Guide to Effective Writing Strategies

Transcription

1 Guide to An Online Resource Created by the Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium Authored by: Bonnie Riedinger Writing Center Director Post University

2 Table of Contents 1) Writing Tips for Students i) Getting Ready to Write: Planning Techniques ii) Understand Your Assignment iii) Free Writing iv) Talk it over v) Writing Your Thesis Statement vi) Introductions vii) Writing the Body of the Paper viii) Paragraphs and Transitions ix) Conclusions ) Writing the Research Paper i) Quotations ii) Paraphrasing and Summarizing (1) Citations ) What is grammar and why should we care about it? i) Subject ii) Predicate iii) Complete meaning iv) Independent clause v) Dependent clause

3 vi) Sentence fragments vii) Types of sentences (a) Simple Sentence (b) Compound Sentence (c) Coordinating conjunction (d) Compound-complex sentence viii) Identifying Sentence Fragments (a) Red Flags that identify dependent clauses ix) Parallel Structure x) Subject and Verb Agreement xi) Comma splices xii) When Should I Add a Comma?

4 Writing Tips for Students Getting Ready to Write: Planning Techniques It s 2 a.m. and you re staring at a blank computer screen or sheet of paper. Your paper is due the next day and you haven t written a word. It s not always easy to begin writing. Even professional writers sometimes suffer from what is called writer s block a sort of mental or emotional paralysis that prevents people from beginning the writing process. This procrastination causes the anxiety to increase and you keep putting the paper off until the last possible minute. Your parents and teachers have probably been telling you for years not to procrastinate, but what if you re not sure how to start? The following techniques may help. Everyone approaches writing differently. Try these suggestions and see which technique or combination of techniques works best for you. Understand Your Assignment Read your assignment carefully. Don t assume that every teacher expects the same type of writing or research or that every assignment, even from the same teacher, will be the same. Make sure you understand exactly what your instructor wants you to write about and how he/she wants that information presented. (Length, format, citation style, etc.) If you don t understand the assignment, ask your instructor for clarification as soon as you receive the assignment. Free Writing A blank page or computer screen can be intimidating and depressing, so fill it up with words. Set a timer for 10 minutes. If 10 minutes is too daunting, set the timer for five minutes. Write without stopping. Write down everything you can think of about the assignment topic. Don t worry about your grammar, spelling or organization. Don t even 4

5 worry about your ideas making sense at this point. Just write. If you have been assigned to write an opinion (or position) paper, list all the reasons you are for or against the issue or idea. If you have to write a research paper, write down all the places you might look for information and list the things you already know about the subject. Repeat yourself if you can t think of anything new to write. You can even write, I don t know what to write next, but keep writing. Free writing helps in several ways. It gets you started. Even if you don t end up using much or any of what you have free written you will have a feeling of accomplishment just because you have started working. The process frees your imagination. Because you are writing too quickly to censor yourself, new ideas and perspectives have better chance of getting on the page. Remember that people come up with several bad ideas for every good one, so the more ideas you can generate, the better. It will tell you what you don t know and what you need to research or develop further. If you just think about your paper, it is difficult to organize or evaluate your ideas. You might also forget one of your best ideas. Free writing creates a record that you can expand on and organize. After you have finished free writing, you can start sifting through what you have written and brainstorming more ideas. Make lists of useful information or ideas. Put these ideas in order of importance or combine related information. Add details to general information or ideas. Ask questions about your ideas. Note places where you need more information. 5

