A Few Reflections on Writing Well

Prof. Jonathan W. Daly

 

Some scholars and thinkers have argued that only our sophisticated language separates us from non-human animals.  Irrespective of one’s attitude toward this assertion, no one can deny that the development of our language constitutes one of the greatest achievements of human civilization or that one’s level of civilization is significantly dependent upon one’s ability to express thoughts and feelings, both orally and in written form.  With this in mind, I offer you the following reflections:

 

I. Before your begin.

 Read the instructions carefully.

 

II. Organization or structure.

The first paragraph of your essay should introduce the central theme that you intend to discuss.  Each subsequent paragraph should deal with one topic, introduced by the first sentence of that paragraph, and should develop the topic logically and adequately.  “Adequately” implies that one will avoid overly short paragraphs.  Each sentence must flow logically from the preceding one, just as each paragraph must develop logically from the one before it.  Your final paragraph should sum up the evidence and arguments presented throughout the essay.

 

III. Style.

As the stylist, William Strunk, Jr., once wrote: “Omit needless words.  Vigorous writing is concise.  A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences . . .”  He did not suggest avoiding compound sentences but advised writers to make sure that every word conveys meaning.  One should, therefore, try to develop a keen sense of the meanings of different words, in order always to employ the most appropriate one.

Variety of words and sentence construction improves style.  It is best to avoid repeating all but the most common words in close proximity to one another.  At the same time, however, one should never substitute a one word for another if the meaning conveyed is thereby significantly altered.  An essay composed entirely of short sentences would be dull, while a profusion of compound sentences would appear awkward.  Aristotle’s Golden Mean is here, as elsewhere, the rule to adopt.

 

IV. Plagiarism.

 This may be of two kinds, namely the unacknowledged use of another author’s ideas and the failure to place in quote marks words copied from a published or unpublished source. The plagiarism of ideas is the less straightforward of the two, since ideas often have complex genealogies, and one may develop an idea without being entirely aware of one’s debts to other authors.  When in doubt, provide a reference.  The plagiarism of words is far easier to avoid.  As a rule of thumb, try never to copy from any source more than two consecutive words without placing them in quotation marks.

 

V. Revision

Almost no one achieves fluency of style without revision.  Even the best writers devote considerable effort to rewriting sentence after sentence.  One does not always dispose of sufficient time to write several drafts of an essay, but certain techniques can help speed the process.  One excellent approach is to lay aside one’s essay for a few days in order to try read it with “fresh eyes.”  Also, the ear can detect weaknesses of style that the eyes might overlook.  In other words, it is helpful to read aloud everything you write-both to yourself and, if possible, to others. 

 

VI. Consider seeking outside help.

Learning to write well-and to write better-should be a life-long goal of every educated person.  You will have no better opportunity to make progress in this than during your years in university.  It is wise to draw upon every resource available, including the Writing Center (413-2206, 112 Burnham Hall), courses in composition offered by the university, and friends and family.  The key to success in this area lies with you and your willingness to discover and to apply your talents in developing this essential skill.

 

VII. Technical matters.

A few grammatical and stylistic suggestions

-The past tense of “to lead” is “led” (not “lead,” which is a metal)

-“It’s” is a contraction for “it is,” while “its” is a possessive pronoun for “it.”

-Always use an apostrophe with possessive “s.”

-Use “who,” not “that,” as a coordinating conjunction with people; “the people who laugh” (not “the people that laugh”).

-The term “populace” is a pejorative quasi synonym of the words “population” or “people.”

-Avoid using “felt” to describe people’s attitudes if “believed” or “thought” is more appropriate.

-Do not insert an extra space between paragraphs.

-Always place a period or comma inside quote marks; place colon and semi-colon outside; place a question or exclamation mark inside only when it is part of the quoted text.

-Avoid using contractions (e.g. “can’t”) in formal writing. 

 

VIII. A few usage tips

 

either x did y or a did b

x did either a or b

but not: either x did y or b.

