The culprit was caught, and friends of the couple would offer comfort by telling the couple that the man would pay for what he did, hopefully with his life. Amanda and Nick could see how people would think these words would help. Revenge seems satisfying on the surface: at least there is something that can be done to “right the wrong.” But neither of these broken-hearted parents could find solace in vengeance. They recognized that putting her murderer to death would not bring back their daughter, even if it might feel justified. They were also aware that even when the case against a felon seems air-tight, DNA evidence has cleared 263 convicts since the year 2000. The families of murder victims around the country have reason to feel anger, hurt, and even utter hatred for the person who took away their loved one. But the death penalty is a solution based on passion and emotion, not a viable punishment for any crime in a civilized society.
In this paragraph, the example in the opening takes us through the claims, getting us closer to the thesis. This is a way of weaving the paragraph together. The reader is ushered into the topic and through the claims without being conscious of reading an essay.
Write the Introduction Last
Saving your introductory paragraph until the end of your drafting process will put the power of your paper’s argument behind you as you create. Ask yourself these questions before you begin:
· Why is this topic interesting?
· What’s the most fascinating or shocking thing I found in my research?
· What kinds of things surprised me as I read and wrote?
· How would I tell a friend about what I found?
· If I were to pick up a book to read about this topic, what would capture my imagination?
Allow yourself to enjoy the process of writing your introduction. Let your creativity run free here, within the general structure. Take some risks! This is the place where your personality can show through, to the delight of the reader, who is undoubtedly ready and waiting to be surprised.
Approaches to Your Body Paragraphs
A powerful argument depends on solidly and appropriately constructed body paragraphs.
Learning Objectives
Order the elements of a body paragraph
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· The structure of each body paragraph includes a topic sentence, evidence supporting the topic sentence, a conclusion, and a transition.
· The topic sentence is an arguable statement related to the thesis, introducing the main idea of the paragraph.
· Part of creating an effective argument is choosing the most appropriate and powerful from the various forms of evidence and ways to present them.
· Transition sentences lead readers to the next claim in the argument.
Key Terms
· topic sentence: An arguable statement summarizing a claim that supports the thesis.
Constructing a Paragraph
The body of the paper presents your argument point by point to reveal the wisdom of your thesis. You decided on the order of these points during the outline phase, but as you write you may choose to reorder them for maximum impact. You may also decide to scrap points that don’t have the impact you expected them to have. Flexibility is a useful quality during the drafting phase.
Each body paragraph will be organized around a claim, which you’ll form into a topic sentence. You’ll generally begin each paragraph with its topic sentence, then you’ll move to the evidence that led you to this claim before ending with a concluding sentence that weaves claim and evidence together. You’ll also have transition sentences that link the paragraphs together, and they can appear at the end or beginning of each paragraph.
Sample Body Paragraph Structure
· Topic sentence (announcing the claim)
· Evidence 1
· Evidence 2
· Evidence 3
· Concluding sentence
The Topic Sentence
Like your thesis, each topic sentence is an arguable statement, not a fact. The facts come in the form of evidence that you’ll present in the next sentences. It needs to be clear how the topic sentence relates to your thesis and it should address only one point.
If you’re having difficulty formulating a topic sentence, you can write the following stem: “One reason I believe my thesis statement is true is this:” and then complete the sentence.
One reason I believe my thesis statement is true is this: The imagery in the opening lines of [Frost’s poem] “Home Burial” immediately evokes the tension between husband and wife.
Then you can leave off the stem and simply begin the paragraph with what you believe. Check to see whether the statement sums up one of your claims. If it doesn’t, you may need to revisit your claims and rework them so they fit your argument at this stage of the writing process. It’s common for your opinions to become clearer and more sophisticated as you spend more time with your topic, so don’t be afraid to make some changes.
Check, too, to see whether the topic sentence is arguable and clear. Occasionally, it may take two or three sentences to express the claim, and that can work, but being able to encapsulate it into one sentence means you understand what you’re communicating thoroughly enough to write concisely.
Presenting Evidence
As you approach the structure of an individual paragraph, you’ll want to consider how this particular claim would be best presented. You probably found different types of evidence in you research: quotes from people who’ve studied your topic extensively, stories or analyses from people who’ve had direct experience with it, and studies that offer conclusions. Recognize that using a series of any one of these types of evidence could become repetitive and either bore or overwhelm your reader. Pounding statistic after statistic into a paragraph may seem convincing as you’re writing, but it might have the opposite effect and make the reader disengage.
Instead, write your topic sentence and look over the evidence you’ve gathered for that claim. Is there a first-hand account that might best illustrate this point? Perhaps a quote from a well-known authority would capture your reader’s respect right away. It could be that a recent study found exactly what your topic sentence claims, and you want to lead with that.
Just as with the introductory paragraph, you’ll need to consider that rather than simply offering proof of your opinion, you’re also courting your reader. Variety of presentation will keep a reader interested in your argument, as will the strength and reliability of the evidence. If you’re hesitating to relate a story or to cite a study because you’re not sure whether it’s convincing, leave it out. Your reader will feel disrespected by any attempt to slip in a weaker point. There is no advantage to bulk over strength.
There are some organizational tools that can give you direction when forming your paragraphs. Just some of the ways to present evidence are as follows.
Cause-Effect
This type of paragraph explains why something happened. Often, you’ll want your reader to understand the relationship between your claim and your thesis, and this technique can link them.
Example: While people may cite various reasons for getting married, underneath every one of these claims is the need for security.
Problem- Solution
Here, the writer presents a question or issue and then shows how to solve it. This type of paragraph can show the reader why you’re proposing your thesis. The evidence can both prove the problem statement and begin to reveal the thesis-related solution.
Example: One problem with the increasing emphasis on college sports programs is the inevitable decrease in academic focus.
Compare-Contrast
This method exposes the similarities and differences between two things. This technique can provide greater clarity as to how your thesis makes more sense than an alternative idea.
Example: While the methane gasses produced by damming may be somewhat problematic, our primary concern should be the far greater amount of methane produced by the beef-production industry.
Sequential Exposition
This simply tells what happened in what order. It can be used to explain to a reader how events led to what the thesis proposes or the problem it seeks to rectify.
Example: Often, when a company is in financial trouble, management begins layoffs, which lead to lowered company costs, which leads to greater investor confidence, which leads to increased stock prices, which increase shareholder wealth and, often, management compensation.
Description
Offers details about the phenomenon or event being discussed. This is particularly useful when you want the reader to get the same picture of the issue that you have.
Example: His prison cell consisted of a toilet and a metal bed frame with a thin, stained mattress and a small plastic pillow. The air was stagnant and close, with fans only in the main eating area.
Concluding Your Paragraph and Transitioning
Your concluding sentence will often have an echo of the topic sentence in it while moving the reader forward to the next topic.
We see, then, that trees actually do have a chemical system of communication, stunning as that may seem, but what might that mean for the human-forest relationship?
The first part of the sentence, in this example, sums up the evidence just presented, and the second part introduces the next topic. Likely, the topic sentence of the next paragraph will suggest a shift in the way people approach forest management.
Of course, you won’t want to make every concluding sentence a question. You might decide to have a concluding sentence and then a transition sentence.
The fact that toxic sewage is still being dumped into our waterways is disheartening in itself. Even more startling, however, is the knowledge that the government’s regulatory agencies have all but endorsed the behavior.