6 Talk it over One of the best ways to develop ideas for a paper is to talk about it with someone else. The etutoring tutors or tutors at your school can help you brainstorm ideas. Friends and family may also be helpful. And don t forget to talk to yourself. Ask yourself questions about the assignment. What do I want readers to understand or know after they read my paper? What can I say about this subject that will interest my audience? How can I find information about this subject? What kind of impression do I want to make on the reader? What do I want the reader to think of me? How can I make the reader care about this subject? How will I convince the reader that what I am writing is correct? The Purdue Online Writing Lab has some good lists of questions at and Writing Your Thesis Statement A thesis statement serves two purposes: a) It tells the reader what your paper is about. It should answer the question: What is the point of this paper? b) It tells you (the writer) how to organize your paper and what information you will need to include. The thesis statement should be placed near the beginning of your paper. The end of the first paragraph is a good location, but this is not an unbreakable rule. Most thesis 6

7 statements consist of one sentence, but two or three sentences may be necessary for longer and more complicated papers. Try to be as succinct as possible though. After you have completed your brainstorming and planning, you should try to write a thesis statement. Because writing is a process of learning about your subject, ideas, and opinions, your thesis statement may change from draft to draft. This is normal. Don t worry if your first draft and thesis statement are entirely different from your final draft and thesis statement. Your thesis statement will help you determine what type of research you need to do to support your position. However, your research may disprove your original idea or inspire you to change the focus of your paper. If that happens, you will need to rewrite your thesis statement. You may also discover that the focus of your paper changes as you write your first draft. Students often discover that the conclusion of the first draft contains the real thesis statement of the paper. This happens because students often write their way to their understanding of a subject a process known as writing to learn. It may help you to write a draft of your thesis statement that begins: The main thing I want the reader to understand after reading my paper is. The statement that you write to fill in that blank probably will be very close to your final thesis statement. The first part of the draft statement ( The main thing I want the reader. ) is just a device to help you get started. It should not be included in your paper. Regardless of the type of paper you are writing, your thesis statement should very specific. If you find yourself writing something like: There are many interesting characters in Hamlet, you need to ask yourself questions that will narrow your topic and focus your paper. Which characters are interesting? Why are they interesting? Should I 7

8 compare and contrast characters? Should I argue that Shakespeare created more interesting characters than any of his contemporaries? Should I explain why the characters are still interesting to modern readers? After you have answered these types of questions you might write a thesis statement like this: Although the characters in Hamlet were created centuries ago, Shakespeare s understanding of human passions and failings continues to provide insights into the dynamics of family relationships. Modern psychologists, including Freud and Jung, have compared Hamlet s relationship with The example above makes two assertions: 1) that the characters in Hamlet are relevant today and 2) that they are relevant because of Shakespeare s understanding of human nature. This thesis statement takes a stand and offers an explanation that must be supported in the paper through research and specific examples. The third sentence in the example begins to define how the writer will provide evidence of the ways psychologists use Hamlet to analyze modern family relationships. There are as many types of thesis statements as there are types of writing assignments, but even a personal narrative or a lab report requires a statement that explains the writer s main idea or focus. The style and tone of each thesis statement will correspond to the type of assignment. For example, a thesis statement for an analytical essay will define what is being analyzed and the sequence the writer will follow in his analysis. A thesis statement for an argumentative or persuasive essay will state the argument or position the writer is defending and briefly list in sequence the supporting evidence for the position. 8

9 Introductions In many formal essays or research papers, your thesis statement may serve as your introduction, but you could include a brief introduction followed by a thesis statement. Less formal papers, such as personal narratives, often begin with an anecdote, a description, or an example that illustrates an idea. Writing the Body of the Paper After you have written your thesis statement, you may want to write an outline for your paper. This works well for some students, but others may find it too confining and prefer to just begin writing. Do whatever works best for you. Listing the supporting evidence for your main points is also a good way to organize your information. This method is less restricting than an outline, but will provide some structure before you begin writing. After you have listed your supporting evidence, ask yourself questions about the items you have included. Determine if you have sufficient evidence and examples and if you have provided enough detail in each example. Lists are easy to convert into paragraphs. If want to dive right into your first draft without an outline or list, be sure to read over your first draft carefully and revise if necessary. Check the organization and the transitions between ideas. If you find your paper skips from idea to idea, try using colored highlighters to mark ideas that belong together. You can then copy and paste sentences or paragraphs into groups according to color. Paragraphs and Transitions Paragraphs help organize the information in your paper into manageable chunks. Each paragraph should contain only one main idea and the evidence to support that idea. 9

