General Considerations for Writers

Writing Prose

General Considerations for Writers

Students write papers for many reasons, for a variety of audiences within a wide range of academic disciplines. A good paper will deliver its content in a suitable structure, which will evolve most often through a process of revision. Student writers need to consider carefully questions of logic and accuracy, tone, and authorial presence and must be wary of implicit race and gender stereotypes. Some assignments require special attention to quotation and paraphrase; others call for special attention to visual figures. Every piece of writing needs to be proofread before it leaves the writer's hands.

Why We Write

We write primarily to communicate--what we question, what we believe, what we know. We also write to discover what we think. Just as expression without thought is empty, so thought is incomplete without expression. But communication is not the only end we try to realize when we write. We write to gain power by defining reality as we see it; we write to signal our membership in a community, to embrace some people and exclude others; we may sometimes even write to obscure. We write to conform to verbal etiquette; we write to define our identities by assuming a particular voice. At times we write to amuse, to enjoy the play of language, and to share our delight in language with others.

Audience

For whom are you writing? Readers of a national magazine may need to be reminded that Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis, but your teacher and fellow students in a course on Freud will not. Usually it is best to write as if you were speaking to your classmates and to omit background material that the class already knows. Assume that your readers are intelligent enough to understand any argument you put before them, but assume too that the audience must be given the essential evidence for that argument.

Technical material raises particularly acute questions of audience. A discourse on Talmudic law, a description of enzyme activity in the nerve cell, a proof of convergence of a robot navigation algorithm--all refer to complex formal systems of thought. The same passage that appears opaque to one reader may well strike another more versed in the system as obvious. A conscious choice is unavoidable: you may be forced to exclude or irritate one group of readers in your effort to inform your proper audience. But indulgence in technical jargon for its own sake is likely to put readers off. Choose carefully, and, to your best ability, choose generously: err more toward assisting than taxing your readers.

Academic Disciplines

In general, the same good writing habits apply as well in one discipline as in another. You should aim for clear, simple, unmystifying prose, whatever your field of study: it never hurts to make your writing understandable to as many readers as possible. You should nonetheless be aware that academic disciplines have characteristic ways of constructing arguments in prose. You may discover that your professors in different fields have different expectations about how you should write, and part of the task you face in becoming a better writer is to identify and understand these differences so that you can accommodate them gracefully.

In the natural and social sciences, for example, many writers follow a set formula in preparing articles for professional journals. First comes a brief theoretical statement that explains the significance of the particular research question the author seeks to resolve. Next comes a research hypothesis that addresses that question, then a presentation and discussion of data--often quantitative--marshaled to test the hypothesis, and finally a conclusion that ties together data, hypothesis, and general theory. This formula works well for many social and natural science papers, and you will often want to apply it to your own work in these fields.

History and literature papers are typically organized in quite different ways. Many historians prefer narrative forms in which the problem or question they seek to answer is presented within the context of a story. Because the story-telling format follows rules that are much less clear-cut than those for scientific writing, the task of outlining so as to integrate your problem, evidence, and argument becomes all the more important. By the same token, when you write as a literary critic, your task is to interpret and explore the language and structure of a text, and this calls for still another set of rhetorical tools. Whatever the discipline you are studying, one of your best strategies, at least in the beginning, will be to consult examples of good writing in that field and use them as guidelines for your own prose.

You should realize that academic disciplines attach great importance to the careful definition and use of concepts, though they achieve this goal in different ways. Some do so explicitly and others more implicitly. In the social sciences, for example, much analysis hinges on such concepts as totalitarianism, social class, authority, charisma, rationality, ideology, market, and culture. Confusion can arise because such terms often have loose popular meanings as well as more precise disciplinary ones--although just what these tighter meanings are or ought to be can produce spirited professional controversy. The best course is to take special care to master the concepts in a field and to use terms for them as precisely and self-critically as you can.

Content

Good writing is the culmination of careful thought: you must have something to say. While we often master a wayward idea only in the act of expression, the struggle to write with no idea in mind leads nowhere. Sensitivity to structure, tone, and style increases a writer's power of expression, but no amount of verbal facility or mechanical rearrangement can disguise the absence of invention. Sentences padded with elaborate connectives or overly technical jargon, paragraphs filled with endless quotation or constant paraphrase and summary, essays that assert no thesis and offer no conclusion--all reveal lack of thought. Mere repetition of what you hear in class or read in another's work gives no insight into your own ideas. If after strenuous study of a subject you seem to have little new to say, see your instructor for advice.