In this case, we can presume the paragraph gave evidence that toxins are polluting streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. From the transition sentence, we anticipate that the next paragraph will contain evidence that government agencies not only knew about it but somehow supported the practice.
The Collected Paragraphs
When you’ve written each body paragraph, look them over to check for variety in your presentation styles, strength of argument, logical paragraph positioning, and overall readability. While a good mix of styles makes the paper much more interesting, the most important thing is that each claim is presented at its most powerful. Your conclusion will serve the purpose of weaving your claims together, but before you move to that stage, take one last look at the body and make the changes necessary to strengthen your argument as much as possible.
Approaches to Your Concluding Paragraph
The conclusion, while not adding new information to the argument, can inspire readers to believe the paper’s thesis.
Learning Objectives
Order the elements of a successful concluding paragraph
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· The concluding paragraph summarizes the paper’s argument and restates the thesis.
· Reversing the concept-funnel format of the introductory paragraph can be a useful form for the conclusion.
· Recommendations, projections, or challenges
can follow the argument summary.
· Revisiting any images, quotes, or questions offered in the introduction can be satisfying to the reader and add power to the argument.
The concluding paragraph (or, rarely, paragraphs) summarizes the argument, showing how it supports the thesis. Its purpose is to leave readers with a strong sense of the argument, thereby encouraging them to adopt the thesis as their own.
The concept-funnel approach often used for introductions can be reversed here, moving the focus from narrow to broad. Along the way, you can include recommendations for future behavior, if behavior change is applicable to your essay. Here you have a common format for concluding paragraphs:
· Thesis statement revisited
· Claims repeated, woven with transitions
· Recommendations, projections, or challenges
· Introductory opening revisited
One way to think of the conclusion is as “The Tale of the Conquering Hero.” The hero recounts his adventure by first telling you his accomplishment, then recounting the steps that led to it, and finally putting it into a broader context.
Thesis Statement
It can be effective to begin the conclusion with the thesis statement, after a transition stem, such as, “It’s now quite clear that…,” or “As we have seen, the preponderance of evidence shows us that…” You needn’t necessarily repeat the thesis statement word for word, but its essence should be the same as it was written in the introduction.
Restating the thesis signals to the reader that you’re no longer going to introduce new evidence and are wrapping up your argument. The reader makes an emotional shift with this sign, and so making your purpose known immediately helps keep the reader interested.
Revisiting the Argument
Next
, you’ll restate your claims, but you’ll want to do this in a way that flows. Your reader will check out quickly if you’re simply marching him or her through the paragraphs. This time, you’re considering each claim as a drop in the bucket of your argument. You’re no longer trying to prove the claim. Your reader has already seen the evidence supporting the topic sentence. Think of the conclusion as the philosophy phase of the paper, where you take a broader look at the issue and consider the points of the argument together.
As you’re weaving your claims together, you can get creative. Snatches of evidence, such as a quote or a statistic, can be included for emphasis if used sparingly. You may decide to change the order, if you want the claims to flow a little differently here than they did in the body of the paper. Your point here is to show the reader how these claims inform one another to support the thesis, and to emphasize the significance of each claim to the argument.
“We found that [claim 1], which on its own would have demanded a significant shift in policy, but when we also consider [claim 2], it is no longer a question of need, but of urgency in the highest degree.”
Sometimes, the process of writing the conclusion will reveal a hole in the argument, and you can use this draft as a prompt to go back to the research phase to fill the gap in knowledge. Keep in mind, though, that any new claims or evidence must be integrated into the body paragraphs of the paper. There should be no new evidence or claims presented in the conclusion.
Optional: Recommendations and Challenges
In this stage of the conclusion, you’ve wrapped up your argument and are now asking people to think more broadly. You can offer recommendations for readers to change their behavior based on what they’ve learned from the essay. You can paint a picture of the future—either one where the current state continues or one where the changes you consider in the paper are implemented. Or you can make a societal challenge of some kind.
“So, if grief is natural, and we have seen that it is, we must discontinue our practice of avoiding the discomfort of death and the sadness of the bereaved. We must begin to embrace the lows of life as well as the highs.”
“We have seen that polyamory is a viable social alternative to marriage and can result in relationships even more committed and reliable, but what does that mean for you? Will you continue to cling to tradition and spurn those who live in non-traditional ways? Will you be one of the forces slamming the door shut on social acceptance of ‘different others’? Or will you open your mind and your heart and recognize that there are other ways of being that work as well as your own?”
“Armed now with the knowledge of how dire the situation is, we must act. The three most important areas for us to implement personal changes are…”
This portion of the conclusion won’t apply to all topics, and it’s certainly not a requirement. You may choose to leave the reader to consider the implications of the argument, rather than creating a kind of call to action. You may want to try both versions and see which one you prefer.
Optional: Introductory Opening Revisited
While this option may feel unnecessary, after all that has gone into your conclusion, at least consider revisiting the opening to your introduction. It can be very satisfying to a reader to have the closure that even just a few such sentences can provide.
Say, for example, that your introduction began with a description of a pre-teen girl in a drug-riddled city being forced to walk the streets to earn money for her parents’ drug habit. If it’s a powerful image, it will linger in the reader’s mind. Bringing the reader back to that image in the conclusion can close the emotional loop for the reader, showing him or her how individual action, or a change in policy, can change the situation for this girl. The power of that emotion can significantly add to the power of your argument, so you wouldn’t want to waste the opportunity.
You may have begun your paper with a quotation, rather than an image, or with a question. Revisiting those words now offers a spark of recognition in the reader and subconsciously makes the argument seem solid and well thought-out.
While you needn’t get overly emotional with your ending, you do want to make the conclusion powerful. Therefore, avoid weakening your argument in any way here, by, for example, making concessions, belittling yourself as inexpert, or admitting to not doing enough research. Make your case and stick by it, ending strong and with integrity.
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Quoting and
Paraphrasing
The Basics of Quotations
When you’re writing a paper, it is important to avoid vague generalizations, especially when it comes to paraphrasing other authors.
Learning Objectives
Identify problematic generalizations
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Vague terms like “critics say” or “is widely regarded as” that attempt to take the place of particular examples weaken evidence by not citing specific sources.
· Quoting and paraphrasing the ideas and knowledge others have set forth is a way to show your reader how you arrived at your conclusions.
· You must always cite ideas, as well as any other information other than commonly known and accepted facts.
· Quotations are most appropriate when the author is particularly well-known, when you want to add an air of authority to the information, and when the exact words are particularly eloquent.
· Paraphrasing gives you more flexibility with sentence structure and allows the reader to hear your unique voice and reasoning in the paper.
Key Terms
· quote: To repeat the exact words of another with the acknowledgement of the source.
· quotation: A fragment of a human expression that is being referred to by somebody else.
· paraphrase: To restate another’s thoughts or ideas in different words.
Avoiding Generalities
When writing a paper, it is important to avoid vague generalizations, especially when it comes to characterizing the thoughts of others, whether they hold similar or contrary positions to your own. Catch-all phrases such as “critics say” or “is widely regarded as” are vague and unconvincing because they have no basis for verification. These types of phrases might
seem useful to condense research where you’ve discovered ubiquitous agreement on a particular position, but in those cases, it would be better to cite a series of authors or quote a particular instance rather than make a sweeping generalization. A properly placed quotation can articulate your position and provide substantiation at the same time. Most often a quotation is taken from the literature, but also sentences from a speech, scenes from a movie, elements of a painting, etc. may be quoted if they further the argument you’re trying to make.