10 The end of each paragraph should contain a transition that leads the reader from the end of the topic in that paragraph to the topic of the next paragraph. The transition shows how the ideas in the two paragraphs are related. It might help to think of your paper as a rainbow with each color representing a paragraph. The transitions are the in-between shades, such as green and purple, which are created by the overlap of yellow and blue or red and blue. Think about how the information in your first paragraph relates to the information in the second. For example, if your first paragraph discusses how Freud used the plot of Hamlet to analyze Patient X s relationship with his father, the transition that opens the second paragraph about Jung might look like this: While Freud was concluding his study of Patient X in Vienna, Jung was working with a similar patient in Geneva. The Purdue University Online Writing Lab has a useful list of connecting words that can help you create transitions between paragraphs and sentences. Conclusions You have written a strong thesis statement and supported it with research and examples. Now what? Many papers end abruptly, leaving the reader with the feeling that the writer cleared out of town with the sheriff hot on his trail. Every story needs an ending. One of the most common ways to write a conclusion is to return to the ideas or points made in the thesis statement. Be careful not to simply repeat your thesis statement. Show how the evidence in the body of the paper has proved your point. Include an example or quotation that sums up your main idea. If you have written an expository or 10

11 explanatory essay, you may be able to draw a conclusion from the evidence you have presented. Other types of essays might conclude with predictions or questions for further research based on the evidence in the paper. Avoid the trite in conclusion. Your reader knows when she/he has reached the end. Writing the Research Paper A research paper requires students to use and properly cite information from experts in the student s field of study. However, research and sources make up only a portion of a research paper. College level writing also requires that students respond in their own words to the information they have gathered during their research. Depending on the assignment, student responses could include reaction, analysis, or argument. Research papers must contain a balance of cited material and student writing and ideas. Simply copying, summarizing, or paraphrasing the work of others will not be sufficient. Papers should not consist of a series of quotations. A well-written research paper will contain smooth transitions from the student s thoughts and language to that of the cited material. Direct quotations should be used only if the author s words are particularly well chosen or if his/her ideas cannot be paraphrased accurately. Quotations Quotations must be transcribed exactly as written by the original author and correctly attributed. Citation styles for quotations will vary according to the style guide required for your class. Be sure to follow the required formatting for citations carefully. If you need to omit words to shorten a lengthy quotation, or add words to put a quotation in 11

12 context, refer to the style guide. If more than 10 percent of your paper consists of direct quotations, you should examine ways to add more of your own ideas and reactions and/or use more paraphrasing and summary. Paraphrasing and Summarizing The ability to paraphrase or summarize accurately can improve your ability to write a smooth, cohesive paper. If most of the information in your paper is presented in your own voice, the reader will be able to concentrate on the topic rather than the disruptive changes in voice and style created by a series of direct quotations from other sources. Remember that summaries and paraphrases must be cited. Paraphrasing also can help ensure that you understand the research you have gathered. If you cannot restate an idea in your own words, you probably do not truly understand it. A summary accurately restates and condenses another person s main idea. A summary is shorter than the original and takes a broad view of the material. Only the main points are covered in a summary. A summary may cover an entire book or journal article. The University of Texas lists ways to summarize paragraphs, articles, and complex articles at A paraphrase is a rewording of a portion of another person s work. It contains more detail than a summary and is generally focused on a section of a book or article rather than the entire work. 12