Structure

What you wish to say may prescribe the particular form your expression will take, but every experienced writer adopts a conscious plan of organization. Some might conceive of the structure of their prose as narrative (a story), as architecture (a building with foundation and walls), as geometry (a line, a circle, a spiral), or as organism (a tree with branches and leaves). The structure you choose should lend force to your effort at expression and shape the reader's comprehension of your ideas.

Outline: If an essay is to have a recognizable structure, it must be planned out beforehand. Set down your major points, arrange them in an appropriate sequence, and then make an outline.
Title: A good title indicates that an essay has a focus. "The Civil War" is probably a bad title for a work of less than three volumes. "Yankee Draft- Dodging" is better.
Introduction: If a thesis or other organizing idea is not presented near the beginning of an essay, readers may suspect that none exists. Begin by making statements about your subject, not about your method (not: "In this paper I plan to..."). The opening paragraphs should orient the readers with a clear statement of the thesis and engage their interest by hinting at its importance.
Body of Text: The body of an essay observes, describes, presents positions, marshals evidence, argues points, moves toward a goal. If the succession of paragraphs cannot be logical--if the ideas presented by each paragraph are of the same logical order--then arrange the paragraphs according to ascending impact, saving your best for last. Restating material is often desirable but avoid extensive quotation or paraphrase, and never quote or paraphrase material that is not essential to your argument. Writers often slip unawares from argument into narrative summary. In some kinds of explication the two are bound together, but the summary should be included only to support or illustrate the argument. Either delete or relegate to subordinate positions points that are barely relevant, no matter how shrewd they are. Notice that you will not be able to decide what is relevant unless you possess a clear organizing idea. An unstructured list of observations is not an essay.
Conclusion: The end is a position of prominence. The conclusion should follow from the body of the essay, and it should summarize or distill the argument that has preceded. A strong conclusion is more than a mere restatement: it may offer a new example that epitomizes your case; it may open out an argument by suggesting the broader consequences or a more general proposition; it may pose a new question raised by the preceding considerations.

Revision

Many people who write professionally--including your teachers--write recursively, putting the work through many successive drafts, each of which involves substantial changes in content and argument. This process of revision frequently proceeds in a "spiral" fashion whereby the completion of each section triggers a complete rereading and editing from the beginning. In contrast, many students think of writing as a once-only process that begins when they switch on a computer and ends when they tear off the last sheet of printout in the gray light of dawn. This failure to revise often leaves teachers frustrated with students' essays.

You may not have time to subject ordinary work to three or four successive drafts. Still, you should never turn in a paper without reading it through very carefully and giving it at least one thorough rewrite. Note that rewriting does not just mean correcting typographical and grammatical errors; it means reconsidering logic, evidence, analysis, rhetoric, and approach. In a good revision you will make significant alterations--changes in sentences and paragraphs, not just words and phrases. Just as writing and thinking are inextricably related, so should your rewriting be the occasion for further reflection.

Another reader can be an invaluable help in revising. When you have more time, or when you are writing a major project like a senior essay, ask someone else to read your second draft, and be willing to go on to a third or fourth draft. The residential college writing tutors can be of great help here. Remember that your ear hears prose differently than your eye sees it. Read out loud as you revise and listen to the rhythm and structure of your writing.

Logic and Accuracy

Be logical, especially when you claim to be logical (for instance, when you say "thus"). Test your generalizations: Do they contradict each other? What implications follow from them? Try to think of exceptions; your readers will. If you find an irreconcilable contradiction in the materials you are treating, say so rather than avoid the issue. If after careful thought you find a text impossibly obscure, or an issue tangled, or a cause irretrievable, say so. Gestures of humility ("I fail to see ..." or "This formula baffles me") should appear rarely and only if any reasonable person would be lost. Be precise: if something happens often, but not always, put it that way; if a statement is characteristic of a thing but not absolutely definitive of it, put it that way ("The general seldom brooded for long after a loss"). Few mistakes raise the reader's suspicion of a writer's competence so much as untrue statements ("The general never brooded"). But avoid excessive qualification: a string of maybes and perhapses looks timid. State firmly, but do not over-state.
Tone

Writers' attitudes and emotions have a character or quality most often referred to as "tone." The most attractive tone is firm, honest, reasoned, engaged. Slippery reasoning, arrogance ("Any fool can see"), coyness, excessive showiness, breezy intimacy ("Come on, Hegel, you can do better than that"), exaggeration ("the most blatantly miserable condition ever observed"), contempt for the subject or the reader ("Let me be perfectly clear")--all may jar. Good sense, more than flash; discrimination, more than cleverness; conviction and care, more than fancy rhetoric: these distinguish good writing.

