Writing is conceptually a recording of speech into tangible sym bols. The alphabet is intended to be a set of symbols for the sounds of speech. Once you have learned the mechanics of writing, you can simply write down the words that you would say. Although that is the fundamental basis of writing, it is not the whole story.
There are many facets of face-to-face communication in addition to the actual words spoken. In speech, some information is conveyed by tone of voice, accentuation, pacing of sounds, pauses, inflections and pitch. We also use "body language" in posture, facial expression and gestures. Furthermore, the listener is present to give signs of understanding or confusion. Thus, a mere record of the words that one might speak is a very incomplete report of verbal intercourse.
A good writer tries to make up for these missing ingredients in various ways. Instead of using the first word that comes to mind, the writer can take time to search for just the right word. Writers may use more words to express the non-verbal information in speech, and can use more complex sentences to build in redundancy. A writer uses form and structure to help the reader locate the main ideas and follow their development. When possible, a writer may work through several drafts to clarify ambiguities and to fill in missing information. In general, speech tends to be casual and informal where good writing tends to be precise and formal.
According to my hypothesis of verbal discipline, the better you are at speaking, the better you will be at writing. The converse is also true. But good writing requires more than good speaking. The best way to learn good writing on your own is through îimitationï. îRead good literatureï, and pay some attention to the form and style as well as content. Take time to parse some of the sentences and analyze some of the paragraphs. Try to figure out why the author put thoughts into that particular sequence. The more you carefully read good writing by various authors, the better your own writing will be.
As with any skill, practice in writing is what leads to learning to write. Also as with any skill, practicing poor writing leads to learning poor writing! To improve your writing skills, you need to have a good writer edit your writing. Hopefully, you are enrolled in a course in English composition that provides such feedback. As your weaknesses are pointed out and corrected, you will learn to become your own critic.
Because learning to write well requires corrected practice, no one can tell you how to do it. What I can do is point out some of the most common weaknesses that I have found while editing students' writing. They are also weaknesses that were found from time to time in my own writing and which were corrected by editors. Improvement in all aspects of verbal fluency should be a continuing self-imposed objective. Being able to write clearly, concisely, and effectively is an essential aspect of a good education.
What is a sentence? A complete sentence should express a single thought. It must have a subject and a predicate (verb). If the verb is transitive, the sentence must also contain an object. The corner-stone of good writing is formulating good sentences. . .neither too long nor too short, neither too simple nor too complex. When I write text material, I usually construct three or four (or sometimes more) mental sentences that try to express the thought I have in mind. And then, even after writing one down, I usually have to edit it several more times before I let someone else read it.
Consider, for example, that I want to be sure my reader knows what a "transitive" verb is. I could simply define it as a verb that "takes an object." But will the reader know what an "object" is in this context? And what does it mean to "take" an object? Perhaps I should illustrate transitive and intransitive verbs (Now I lay me down to sleep; Now I lie down to sleep). I could point out that the word "transit" means to "carry across," so that a transitive verb is one that carries its action from a subject to an object. Of course, I could simply hope the reader will look it up in a dictionary.
What I hope you see is that writing a sentence is really a mini-problem solving situation. Recall that a problem exists when you are in some condition, you have a goal in mind, and the route to the goal is not immediately obvious. In this case, you have a non-verbal idea in mind, your goal is to express it such that a reader will be likely to "get" that idea, and the problem is to find the words that will be effective. Sometimes the appropriate sentence is obvious, but there are usually several alternatives from which to choose. Therefore, the problem-solving tactic to inhibit impulsive action applies. Do not just write down the first thing that comes to mind. Mentally generate several sentences and then choose the best one.
With that background, here are some guidelines: (I have again illustrated some errors thanks to Ernest Tucker. These are indicated by quotation marks.) A sentence should express a single thought. Each sentence must be a complete sentence. "About them sentence fragments." Write the simplest sentence that expresses the thought. Use punctuation to help the reader parse the sentence, but "don't use commas, which aren't necessary." "Don't write run-on sentences they are hard to read." "Join clauses good, like a conjunction should."
What is a paragraph? A complete paragraph should express a single idea. As I use the terms, an "idea" is larger than a "thought." I think of paragraphs as the meat and potatoes of writing. Meat and potatoes are made up of several bites (sentences), they are part of a main course (a theme), which is part of dinner (the thesis). A thesis is one's message to the reader. It usually contains several themes, or trains of thought, each made up of several ideas. Hence, the paragraph is the conceptual unit of writing.