13 Effective paraphrasing takes some practice. If you try to reword a passage while reading it you may be tempted to use too many of the author s words instead of your own. Try the following steps when paraphrasing: Read and reread the material until you are certain you understand it. Do not make any notes while you are reading. Put the original source material out of your sight and write a paraphrase of what you remember on a notecard or in a notebook. If this is difficult, try making a tape recording of yourself. Pretend you are explaining what you have read to a friend. Play back the tape and write down what you have written. Compare what you have written to the original source. Check for accuracy and rewrite if necessary. Make sure you have not used any of the author s words exactly. If you cannot duplicate the meaning of the material without using some of the author s words, make sure you put quotation marks around any word or words you have not rephrased. Write down all the necessary citation information as you paraphrase, summarize or collect direct quotations. If you try to do this later when you begin to write your paper or prepare your works cited page, you may not be able to find the page numbers or other information easily. It is particularly important to keep careful records of Web pages. These pages are often updated, moved, or removed from Web sites. If you don t keep a citation record, you may not be able to find the pages later. Make sure you know which citation method is required for your paper before you begin your research. You might want to make a form that lists required 13

14 citation information. Duplicate blank copies of this form and fill in one for each quotation or paraphrase you might use in your paper. Citations It is important that students properly cite any information or ideas that are not their original ideas or work. Failure to properly cite information obtained from any source (the Web, books, magazines, journals, newspapers, , listservs, CDs, graphics, television, radio, personal stories or interviews, etc.) is plagiarism. Even if a student unintentionally plagiarizes, he or she may face severe academic penalties ranging from an F on the paper to expulsion from school. That s one reason to be very careful about citations. The other reason is academic accuracy and quality. As a college student you have joined a community of scholars. The research papers you write as an undergraduate help prepare you to work as a scholar or a professional in your field. Knowledge in every discipline or profession is built on accurate research that can be easily traced to its source. Without that trail of citations, information can become as garbled as a conversation in the children s game of telephone. Access to detailed accurate information is vital to the success of any job or project. Remember the nursery rhyme that explains that the kingdom was lost for want of a nail? Your instructor may require you to use a certain type of citation style. Two of the most common style guides are the MLA (Modern Language Association) guide and the APA (American Psychological Association) guide. You can find information about these style guides at and Most college libraries 14

15 and writing centers will have copies of these guides, but if your major requires you to write a substantial number of papers, you should consider buying a copy of the guide you use most often. Most college bookstores carry the MLA and APA guides. You can also order copies through online bookstores. Occasionally, your instructors may require you to use other methods of citation. Be sure to follow your instructor s requirements exactly. What is grammar and why should we care about it? Words are the tools we use to communicate and grammar is the blueprint that helps us to construct meaning with words. If we understand and use grammar correctly, we can communicate even the most complex ideas clearly and concisely. Different groups of words have different names. Some of the most common groups of words are phrases, clauses and sentences. Every sentence must contain three elements: 1. A subject: The topic or main concern of the sentence. This is a noun or a pronoun that tells the reader who or what the sentence is about. 2. A predicate. This shows the action that is being described in the sentence. It describes what the subject is doing or what is being done to the subject. The predicate also is called the verb or verb phrase of the sentence. 3. Complete meaning. A phrase is a group of words that may have meaning or connections to each other, but does not include a subject and a predicate. This is a phrase: The brave knight. Although this is a meaningful group of words (it tells us that the knight is brave) it is not a complete sentence because there is no predicate. 15

16 A simple complete sentence may consist of only a subject and a predicate, but only if the subject and predicate provide complete meaning to the sentence. A simple complete sentence also is called an independent clause. If a clause needs another word or words to completely express meaning, it is called a dependent clause. Dependent clauses that are not connected to another explanatory clause or group of words are not complete sentences. Incomplete sentences also are called sentence fragments. There are several types of sentences. Simple sentence: The knight is fighting. Knight is the subject of the sentence and is fighting is the predicate of the sentence. Although this sentence is very simple and short, it is a complete sentence that conveys meaning. Compound sentence: The knight is fighting, but the dragon is strong. The compound sentence contains more than one independent clause. The knight is fighting is one independent clause. The dragon is strong is the second independent clause. Each of the independent clauses could stand alone as a complete simple sentence. The word but, which links the two clauses, is called a coordinating conjunction. There are seven coordinating conjunctions: yet, for, so, and, nor, but, or. Complex sentence: When knights fight hard, they will succeed. The complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. The first part of this sentence, When knights fight hard, is a dependent clause. It does not make sense when separated from the clause the follows it. Although it contains a subject (knights) and a predicate (fight), the word when makes the clause dependent on 16