Author's Presence

While self-consciousness in the act of writing is of primary importance, the undue presence of the author in the written text irritates and distracts. Avoid excessive self display. Do not complain of the short space at your disposal. If you feel indifferent toward a thesis, choose another one or come up with a fresh approach. Do not burden the reader with your own sentiments. Your hatred or admiration finds most effective expression if you present your topic vigorously, in all its spleen or splendor. You need not grab the reader by the lapels and tell her what you think; rather show her what she must think. Although an essay is a public statement and must abide by public conventions of clarity and reason, it will readily reveal the private feelings of its author. But your avoidance of reference to yourself should not encourage the use of the passive voice, the evil demon of prose style. Make your statements direct. Write about your subject, not your own state of mind-- unless it is your subject.

Race and Gender

Be aware that some usages in English are perceived by certain communities as being racist, sexist, or otherwise offensive. One example is the traditional use of the masculine pronoun to represent an individual, whether male or female. Another is the traditional use of a singular noun ("the Indian," "the Black") to represent a diverse group of people. No writer can avoid the choices these matters entail. By our selection of words we inevitably (and, perhaps, unwittingly) signal political and social stances that may or may not reflect our actual positions. If writers exclusively use the masculine pronoun to refer to the "typical" student, they may seem to be saying that only male students matter. If writers use "s/he" or alternate "he" with "she," they indicate an intention to include both sexes, not to give priority to one. Some ways of avoiding sexist pronouns are problematic--how does one read "s/he" aloud? Some (as "Everyone should bring their book") violate grammar by confusing singular and plural forms. A better solution may be to use the plural consistently when discussing groups or classes ("All students should bring their books"). No one can mandate how to resolve such issues; all writers need to consider them carefully in their own prose.

Quotation and Paraphrase

Your essay expects too much of your readers if they must pull books from their shelves in order to follow your argument. Quote or paraphrase essential material, and do so accurately. Inserting your own misspellings or changes in punctuation misrepresents the original author, and demonstrates your unreliability as a writer.

Quotation should exemplify your argument--not make it for you. A full page of quotation or paraphrase followed by a single sentence of comment looks padded and reveals laziness. Most readers will simply ignore quoted passages and skip on to your next idea. If you must, paraphrase any extended text drawn from other writers, but only if you have something to say about it. Always be sure to give proper credit for others' ideas or writing, both when you quote and when you paraphrase. For guidance about giving proper credit and avoiding plagiarism, see the Undergraduate Regulations and Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgement.

Visual Figures

Especially in the social and natural sciences, writers face the considerable task of presenting prose accompanied by such other material as equations, statistics, charts, maps, and drawings. The reader's comprehension and convenience are the overriding concerns. Small items may be inserted directly into the prose, as in this example:

If we wish to explain the ups and downs in party percentages in American Presidential elections, one equation does quite well for 1900 through 1984:

(change in (change in per (whether the
y incumbent party's percentage) = x₁ capita personal income) + x₂ country is at war)

More complicated material should be located outside the flow of the prose and labeled as, for example, Table 1, Figure 1, or Map 1.

In presenting such separate displays you should follow three guidelines. First, make them readable in isolation. That is, supply good enough captions, column headings, labels on axes, and so on, to allow readers to understand the table without consulting the prose. Second, at just the point in the prose where you want the reader's eyes to turn to a table, map, or other display for the first time, call attention to it. A signal sometimes used is "(see Table 6)" with or without its own line. Third, if a display may be difficult to grasp, help the reader along by supplying an example of how to manage it, as in this instance:

As the regression line in Figure 12 shows, an increase of two percent in per capita personal income yields a gain of about one percent in votes for the party in power.

Proofreading

Always proofread! Whether you use a typewriter or a computer, a heavily marked-up manuscript is preferable to an error-laden one. Errors of spelling and grammar may seem trivial, but they create the impression that you have worked hastily or carelessly. Even simple problems like misplaced commas can interfere with the sense of your writing. Word processors and spell-checkers take the drudgery out of proofreading, but you still must carefully reconsider what you have written. Your writing may look clean on the computer screen, but looks can be deceiving. Many people write faster and make more changes when they use a word processor. Remember that these habits of composition can make you more prone to certain mistakes, such as typographical errors and problems in parallel structure.

http://www.yale.edu/bass/gencon.html