Did it drive you crazy as a kid when an adult in your life told you you had to do something “Because I said so!,” and offered no other justification? Think of that when you’re about to write, “They say that…,” or “Most people agree…” You’re not giving the reader any reason to believe you. They’re going to furrow their brows just as you did as a child, and your trust with your reader will be compromised.
Collecting Quotations
While you’re researching your topic, when a brilliantly worded sentence catches your eye, save it. When you find a statement summarizing evidence you plan to use or evidence you think you might use, save it. Look for statements that concur with your argument, but also for assertions that contradict your claims, as you’ll use these for refutation purposes.
You can use programs like Zotero or EndNote, or simply drag the quotation into a document. Just make sure you’re also saving the complete source material (for both in-text citations and the reference page), so you won’t have to go searching for it later. If you can organize your quotations by topic, so much the better. They’ll be much easier to find when you need them.
When to Quote, Paraphrase, and Cite
It’s important first to recognize when citations are required. In the U.S., ideas are always attributed to the thinker or writer, as are any facts discovered through research. If you find information at a particular source, you’ll usually need to cite that source, though commonly known and accepted facts (such as the undisputed dates of a particular war, for example, or the pound equivalent of 32 ounces) need not be cited.
There are times when a quotation will give you maximum impact and times when paraphrasing is more effective. Look at the following alternatives in a paper about transforming cultural mores.
· “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong,” (Gandhi, 1931).
· In fact, as Gandhi said in 1931, offering forgiveness is not a display of weakness, but indeed, its opposite.
In this case, while the second sentence isn’t a bad summary of the idea, both the syntax of the direct quote and the reputation of the speaker make the quotation far more powerful than the paraphrased reference. Quotations are useful when the author is particularly well-known, when you want to add an air of authority to the information, and when the exact words are particularly eloquent or historically significant. This one meets all the criteria.
Here’s one from an essay about the use of alternative medicine:
· One bright spot in the ongoing campaign against human trafficking has been the United Nations, founded after the World War II.
In this case, there’s no need to quote or paraphrase. The first part of the sentence is your opinion, and the second part is general and undisputed knowledge. Widely accepted facts like when the UN was founded needn’t be paraphrased or cited. If you were to then go on to tell us what exactly the UN has done to combat human trafficking, you’d need to cite your sources.
Here’s an example of paraphrasing:
· There are actually 69,436,660 registered Catholics in the United States (22% of the U.S. population) according to the American bishops’ count in their Official Catholic Directory 2013.
You wouldn’t need to quote the directory, because there’s no more power in the quote than in your summary of it. But since it is a precise number that isn’t common knowledge, you do need to cite it. Notice that the word “actually” is coloring the phrase. It’s the author’s way of disputing a possible perception that the religion is in decline. This is how using your own words gives the option of contextualizing. Paraphrasing gives you more flexibility with sentence structure and allows the reader to hear your unique voice and reasoning in the paper.
The catch with paraphrasing is that you need to be sure that all the words you’re using are actually your own, other than conventional terms and designations (like “registered Catholics”). If there are particular phrases within a work you’re paraphrasing that you’d like to quote directly, you’ll want to put quotes around those phrases, like this:
In Democracy Matters, for example, West advocates revisiting the foundation of the U.S. Constitution to recognize and counter “free market fundamentalism” which he believes, among other policies, has undercut the document’s intention (West, 2004).
Here, the phrase “free market fundamentalism” is clearly a phrase unique to West’s work and must be recognized as such by using the quotation marks.
To Quote or to Paraphrase?
Consider whether you should quote, paraphrase, or simply state the following examples:
1. On life: “90 percent of it is half mental.”
2. About 68 percent [of people over age 25 in the U.S.] do not have a bachelor’s degree.
3. Fewer homes were lost to fires in San Diego County last year than this year.
4. Bitter herb combinations have been used for centuries to stimulate the digestive system.
5. “[The disappearance of honeybees] is the biggest general threat to our food supply.”
The first sentence is a good example of something you should quote. Knowing who said it (Yogi Berra) is important, because it’s an original thought, and because knowing the speaker is one reason why it’s funny. You wouldn’t want to paraphrase it because the exact words are important to the humor and the wording is unique to the speaker.
Number 2 could be paraphrased or quoted, but paraphrasing might be the better choice because you could leave out the brackets and put the statistic in context of whatever you’re writing about—for example, “In fact, despite the assumptions of many middle class parents, only about 32 percent of people living in the United States have completed a bachelor’s degree,” (2015, Politifact.com).
Number 3 is a bit of a gray area as far as citation is concerned. You might assume that it’s a common fact that could be found anywhere, and so you wouldn’t need to cite it. That said, it may depend on the context of the quote, and whether it’s a disputed idea. If your reader questions it, you’re going to lose credibility without a citation that he or she can follow up on. If it is disputed, you’ll want to paraphrase and cite the source. It’s not likely that quoting directly would provide more credibility, so it is therefore unnecessary.
Number 4 would generally not need to be cited, though you’ll likely be following it up with more specific information that will. You might consider that a quote from an herbalist or doctor offering the same information might give the skeptical reader a feeling of being on more solid ground.
Number 5 is one you’ll want to quote directly, as the person who said it (Kevin Hackett, of the USDA) is a key person in the debate about honeybee colony collapse and what to do about it. You’ll note that there’s no question about whether or not to cite the source, because it’s an original thought, not a common fact.
You see, then, that while the issue of citation is relatively straightforward—when in doubt, cite—the question of quotation versus paraphrase is subtler. It’s a decision based both on the needs of the argument and artistic sensibility.
The revision process will be helpful in this regard. You’ll notice if your paper plods from one quote to another, overwhelming the reader with other people’s words. You’ll also notice whether it seems less than authoritative and needs the backing of direct quotes. The citations, throughout, are a foundational element, showing the reader how your argument developed and why you think as you do about the subject. Let those whose shoulders you’re standing on support you, but don’t let them take over. It’s your paper, after all.
Introducing and Formatting Quotations
To quote an author, copy the author’s exact language and use quotation marks to show you are reproducing language from another source.
Learning Objectives
Apply formatting rules for using quotations
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Use quotation marks around a statement to give the original writer or speaker credit.
· When you introduce a quote, pay close attention to the proper use of quotation marks and related punctuation.
· To paraphrase is to restate another author ‘s point in your own words. When you paraphrase, you don’t need to use quotation marks, but you still need to give credit to the author and provide a citation. Otherwise, you are committing plagiarism.
Key Terms
· paraphrase: A restatement of a text in different words, often to clarify meaning.
· quotation marks: Symbols used to denote a quotation in writing, written at the beginning and end of the quotation.
· quotation: A fragment of a human expression that is being referred to by somebody else.
Quoting versus Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is using a particular idea that you took from another author and putting it in your own words. Quoting is using the exact words of another author. Both methods help you introduce another author’s work as a means of strategically improving the persuasiveness of your paper. Generally, you will choose a quotation rather than paraphrasing when you want to add an air of authority to the information you’re presenting, when the words you’re using are offered by a source important to your particular topic, or when the exact words have historical relevance or are particularly eloquent.
To quote an author, you should copy the author’s exact language and frame the words with quotation marks, which signals that you are reproducing exact language from another source. Quotation marks give full credit to the original author, so you’ll need to make it clear whose words they are.