17 the clause that follows it for meaning. The last part of the sentence, they will succeed, is an independent clause. It makes sense even if it stands alone. Compound-complex sentence: If the knight is well trained, he will fight well, and he will win the battle. The compound-complex sentence contains two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. If the knight is well trained is a dependent clause. Because of the word if, the clause does not make sense when separated from the clause that follows it. The next two clauses, he will fight well, and he will win the battle, are independent clauses. Each contains a subject ( he ) and a predicate ( is and will win ) and each makes sense if it is separated from the rest of the sentence. Identifying Sentence Fragments Sentence fragments are usually created when a writer: Uses a dependent clause as a sentence. Uses a period to separate two clauses that should be combined to form one complete sentence. Uses mixed construction such as the combination of a prepositional phrase and a predicate. Fails to include a subject. Fails to include a predicate. 17

18 Red Flags If you see any of the following words at the beginning of a group of words, beware. These words all create dependent clauses and must be combined with an independent clause to form a complete sentence: after even though that whenever while although if though where who as in order that unless wherever whom because since until whether whose before so that when which This is an example of a dependent clause sentence fragment: Because the knight was brave and well trained. The reader needs to know what happened because the knight was brave. To correct this sentence fragment the writer must write another clause that will provide meaning. The correction could look like this: Because the knight was brave and well trained, he won every battle. 18

19 A sentence fragment formed by incorrect punctuation would look like this: Because the knight was brave and well trained. (fragment) He won every battle. (complete sentence) Combining the two clauses with a comma will correct the sentence fragment. Because the knight was brave and well trained, he won every battle. A sentence fragment without a subject would look like this: Fighting hard in battle. A correction might look like this: The knight was fighting hard in battle. The word knight provides a subject. A sentence fragment that lacks a predicate would look like this: The brave knight. A correction might look like this: The brave knight won the battle. Some sentence fragments are caused by the incorrect inclusion of prepositions or prepositional phrases. Prepositions are words that connect nouns and pronouns to other words. They often describe locations: on, after, below, against, at, behind, beneath, next, near, outside, in, over, under, underneath, upon, within, without, before, against, around, between, above. Other common prepositions include: according to, along with, apart from, as, in spite of, of, off, regarding, since, until. Look carefully at any sentence that begins with a preposition. A sentence fragment that incorrectly includes a preposition would look like this: By fighting bravely can make a knight a hero. The sentence fragment can be corrected by 19

20 removing the preposition by. The corrected sentence would look like this: Fighting bravely can make a knight a hero. The sentence also could be rewritten with the preposition. This correction would look like this: By fighting bravely, the knight became a hero. Parallel Structure We use consistent construction of words in a sentence to show that all the ideas in that sentence, list or clause are of equal importance. For example, either the infinitive form (to walk, to write, etc.) or the gerund (walking, writing, etc.) form of verbs can be used in a sentence, but the two forms should not be combined in the same sentence. Incorrect: The knight likes riding, jousting, and to write poetry. (two gerunds and one infinitive) Correct: The knight likes riding, jousting and writing poetry. (all gerunds) Correct: The knight likes to ride, joust, and write poetry. (all infinitives) Incorrect combination of verb forms: The knight won the battle because he was brave, well trained and he lacked fear. (Was brave, was well trained and lacked fear) Correct: The knight won the battle because he was brave, well trained, and fearless. Correct: The knight won the battle because he possessed bravery, good training, and fearlessness. Clauses also must show consistent use of verb forms. Incorrect: The king told the knights that they should practice jousting, that they should not get their horses tired, and to sharpen (infinitive) their swords. 20

