Writing Guidelines Dr. Greenway

Each instructor has some criteria for writing well; you need to remember the ones that work for you. Writers create readers; for our enterprise, me. This semester, I want you to learn to write as professionals do, clearly and concisely, and you can do so by internalizing some simple techniques of sentence craft. Following these techniques will not turn you into a good writer, but you will become a better one. Write my way for a semester; see if you don't become more aware of  your word-choice and lose some stylistic flab.

Learn to write without " to be" verbs: "is" , " was,"  and " were." Editors call these " lazy verbs" : they add nothing to your sentences. Make each word pay rent: replace "to be" with real verbs:words that do stuff.  Your style  will change in three ways: first, your sentences will become shorter and stronger. You lose that numbing parade of " X is Y"  sentences ("The reason for this is that...") .  Second: you will quit using limp, passive constructions (another sign of lazy writing): "The theory of Special Relativity was published in 1905"  becomes  "Einstein published the theory of Special Relativity in 1905."  Nouns verb stuff. Third: you will quit beginning sentences with pronouns: " It was,"  " There were,"  and the like. I insist. While at it, try dispensing with pronouns altogether. While leb reports insist on emotional sterility; real writing thrives on active sentences..

Now to paragraphs. As in conversations, introductions introduce.  Saying " Fay Wray was born in 1907,"  while accurate, creates no interest for me as your reader. Try: "Fay Wray, best known for the role of Ann Darrow in Merian C. Cooper's 'King Kong' of 1933, took the part when Cooper told her she would play opposite a tall, dark male lead." Now I want to read more. Most interesting topics involve conflict of some sort, so extract that motif from your notes: "Although audiences now remember Wray for the most famous scream in the history of film, few viewers note the first link to Darrow's character." Now I'm really hooked, so here comes a thesis, the question: the one point you want your reader to take away from your presentation.  "In the film, Darrow accepts the role for, like many other young women in the Depression, she had no more choices, save prostitution. With no economic base, the liberated flapper of Daisy Buchanan in the 1920s becomes either a hooker (Mae Clarke in 'Waterloo Bridge,' 1931) or a cynical predator (Jean Harlow in 'Red Headed Woman,' 1932)."  Now you've created a reader. I want to read more.

Conclusions: don't just repeat beginnings; they answer the question, "So what?" In other words, what have you, the writer, drawn from your investigations? "So the notorious Production Code of 1933 concerned itself not just with visual prurience, but, more importantly, unsentimental social behavior which accurately reflected life in the Depression."

Details: Try to write without using " good"  or " bad."  " This was a good book."  Lazy: did the book taste good? Did it behave well? Did you find it morally uplifting? Editors will call you on crutches such as this, and so will I.

Continuity: as with the Introduction, each paragraph has a lead sentence. Once you've cleaned out the " to be"  verbs, read the first sentence of each paragraph. You should be able to follow the flow of the paper. If not, tinker until they do.

Learn the difference between "its" and "it's," even if the campus paper has not yet done so.

Read your paper over for mechanics. Your reader may never meet you and will judge you on your craft. Sloppy mechanics symbolize sloppy thinking, like getting a valentine with your name misspelled. And Spell-Check is not your friend, although it may allow your reader some laughter at your expense. My favorite: a student wrote "Achilles was a famous Greek worrier."  [Sorry, but I couldn't help but comment.]

Finally, I hope I don't need to mention that the University takes plagiarism quite seriously, as do I. Whether you intend to do so or not, you are never ethically or legally to allow your reader to infer your authorship of another writer's phrasing. That includes cutting and pasting from web sources, in my experience the main incidence of offenses. As a minimum action, the University directs me to fail the  assignment, with the option to fail the writer  in the course.

I hope you find the above obvious; if not, see the comments in Strunk and White's Elements of Style. For formatting, use the MLA style sheet. For more assistance, use Purdue's OWL guides. For contemporary tips on writing resumes, see this piece on avoiding resume-killers.