 

both in a and in b

in both a and b

but not: both in a and b.

 

As well as should be used to tack something onto the end of a series

 

Nonetheless (as “however”) but none the less (when “not less so”: he was non the less timid for all his narrow escapes.

 

one and a half years, but one and one-half years

 

The parts compose or constitute the whole, the whole comprises its parts.

 

Lopukhin later asserted that he would have declined to do so if Plehve had not promised to champion the rule of law and to undertake comprehensive reforms [a subordinate clause preceding the main clause is followed by a comma, but they are not separated if it follows]

 

S. Suvorin, the conservative publisher of the mass-circulation daily Novoe vremia, complained [comma after daily if Nv was not the only one in question; restrictive is without comma: the only one; unrestricted is with comma: not the only one

 

He was killed because he was a traitor.  He was killed, because he was a traitor [we did not know he was killed yet]

 

The name was changed in February 1903, since the name “investigatory” offended the new directors  [without the comma it would mean the name was changed precisely on Feb. 1903]

 

the Police Department asked Rataev to inquire about three addresses in Prussia by means of which foreign spies within Russia allegedly leaked information to the German government.

 

But: the Police Department asked Rataev to inquire about three addresses in Prussia, by means of which [investigation] they hoped to learn about the source of the leaks.

 

 

Abbreviations Used in Grading of Papers

-awk.: The phrasing here is awkward; please reread the passage and recast it.

-coll.: The term used here is too colloquial for formal writing; one would expect to hear it used in a casual conversation but not in a university writing assignment.

-vague: The passage is not sufficiently grounded in fact and detail.  Questions that I might be asking myself are: when does this occur?  How did it come about?  What specific aspect of the issue is being discussed?

-¶: paragraph

 

Footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies

Each paper you write should be followed by a list of references used, that is a bibliography.  You should refer to specific works in the body of your essay wherever appropriate.  I would prefer that you do this by means of footnotes (at the bottom of each page) or endnotes (grouped together at the end of the essay, before the bibliography).  Footnotes and endnotes resemble each other completely.  Bibliographical entries are more formal.

 

Bibliographical entry for an article:

Field, Daniel. “Peasants and Propagandists in the Russian Movement to the People of

            1874.”  Journal of Modern History 59 (September 1987): 415-438.

The same work in a footnote or an endnote:

Daniel Field, “Peasants and Propagandists in the Russian Movement to the People of 1874,” Journal of Modern History 59 (September 1987): 415.

[Note that the bibliographical entry must contain the full page range, while the footnote or endnote refers only to the page(s) cited.]

The same work referred to after the first reference:

Field, “Peasants and Propagandists,” 420.

 

Bibliographical entry for a book:

Galai, Shmuel.  The Liberation Movement in Russia, 1900-1905.  Cambridge:

            Cambridge University Press, 1973.

The same work in a footnote or an endnote:

Shmuel Galai, The Liberation Movement in Russia, 1900-1905 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973), 73-75.

One can also leave out the publisher; then it goes: Cambridge, 1973.

 

The same work referred to after the first reference:

Galai, Liberation Movement, 89.

 

 

Bibliographical entry for a chapter in a book:

Lieven, D. C. B.  “The Security Police, Civil Rights, and the Fate of the Russian Empire,

            1855-1917.”  In Civil Rights in Imperial Russia, edited by Olga Crisp and Linda

            Edmondson.  Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989.

The same work in a footnote or an endnote:

D. C. B. Lieven, “The Security Police, Civil Rights, and the Fate of the Russian Empire, 1855-1917,” in Civil Rights in Imperial Russia, ed. Olga Crisp and Linda Edmondson (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989), 238. [Note that the bibliographical entry does not indicate the page range.]

The same work referred to after the first reference:

Lieven, “Security Police,” 250. [Note that short references should never change word order but may leave out words as desired; titles shorter than five words should not be shortened.]