Introducing a Quotation
An introductory tag is one way to effectively introduce quotations. This is also known as a “signal phrase.” An introductory tag is a phrase that introduces a quote by providing the authority’s name and a strong verb. For example:
Desmond Tutu counters, “Racism, xenophobia and unfair discrimination have spawned slavery, when human beings have bought and sold and owned and branded fellow human beings as if they were so many beasts of burden.”
This is only one way to introduce a quotation, however, and if it’s the only method you use, your paper could begin to sound stilted. Consider incorporating the quote into a sentence in other ways, as well. You may, for example, explain the quote before offering it:
Thousands of years ago, Gautama Buddha was offering teachings on how not to hold on to hostilities, saying: “You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.” This is by no means a new problem.
Formatting and Punctuating Quotations
Quotations call for special rules regarding punctuation:
If a quotation is introduced formally, use a colon.
· The author explicitly states: “Socrates was only a figment of Plato’s imagination.”
If a quotation is set off with “he said” or “she said” (or the implication of it), use a comma preceding the quotation.
Use an ellipsis (…) to indicate that there is more to the quote than you offer here.
· He brought listeners to tears when he ended his last broadcast with his familiar, “And that’s the way it is…”
If your quotation has a quotation within it, the inner quotation needs a pair of single quotation marks and the outer needs a pair of double quotation marks.
· This is the pivotal part of the story: “The doorman cried out, ‘You forgot your coat!’ as he ran after the cab.”
If you choose to break up a single-sentence quotation with your own words, use commas to offset the quotation from your explanation.
· “In the middle of the novel,” the critic claims, “the main character’s reflections are restricted by his sense of impending change.”
Periods and commas should be placed inside the quotation marks. Colons, semicolons, and dashes should be placed outside the quotation marks. Question marks and exclamation points should be placed inside the quotation marks, unless the punctuation applies to the whole sentence (not just the quote).
· When the team’s best player said, “We’re in for a bad season,” it became clear that the team’s morale was flagging.
· Was America really listening when President Kennedy said, “Ask what you can do for your country”?
When to Use Brackets Within Quotations
When using quotations, you need to be very careful to copy the words as they appear in the source text. However, you may find that a quotation does not grammatically align with the way you want to use it, or that the relevance of the quotation may not be readily apparent to a reader. When that happens, you might want to change it slightly in order to make it fit your essay. In such cases, square brackets should be used around words not contained in the original quote.
Brackets can be used to do the following:
Clarify meaning:
· “[Fiestas] are the lifeblood of this region. We need to honor our traditions even, and especially, after tragedy.” Sr. Gomez told reporters. (The original quotation used the pronoun “They,” in answer to a reporter’s question about a fiesta.)
Enclose a change in verb tense to better flow with your sentence:
· Silven maintained the assertion throughout his life: “It seems unlikely that this pairing [was] due to a human need for companionship.”
Enclose an explanatory phrase if a word isn’t clear:
· Renowned family therapist Virginia Satir once mused, “I have often thought had there been somebody like me around, something might have been able to be done [about her own divorce].”
Block Quotations
If you are using a long quotation (four or more typed lines), instead of quotation marks, you should indent the entire quotation five spaces. If the quote is two or more paragraphs, indent the first line of each paragraphs an additional five spaces (maintaining the indent of the rest of the quote). When using this format, you do not need to use quotation marks.
Quotation on a rock: A quote on the wall of Thierry Ehrmann’s “Abode of Chaos.” This graffiti-style quotation cites its source text and page number.
Paraphrasing
Appropriately paraphrasing the ideas of researchers and authors can add strength to your argument.
Learning Objectives
Distinguish between paraphrasing and summarizing
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· When using your own words to discuss someone else’s work, you are paraphrasing; when you use the words of someone else, you are quoting.
· Both methods help you to introduce another author ‘s work as a means of strategically improving the persuasiveness of your paper, by providing an example or evidence relevant to a claim that you have made.
· Arguments are more powerful when source material is woven through the paper with paraphrasing, saving quotations for moments of impact, authority, and eloquence.
· If a quotation needs to be substantially changed, it may be better to simply paraphrase the author’s ideas in your own words.
· Fully understanding the context of the words you’re paraphrasing, and citing the source completely, gives an authentic representation of the source and strengthens your argument.
Key Terms
· context: The surroundings, circumstances, environment, or background that determine, specify, or clarify the meaning of a piece of writing.
· quotation: A fragment of a human expression that is being referred to by somebody else.
· citation: A paraphrase of a passage from a book, or from another person, for the purposes of a scholarly paper.
As you’re writing your paper, you’ll want to bring in evidence to support your claims. You’ll generally do this through paraphrasing and quoting what you’ve discovered in the research phase of your writing process. Here, we’ll focus on paraphrasing, noting its appropriate use and differentiating it from other forms of citations.
Paraphrasing Is Different from Summarizing
When you summarize an article or book, you’re providing an overview of the work, highlighting its major findings or themes. A summary is like looking at a distant source through a telescope: the general shape and ideas are clear, but the details are fuzzy. You may need to offer a summary if your topic is a book or a study potentially unknown to your reader, so that he or she has a basis for understanding the argument to come, but when offering evidence, you’ll usually be choosing to paraphrase rather than summarize.
You want to lead your reader, in your paper, along the path that brought you to your intellectual conclusion: the thesis statement you set out in the introduction. That means you’ll be presenting the reader with the research that convinced you of this statement, including statistics that impressed you, others’ arguments for or against a particular position, facts you encountered that shifted your perspective, and even stories or examples that touched you emotionally. These all came from somewhere, and you’ll want to share their origins with your readers. There are a couple reasons for this:
· Readers like to be able to check things out for themselves. You may tell them that 39.4% of adults in the U.S. are obese, but they may find that hard to believe. When they check out the source (the Centers for Disease Control), however, they’ll likely be convinced and more willing to accept the premise you’re building on.
· Citing sources makes you credible with both your audience and with those you’re paraphrasing. It shows you’re not pretending that the information you’ve gathered is solely from your own mind, but you’re building on what others have said, observed, and experienced. That’s what research is all about.
Paraphrasing will be the most common way to share with your readers what you’ve found. When you paraphrase, you’re maintaining the same level of detail as the original source (unlike summarizing), but you’re synthesizing what you’ve read to create a seamless argument.
Why Not Just Use Quotations?
Imagine how choppy a paper would be, jumping from one person ‘s words to another, to another, and another with only transition sentences in between. It would be very difficult to follow, and your own voice would be drowned out by all the “experts.” Expository writing isn’t about giving us other people’s opinions—it’s about giving us your own. Those other voices are there to support you and your argument.
What you’ll be doing, then, is writing what you think and weaving in evidence to support your thinking. For example, look at the following paragraph:
“An ethical approach, while both admirable and arguably an improvement in today’s educational system, does not go far enough as a method of truly connecting human beings to one another and to their true nature. In her book Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education, Nel Noddings offers a more feminine approach to education—one based on receptivity—that prioritizes caring over justice.”
You see here that the writer has a firm grasp of both the topic and the approach Nel Noddings describes. Even though he is citing evidence and even a specific source, the voice is still his, weaving Dr. Noddings’s thoughts into his own. This kind of weaving is the primary reason to use paraphrasing.
Another reason is to save direct quotations for impact. If you quote only when the source will offer an air of authority to your argument, when the exact words are either historically important or particularly eloquent, or when the source is of primary importance to your topic, the quotes will carry much more weight. In all other instances, paraphrasing will move the narrative along much more smoothly, tying it to your own style along the way.
Even when you want to use a quote, it sometimes needs to be changed so substantially to fit your narrative that it may be better to simply cite the author’s ideas in your own words.