21 Correct: The king told the knights to practice jousting, rest their horses, and sharpen their swords. (all infinitives) A combination of active and passive verb construction should not be used in the same sentence or group of clauses. Active construction shows what the subject is doing: The dog is chasing the cat. Passive construction shows what is being done to the subject: The cat is being chased by the dog. Incorrect: The knight expected that he would win (active) the battle, that no resistance would come from (passive) the opposing army, and that he would receive (active) a medal. Correct: The knight expected that he would win the battle, that he would receive a medal, and that the opposing army would not resist. (all active construction). Lists also must follow parallel construction. Incorrect: The knight uses his sword for several purposes: fighting, cutting up meat, and to scare crows out of his garden. Correct: The knight uses his sword for several purposes: fighting, cutting up meat, and scaring crows out of his garden. (all gerund forms) Correct: The knight uses his sword for several purposes: to fight, to cut up meat, and to scare crows out of his garden. (all infinitive forms) 21

22 Subject and Verb Agreement Singular subjects must be matched with the singular form of verbs. Plural subjects must be matched with plural verb forms. Correct: The knight is at the battle. (singular noun and singular verb form) Correct: The knights are at the battle. (plural noun and plural verb form) Correct: The knight and his friend are at the battle. (a singular noun and another singular noun connected with the word and uses the plural verb form) When singular nouns or pronouns are connected by the word or or nor a singular verb is used. Correct: The knight or his friend is expected at the castle. Correct: Neither the knight nor his friend is expected to return. If the subject of the sentence consists of a singular and a plural noun or pronoun, the verb should follow the form of the nearest noun or pronoun. Correct: The knight or his friends fight (plural forms) every day. Correct: His friends or the knight fights (singular forms) every day. Sometimes other nouns come between the subject and the verb. These nouns should be ignored. Correct: One of the knights is dead. (The subject is one, not knights, so the verb form is singular.) Correct: The knight, as well as his friends, is brave. (The subject is the knight, so the verb form is singular.) 22

23 Correct: The war, including all the battles on the island, was bloody. (War is the subject, so the verb form is singular.) The following words are singular and must be used with a singular verb form: each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one. Comma splices Comma splices are places in a sentence where commas have been used incorrectly. A comma should not be placed between two independent clauses. Incorrect: The knight saw the army approaching, he ran for his sword. Correct: The knight saw the army approaching, so he ran for his sword. (The addition of the word so, a coordinating conjunction, corrects the comma splice.) Correct: The knight saw the army approaching. He ran for his sword. (Each independent clause has been made into a separate sentence.) A comma also should not be placed before a conjunctive adverb such as: then, however, thus, therefore, still, nevertheless, etc. when the conjunctive adverb connects two independent clauses. Incorrect: The knights fought at the fort, then they rode out to the castle. Correct: The knights fought at the fort; then, they rode out to the castle. (A semicolon must be placed after the first independent clause and a comma must be placed after the conjunctive adverb.) 23

24 If the conjunctive adverb does not connect two independent clauses, you do not need a semicolon. Incorrect: The wounded knight; however, did not want to kill his enemy. Correct: The wounded knight, however, did not want to kill his enemy. (Commas are necessary before and after the conjunctive adverb.) When Should I Add a Comma? Commas are needed after introductory clauses, phrases, and words. Introductory clauses are generally dependent clauses (they do not make sense unless connected to another clause). Correct: If they expect to win the battle, the knights must be healthy and strong. (Sentence begins with introductory clause.) Correct: Bleeding heavily, the knight fell on the battlefield. (Sentence begins with an introductory phrase.) Correct: Meanwhile, the other knights continued to fight. (Sentence begins with an introductory word.) 24