Authenticity in Paraphrasing
As with any instance of appealing to another author’s work within your own, whether you use paraphrasing or quotation, the primary criterion for use should always be its relevance to your thesis and claims. However, you’ll need to be sure that you’re not twisting or manipulating another author’s words to match your own purposes.
Make notes during the research phase on the context of each piece of evidence you find, and double-check that context for relevance to your own claim. This will ensure that you have not misused another author’s work for your own purposes.
If you find an article that quotes a book, an interview, or another article, do your best to track down the original source so you can be sure of its context. For example, people sometimes quote Robert Frost as saying, “Good fences make good neighbors.” If you read the poem, however, you’ll find that the sentence is ironic: it’s a sad quip offered by the neighbor of the narrator in the poem, not a maxim for how to live well.
Forms of Citation
Another part of authenticity, of course, is citing your sources correctly and completely. The form of citation within the text will vary based on the style you’re asked to use, but you will need, at a minimum, the title of the work and the name of the collection (if any) it is in, the publication date, the author’s or authors’ name(s), the editor’s name, if any, and the page number(s) of the material you’re paraphrasing. All of this helps your reader find the source material.
Interlocking architectural components: Paraphrasing links your own thinking with the ideas and research of others, creating a strong and engaging argument.
The Importance of Wording
The Importance of Wording
Establishing the proper tone, choosing appropriate words, and using varied sentence structure improves academic writing.
Learning Objectives
Distinguish between an objective and a subjective tone in writing.
Key Takeaways
Key Points
·
Tone
is important in all writing. It conveys the author ‘s attitude towards the topic.
Diction
(word choice) and syntax (writing style) influence tone.
· In academic writing, the tone should be formal and objective. The purpose of academic writing is to engage in a neutral rather than a subjective (or personal) dialog with the reader.
· The audience for a piece of writing should always be considered when establishing tone. In academic writing, the audience is assumed to be a general unknown reader who does not necessarily have an in-depth knowledge of the topic. Therefore, all information must be clearly explained so that a general reader can follow it.
Key Terms
· diction: A writer’s distinctive choice of words.
· connotation: The wide array of positive and negative associations a word or phrase evoke in the reader.
· denotation: The literal or dictionary meaning of a word or phrase.
· tone: The writer’s attitude towards the subject and the audience, especially as influenced by diction and syntax.
· syntax: The way in which words and phrases are put together.
Syntax
Writing with variety can make your writing distinctive and interesting. This can be achieved by using varied syntax, or sentence structure. Writing consistently short sentences can make your writing sound choppy. Using longer, more complex sentences can make your writing difficult to read and may bog the reader down. Additionally, sentence structure within a sentence can impact your reader’s response. While you don’t want to use too much variety in your sentences, knowing different ways to structure sentences is important. For example, here are a few different ways to begin your sentences:
· Prepositional phrase: Out of necessity, the nonprofit animal society held its first fundraising event this year.
· Sentence connective: Many organizations struggle with attendance for a new fundraising event. But the nonprofit animal society had tremendous success with their first pet show.
· Appositive: A noted botanist, Jane Doe was named a Distinguished Fellow of the Botanical Society of America in 2013.
· Adverbial clause: Suddenly, Jane Doe found herself among the most famous botanists of her generation.
Academic writing should demonstrate an understanding of how to write effectively. When done correctly, using short and long sentences that start differently adds professionalism to your writing.
Diction
Syntax focuses primarily on sentence structure, while diction concerns the words contained in sentences. In academic writing, choosing the proper words impacts your argument as well as your credibility. Knowing the difference between the denotation, or literal meaning of words, and connotation, or the wide range of thoughts and impressions made by words or phrases, will improve academic writing. You may be unaware of the connotation of some words in addition to their literal meaning. Strengthen your diction by ensuring you know the full range of meaning of the words you use. Avoid overly informal diction as well, as these words are often less specific or simply not appropriate for academic writing.
Example
The denotation of home is a location where a person or group resides.
The connotation of home varies from person to person. Most people view home with comfort, security, fond memories or affection.
Think of the difference in the words “domicile” vs. “home.” Both words mean “place of residence” in the dictionary but they communicate very different feelings. Domicile might be the best choice of term for a paper in law or real estate classes. Home might be a better choice for a sociology or childhood education paper.
Tone
Writing with variety can aid in developing the appropriate tone and hold your reader’s attention. Tone shows the writer’s attitude towards the subject and the audience. The writer’s tone can influence the reader’s response to the writing. In academic writing, it’s important to maintain an appropriate tone throughout. Writers can do this by paying attention to syntax and diction.
Word Choice
Precision
You can increase the clarity of your writing by using concrete, specific words rather than abstract, general ones.
Learning Objectives
Classify words as specific or general
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· When possible, replace vague generalizations with more specific and concise wording. This clarifies for your reader the topic of your paper and the conceptual plane of your ensuing argument.
· You can increase the clarity of your writing by using specific words rather than general ones.
· Your objective when choosing words is not to avoid general words altogether, but rather to avoid using them when your readers will want more specific ones.
Key Terms
· specific words: Precise words from a narrower scope.
· general words: All-inclusive words from a broader scope.
Through precise word selection, you can increase the clarity of your argument by enabling your readers to grasp your intended meaning quickly and accurately. At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that your word choices affect a reader’s attitudes toward your presentation and your subject matter. Therefore, you also need to choose words that will convey your ideas clearly to your readers. This kind of precise writing will help your audience understand your argument.
General vs. Specific Words
Almost anything can be described either in general words or in specific ones. General words and specific words are not opposites. General words cover a broader spectrum with a single word than specific words. Specific words narrow the scope of your writing by providing more details. For example, “car” is a general term that could be made more specific by writing “Honda Accord.” Specific words are a subset of general words. You can increase the clarity of your writing by choosing specific words over general words. Specific words help your readers understand precisely what you mean in your writing. Here’s an example of general and specific words in a sentence:
· General: She said, “I don’t want you to go.”
· Specific: She murmured, “I don’t want you to go.”
The words “said” and “murmured” are similar. They both are a form of verbal communication. However, “murmured” gives the sentence a different feeling from “said.” Thus, as a writer, choosing specific words over general words can add description to and change the mood of your writing.
In academic writing, it is important to find a balance between general and specific words. Always using specific terms can overwhelm the reader and detract from your argument. Also, depending on what you are writing, general terms may be more appropriate than specific words. In scientific, technical, and other specialized fields, writers often need to make general points, describe general circumstances, or provide general guidance for action. For example, if you are writing a paper on best practices in business, you may write one of the following sentences:
· In the normal course of procedure, it is advised to avoid modifications in hiring procedures after they have been established.
· Normally, it is best to avoid changing hiring processes after they have been established.
Both of these sentences make the same statement, but they may not both be appropriate for your paper. Writing with precision helps hold your audience’s attention. Making statements too wordy in an argument can be dull for your readers. Think of your audience while writing. Sometimes it is best to keep your writing simple and precise. The more precise your writing is, the easier it will be for your reader to understand your argument. Your objective when choosing words is to blend general and specific words together within your writing when appropriate, ensuring you keep your reader’s attention while conveying your message.
Using the Dictionary and Thesaurus Effectively
Because words can differ depending on their context, it is a good idea to check the definition and spelling of any tricky words in a dictionary.
Learning Objectives
Select appropriate tools to help with word choice
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Spell-check features in word processors are helpful tools, but they will not catch all mistakes.
· A thesaurus can add variety to dry prose by helping you identify words with similar meanings.
· Always use a dictionary to confirm the meaning of any word about which you are unsure.
· Diction is important because it refers to the writer’s or speaker’s distinctive vocabulary choices and style, and it impacts word choice and syntax.
Key Terms
· thesaurus: A publication, usually in the form of a book, that provides synonyms (and sometimes antonyms) for the words of a given language.
· dictionary: A reference work with a list of words from one or more languages, normally ordered alphabetically and explaining each word’s meaning and sometimes containing information on its etymology, usage, translations, and other data.
Using the Dictionary and Thesaurus Effectively
Always use a dictionary to confirm the meaning of any word about which you are unsure. Although the built-in dictionary that comes with your word processor is a great time-saver, it falls far short of college-edition dictionaries, or the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). If the spell-check tool suggests bizarre corrections for one of your words, it could be that you know a word it does not. When in doubt, always check a dictionary to be sure.
Vocabulary Choice and Style
If it feels like you keep repeating a word throughout your writing, pull out a thesaurus for ideas on different, more creative choices. A thesaurus can add some color and depth to a piece that may otherwise seem repetitive and mundane. However, make sure that the word you substitute has the meaning you intend to convey. Thesauruses provide words with similar meanings, not identical meanings. If you are unsure about the precise meaning of a replacement word, look up the new word in a dictionary.
Word Accuracy
Regardless of the words you use, you must use them accurately. Usage errors can distract readers from your argument. How can you ensure that words are used accurately? Unfortunately, there is no easy way, but there are some solutions. You can revisit a text that uses the word and observe how the word is used in that instance. Additionally, you can consult a dictionary whenever you are uncertain. Be especially careful when using words that are not yet part of your usual vocabulary.
Connotation
Connotation is the extended or suggested meaning of a word beyond its literal meaning. For example, “flatfoot” and “police detective” are often thought to be synonyms, but they connote very different things: “flatfoot” suggests a plodding, perhaps not very bright cop, while “police detective” suggests an intelligent professional.
Verbs, too, have connotations. For instance, to “suggest” that someone has overlooked a key fact is not the same as to “insinuate” it. To “devote” your time to working on a client’s project is not the same as to “spend” your time on it. The connotations of your words can shape your audience ‘s perception of your argument. For example:
· Our sales team is constantly trying to locate new markets for our various product lines.
· Our sales team is constantly driving to locate new markets for our various product lines.
Register
“Register” refers to a word’s association with certain situations or contexts. In a restaurant ad, for example, we might expect to see the claim that it offers “amazingly delicious food.” However, we would not expect to see a research company boast in a proposal for a government contract that it is capable of conducting “amazingly good studies.” Here, the word “amazingly” is in the register of consumer advertising, but not in the register of research proposals.
Being aware of the connotation and register of the words you choose in your writing will help increase your writing’s clarity
Tone
Appropriate Language
The goal of academic writing is to present and articulate an argument to your readers.
Learning Objectives
Distinguish between simple and complex language
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Avoid writing that is pretentious and jargon heavy.
· In your writing, strive for clarity by using appropriate and concise language. This will make your overall argument much clearer for your reader.
· Longer words and sentences may confuse your readers, or can make the writing sound arrogant.
Key Terms
· jargon: Technical terminology unique to a particular subject.
· first person: A form of narrative writing using words in a way that gives the impression that the action is happening to the narrator.
· colloquial: Denoting a manner of speaking or writing that is characteristic of familiar conversation; informal.
· argument: An attempt to persuade someone of something by giving reasons or evidence for accepting a particular conclusion.
· cliché: An expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which, although considered meaningful at some earlier time, has now become overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, even to the point of being trite or irritating.
Based on the kind of language that readers encounter in a given piece of writing, a reader will draw conclusions about the writer that can enhance or distract from the persuasiveness of the argument. The writer’s tone, which is conveyed through word choice and sentence structure, impacts the reader’s response. The writer’s tone should be contingent on the type of writing. Academic writing should be more formal than personal writing. This formality is often conveyed through tone. Formal writing requires choosing words that are meaningful to the members of your audience.
The ability to craft and control language is essential to writing effectively. Effective language matches the reader’s sense of what is appropriate for a given topic. Given that readers of academic papers expect a more formal level of interaction with a topic than do readers of popular writing, they expect a certain level of technical prose. Nonetheless, one should avoid unnecessarily complicated language, jargon, and clichés. It is important to remember that complicated ideas can be expressed clearly. Additionally, the use of first person in academic writing can be appropriate in certain situations.
The Use of Simple Language
The goal of academic writing is to present and articulate an argument. While utilizing a large vocabulary can be helpful in terms of explaining complicated ideas in different ways, one does not want to complicate the language of a text. While contractions and colloquial words and phrases often make writing sound informal, the use of shorter words does not necessarily indicate an informal style. In fact, many writers prefer simpler language as it can help to clearly convey difficult ideas or concepts. Longer words and sentences may confuse your readers, or can make the writing sound arrogant. Here is an example:
· Overly complicated: The process of narrativization makes present, within a realm of the imaginary, a social and historical awareness that is unavailable within simple, material facticity.
The process of narrativization makes present, within a realm of the imaginary, a social and historical awareness that is unavailable within simple, material facticity: The title demonstrates an example of a sentence that is pretentious and jargon heavy. Avoiding pretentious writing and defining any technical jargon will endow your writing with a clarity that readers will appreciate.
· Simplified: Narratives demonstrate something about the world from which they emerge, despite being classified as fiction.
It’s a good rule of thumb, even in academic work, to err on the side of simplicity rather than linguistic ornamentation. In other words, avoid using needlessly inflated words that bloat your prose and distract your readers from your central argument. The goal is formal writing, not extravagant and flowery writing.
Jargon
Jargon is language that is used in a particular context and may not be well understood outside of that context (e.g. language specific to a particular profession). In some situations, specialized terms can help you communicate effectively. They convey precise, technical meanings economically insofar as many specialized terms have no exact equivalent in everyday speech. They can also help you establish credibility in your field by showing that you are familiar with established conventions.
Still, while there are situations where the use of jargon is appropriate, in academic writing, it’s best to consider the audience first.
Defining Terms for New Audiences
Formal writing may require using specialized terms even though some people in your audience may not understand them. For instance, you may be writing to a group of readers that includes people in your field and others outside of it, or you may be explaining an entirely new subject to your readers. In such cases, there are several ways to define the terms for readers who are not familiar with them:
1. Give a synonym:
· On a boat, a rope or cord is called a line.
2. Give a description:
· The exit gate consists of tow arms that hold a jug while it is being painted and then allow it to proceed down the production line.
3. Make an analogy:
· An atom is like a miniature solar system in which the nucleus is the sun and the electrons are the planets that revolve around it.
4. Give a classical definition, wherein you define the term by naming some familiar group of things to which it belongs and then identifying the key distinction between the object being defined and the other members of the group.
· A burrow is a hole in the ground dug by an animal for shelter or habitation.
Clichés
A cliché is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, or effect, and even to the point of being trite or irritating, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. While clichés have a certain usefulness insofar as they can quickly communicate familiar ideas, they are rarely appropriate in formal writing. The reason we want to avoid using clichés in academic writing is that they tend to be ambiguous and can come off as overly colloquial and informal.
Using the First Person in Academic Writing
Teachers or professors may have told you to take out any first-person references to yourself in formal writing, particularly within persuasive papers where you are trying to convince a reader to take a specific position on a given topic. While this is not an absolute rule, it is important to understand why you have been told to avoid using subjective language, such as “I,” “me,” or “my.”
The primary reason that subjective language should be avoided is to improve how a reader perceives the argument you are presenting. Some forms of nonfiction writing, such as essayistic writing, are enhanced by the use of subjective language, which introduces the author as a presence within the text. Frequently, this use of subjective language can imbue the writing with a quality that many feel should be absent from argumentative papers. The use of first-person pronouns demonstrates how the author’s biographical particulars enhance or expose something significant about the topic that they are writing about. However, formal papers, such as those written for college or graduate courses, tend to contain an argumentative structure in which objective language is used to make claims with evidence leading to a particular conclusion.
Using objective language helps shift your presence as a writer into the background in order to foreground the particulars of the argument that you are presenting. This can assist readers in smoothly following the trajectory of your argument toward a particular conclusion, as opposed to being constantly interrupted in order to be reminded that these are your thoughts or opinions. Omitting first-person pronouns from your writing aids in developing a formal tone within your argument.
Diction
Gender-Neutral Language
Gender neutrality in language minimizes assumptions about the gender or sex of people referred to in writing or speech.
Learning Objectives
Give examples of gender-neutral language
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Gender neutrality in English aims to minimize assumptions about the gender or biological sex of people referred to in speech.
· Proponents of gender- neutral language argue that the use of gender-specific language often implies male superiority or reflects an unequal state of society.
· Proponents of gender-neutral language claim that linguistic clarity, as well as equality, would be better served by having “man” refer unambiguously to males, and “human” to all persons.
· Proposed alternatives to the generic “he” include “he or she,” “s/he,” or the use of “they” in the singular.
· In some cases, when writing or speaking about a person whose gender is unknown, ambiguous, or unimportant, gender-neutral language may be achieved by using gender-inclusive, gender-neutral, or epicene words in place of gender-specific ones.
· Gender-neutral language may also be achieved by parallel usage of existing gender-specific terms.
Key Terms
· epicene: Refers to the loss of gender distinction, often specifically the loss of masculinity.
· gender-neutral language: Used to eliminate (or neutralize) references to gender when describing people.
· singular they: A pronoun that is gender neutral and refers to a single person when paired appropriately with a gender-neutral antecedent.
Gender-neutral language is neither masculine nor feminine and avoids using gender specific pronouns such as “he” or “she.”
The purpose of gender neutrality in writing is to minimize assumptions about the gender or sex of people.
The Importance of Gender-Neutral Language
Proponents of gender-neutral language argue that gender-specific language (such as policeman or waitress) often implies male superiority or reflects an unequal state of society. According to The Handbook of English Linguistics, generic masculine pronouns (such as he) and gender-specific language serve as examples of how, historically, society has treated men as the standard for all humans. Words referring to women often devolve in meaning, and frequently take on sexual overtones. In essence, the use of masculine pronouns when referring to subjects of mixed or indeterminate gender is frowned upon in academic writing. The following sentence is a good illustration of avoiding sexist language by using the gender neutral ” humanity ” and “human” rather than the gender-specific “mankind”: “Since then, humanity has entered a new phase of spiritual development, an evolution of high faculties, the very existence of which in human nature our ancestors scarcely suspected.” Using gender-neutral pronouns avoids presumptions of male superiority.
Guidelines for Gender-Neutral Language
In most cases of writing or speaking about a person whose gender is unknown, ambiguous, or irrelevant, gender-neutral language may be achieved through the use of gender-inclusive, gender-neutral, or epicene words (having characteristics of both sexes) in place of gender-specific ones. If no gender-inclusive terms exist, new ones may be coined. It is also important to consider parallel usage of existing gender-specific terms.
When possible and contextually appropriate, use nouns and pronouns that are gender-neutral rather than gender-specific.
· Instead of: waitress; businessman; workman; mailman
· Use: server; businessperson; worker; mail carrier
· Instead of: mankind; man-made; man hours; man-sized job
· Use: humankind; synthetic; working hours; large job
When referring to people in general, use plural pronouns “s/he” or “he or she” instead of gender-linked pronouns.
· Instead of: She looks for premium products and appreciates a stylish design.
· Use: They look for premium products and appreciate a stylish design.
· Instead of: Before a new business-owner files tax returns, he should seek advice from a certified public accountant.
· Use: Before a new business-owner files tax returns, she or he should seek advice from a certified public accountant.
When a singular pronoun is needed, use the “singular they” with a singular antecedent. In these examples, the antecedents are “the patient” and “someone.”
· Instead of: The patient should be informed of how much he will need to pay prior to the procedure.
· Use: The patient should be informed of how much they will need to pay prior to the procedure.
· Instead of: Someone left his lunch in the break-room microwave.
· Use: Someone left their lunch in the break-room microwave.
When in doubt, use gender-neutral salutations.
· Instead of: Dear Sir; Dear Gentlemen
· Use: Dear Personnel Department; Dear Switzer Plastics Corporation; Dear Director of Research
Additionally, many editing houses, corporations, and government bodies have official policies favoring in-house use of gender-neutral language. In some cases, laws exist to enforce the use of gender-neutral language in certain situations, such as job advertisements. Different authorities have presented guidelines on when and how to use gender-neutral, or “non-sexist” language. Several are listed below:
· The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association has an oft-cited section on “Guidelines to Reduce Bias in Language.”
· American Philosophical Association—published in 1986
· The Guardian—see section called “gender issues”
· “Avoiding Heterosexual Bias in Language,” published by the Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns, American Psychological Association.
Active Voice vs. Passive Voice
In grammar, “voice” refers to the relationship between the subject and the verb—that is to say, how the action is performed.
Learning Objectives
Classify sentences as active or passive
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· In active voice, the subject performs the action of the verb. A clause with an active, transitive verb will follow a pattern of subject-verb- object —for example, “The dog [subject] eats [verb] the food [object].”
· A sentence in active voice will have different emphasis, and thus a slightly different tone, than if the same sentence were written in passive voice.
· Try to use active voice unless there is a reason to use passive voice.
Key Terms
· active voice: A sentence construction in which a subject performs the action of the verb.
· passive voice: A sentence construction in which the verb’s action is performed, in some cases “by” a subject.
· voice: In grammar, the relationship between the subject and the verb—i.e., how the action is performed.
In grammar, “voice” refers to the relationship between the subject and the verb—that is to say, how the action is performed. Active voice emphasizes the subject as the one performing the action. In contrast, passive voice deemphasizes the subject as performer and instead frames the subject as receiving the action.
Which voice you choose to use should depend on the type of writing and your audience. The active voice is more frequently used in non-scientific writing. Since it usually uses fewer words, it is more succinct and clearer than the passive voice. However, only using the passive voice in scientific writing can make it dry and bog down the reader. Choosing the proper voice will set the tone for your writing, but keep in mind that most writing will include both active and passive voice.
Let’s take a look at some examples.
Active and Passive Voice
In a sentence written in active voice, the subject’s role in performing the action of the verb is emphasized. These sentences will generally follow the pattern of subject–verb–object (or simply subject–verb, for intransitive verbs—i.e., for verbs that don’t need an object):
· The student [subject] finishes [verb] the exercise [object].
· Fred [subject] ate [verb] his sandwich [object].
· Eve [subject] survived [verb, no object needed].
In a sentence written in passive voice, the subject’s role in performing the action of the verb is deemphasized. Instead, passive voice frames the subject as receiving the action. Passive voice is the opposite of active voice, so sentences in passive voice tend to follow the reverse pattern of object–verb–subject, and the word “by” often shows up between the verb and the subject:
· The exercise [object] was finished [verb] by the student [subject].
· The sandwich [object] was eaten [verb] by Fred [subject].
In most sentences in passive voice, you will see the word “by” between the verb and the subject. In fact, a rule of thumb for recognizing passive voice if you see the construction “was/is [verb]ed by” (for verbs like finished or started) or “was/is [verb]en by” (for verbs like eaten and forgotten).
Most sentences can be phrased to be in either active or passive voice. For example:
· Active voice: The teacher sent the student to the principal’s office.
· Passive voice: The student was sent to the principal’s office by the teacher.
Which one you choose may not significantly change the meaning of the sentence, but it will likely change its tone and emphasis. It is important to understand the connotations of both active and passive voice, therefore, so your sentences don’t sound odd or out of context.
That said, sentences with intransitive verbs—verbs that do not take direct objects—cannot be passivized because there is no object to put before the verb. For example:
· Millions of people lived.
· We arrived yesterday.
· Shelly will be asleep.
Try to put these in passive voice (in the order object–verb–subject): “[Blank] was lived by millions of people.” It doesn’t make sense! Intransitive verbs can never be used in passive voice.
Most of the Time, Use Active Voice
Active voice is generally more direct and neutral than passive voice. Passive voice tends to sound evasive, like the writer is trying to avoid blame for whoever performed an action, or academic, like a dry science report. Active voice is generally more effective at capturing the reader’s attention. For example,
· Passive voice: The ball was hit by Linda.
· Active voice: Linda hit the ball.
· Passive: The theme that was most commonly addressed by 17th-century writers was…
· Active: 17th-century writers most commonly addressed the theme of…
The use of active voice is more direct and provides information about who performed the action.
Guidelines for Avoiding Passive Voice
1. Avoid sentences that use the verb “to be” or its variations (is, was, will be). The verb “to be” often describes what something is rather than what it does.
2. Avoid beginning sentences with “It is …” or “There are …”
3. Avoid sentences where the action is frozen in a word that ends with one of the following suffixes: -tion; -ment; -ing; -ion; -ance. These words mute the action that the verb should communicate by turning them into nouns.
Using Passive Voice Effectively
All that said, passive voice certainly has its uses—you just need to be smart about when you use it! For example:
· “Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.” Here, the passive voice emphasizes “Shakespeare,” the most important part of the sentence.
· “Jamey was fascinated by language arts.” The passive-voice construction of this sentence emphasizes “Jamey” more effectively than the active-voice equivalent.
· “Smoking is strictly prohibited.” Because a passive verb consists of two words, an adverb (like strictly) is accentuated when placed between “to be” and the past participle.
When Writing a Research Paper
In particular, scientific research writing often requires that the writer deemphasize themselves as the performer of the action. This makes the language more objective; in theory, an experiment should happen the same way and have the same results no matter who conducts it. For example:
· Active voice: I found that the frog population decreased by 10% last year.
· Passive voice: It was found that the frog population decreased by 10% last year.
When Talking about General Rules
Passive voice is also often used when talking about general rules, to make it clear that the performer is less important than the action. For example:
· Active voice: The landlord expects the rent check on the first of the month.
· Passive: The rent check will be collected on the first of the month.
Passive voice can also be used to make rules or expectations sound less harsh. For example:
· Active voice: Do not smoke.
· Passive voice: Smoking is prohibited.
Knowing the different uses of voice is as important in writing as in singing: The majority of your sentences should be in active voice. However, there are also effective uses of passive voice; when used sparingly, it can give particular sentences special emphasis.
Concision
It is important to keep sentences concise; the longer and more complex a sentence gets, the harder it is for a reader to understand.
Learning Objectives
Distinguish between concise and wordy sentences
Key Takeaways
Key Points
· Make your writing more forceful, memorable, and persuasive by making it concise.
· Concise writing is clear and reader-friendly, increasing your reader’s ability to understand your argument.
· Avoid padding your writing with extra words or lengthening sentences and paragraphs to meet a word count for an assignment.
· Match your vocabulary to your reader and your writing task. Avoid using elevated or flowery language to sound impressive.
Key Terms
· concision: Brevity, or the practice of using no more words than necessary to describe an idea.
Simplifying Sentences
Varying sentence lengths and types of sentences can help to break up otherwise tedious prose blocks. However, it is important to keep in mind that the longer and more complex a sentence gets, the more difficult it can be for a reader to interpret that sentence. Take this paragraph as an example:
· The author of the novel illustrated various differences between the characters. The novel, which was a romantic novel, portrayed characters in devious sorts of ways in which they did things that were very deceptive. The two main characters, April and Jamil, were never definitely and completely honest with each other, which led to the final outcome of their divorce. This outcome, which left them both miserable as they still loved one another, is designed in a way to show the readers just exactly how the novelist feels about lying in relationships.
This paragraph is quite wordy and takes longer than necessary to make its point. Let’s break it up into shorter sentences and omit unnecessary words:
· The romantic novelist portrayed the main characters as devious. April and Jamil were in love, but they were never honest with each other, and ultimately they got a divorce. This shows us how the novelist feels about lying.
This is much clearer! Students often make the mistake of using more words than necessary because they think it will impress their reader or professor. However, instructors and other readers easily see through this, and they usually just want you to get your point across! Always consider your reader, and make your writing easy for them to grasp.
Revising for Concision
Consider the following general guidelines. These are good rules to keep in mind when you are revising your paper for concision.
Eliminate Words
Eliminate unnecessary words. Keep an eye out for places where you can convey your meaning more directly. For example:
· Original: The physical size of the workroom is too small to accommodate this equipment.
· Revised: The workroom is too small for this equipment.
The physical size of the workroom is too small to accommodate this equipment: Though the title communicates the necessary information about this image, it uses too many words to do so. A simplified version of the sentence is: “The workroom is too small for this equipment.” Look for places in your own writing where you can remove unnecessary words to make your writing more concise and efficient. Your readers will appreciate it!
Also, try to avoid the following phrases, which are redundant and have more concise alternatives:
· absolutely essential
· in my personal opinion
· basic fundamentals
· past memories
· each and every
· small in size
· first and foremost
· very unique
Combine Short, Choppy Sentences
After you eliminate unnecessary words, you may find yourself with much shorter sentences, so your paper may now feel choppy. Combine these short sentences to improve flow and clarify your train of thought. The single combined sentence may be longer than each of the two original sentences, but overall you are using fewer words and communicating your point more clearly.
· Original: Water quality in Fairfield declined in March. This decline occurred because of the heavy rainfall that month. All the extra water overloaded Tomlin County’s water treatment plant.
· Revised: Water quality in Fairfield declined in March because heavy rainfall overloaded Tomlin County’s water treatment plant.
Additional Examples
Example 1
· Original: According to optimal quality-control practices in manufacturing any product, it is important that every component part that is constituent of the product be examined and checked individually after being received from its supplier or other source but before the final, finished product is assembled. (45 words)
· Revised: Effective quality control requires that every component be checked individually before the final product is assembled. (16 words)
Example 2
· Original: Over the most recent monthly period, there has been a large increase in the number of complaints that customers have made about service that has been slow. (27 words)
· Revised: Last month, many more customers than usual complained about slow service. (11 words)