Mark Twain gave a formula that applies to a paragraph, a theme, and a thesis. He said, First, tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em. Then tell 'em. Then tell 'em what you told 'em." According to this rule, a paragraph must have at least three sentences: a topic sentence, a supporting sentence, and a summary sentence. Of course, there may be several supporting sentences. Although it may not always be possible or desirable to write perfect paragraphs, it is important to know how to write one.
As practice, write twelve perfect paragraphs on the topics given below. I have written an illustrative paragraph for the first four, and you should change the example in writing your perfect paragraphs. In each case, start by stating your point, then support it in one or more ways, and then wrap it up.
Favorite pet My favorite pet is a bird. Birds require little care, and they repay their owner with happy songs. All kinds of birds can learn to do tricks, and some birds can even learn to talk. I like all animals, but I think a bird makes the best pet.
A means of transportation A bicycle is a good way to get around town. It causes no pollution and it provides good exercise. A bike may not be as fast as a car, but it also doesn't need as much care. Every healthy person should own and ride a bicycle.
T.V. show Television game shows are good entertainment. You can imagine yourself playing along, trying to beat the contestant. There should be more challenging game shows on T.V.
Spectator sport I like to watch football. On every play, there's a chance for a great play. That's true whether your team is on offense or defense. Then there's time between plays to review the last play and get ready for the next one. As spectator sports, basketball is too busy, baseball is too slow, but football is just right.
Best time of day/night If I had one wish What is a friend The smartest thing I ever did Favorite flavor of ice cream Why I like Christmas How to brush your teeth The importance of winning
With that background, here are some guidelines:
A paragraph should express a "single" idea. Don't write run-on paragraphs that change ideas. A paragraph should have at least three sentences. The "topic sentence" should be first, or be easy to find. A paragraph over 12 lines long is too big; break it up. Try to provide some logical îtransitionï between paragraphs.
Referents. Make it easy for the reader to know the referent for words such as he, she, it, that, etc. For example, if you wrote the sentence, "Maria talked to Emily about her problem," the reader can't tell whose problem it is. If I now write, "That is a common error in writing," do you know what "that" refers to? The point is that you, as the writer, may know to whom or to what you are referring but your reader may have difficulty if you write carelessly. It is much better to repeat a referent (Maria talked to Emily about Emily's problem) than to leave it ambiguous to your reader.
îDanglesï. A word, phrase, or clause that is set off by a comma at the beginning of a sentence typically modifies the first noun after the comma. Like a lost kitten, the expression tries to latch on to the first words that come along. Without an appropriate word to modify, the expression is left "dangling" without an anchor. In order to illustrate this concept, I have now written three correct sentences. Ernest Tucker illustrated the concept with an error: "When dangling, watch your participles."
Spelling. "Correct speling is essential." We would all be good spellers if our alphabet were a perfect code for sounds of speech. Instead, there are many inconsistencies. For example, "A rough cough and a hiccough plough me through," is a sentence with five words with an "ough" spelling, all pronounced differently. Many differences are strange: dear and fear versus bear and pear; meat/great/threat versus suite/straight/debt; dread versus heard versus beard; and dose versus rose versus lose; etc. Our ancestors certainly made this aspect of our lives difficult.
As a self-test, underline the correct spelling or, if you think that neither is correct, place your spelling to the right.
| absence | abscense |
| neccessary | necessary |
| arguement | argument |
| ninety | ninty |
| baloon | balloon |
| occurence | occurrence |
| believe | beleive |
| priviledge | privilege |
| catagory | category |
| preceed | precede |
| climn | climb |
| proceed | procede |
| defenitely | defenately |
| proceedure | procedure |
| description | discription |
| professor | proffessor |
| essential | essensial |
| repitition | repatition |
| forty | fourty |
| rediculous | ridiculous |
| grammar | grammer |
| separate | seperate |
| holaday | holiday |
| sertain | certain |
| illegitimate | ilegitimate |
| supprise | surprise |
| leisure | leizure |
| truly | truely |
| license | lisence |
| twelfth | twelvth |
| morgage | mortgage |
| until | untill |
Indeed, even one of the familiar spelling mnemonics is sometimes wrong. You probably know, "i before e, except after c, and for sounds of an a, as in neighbor and weigh." Among the exceptions are either, leisure, and seize. Accordingly, to be a good speller, one has to learn a large number of special cases.
Nevertheless, correct spelling is essential if you want to present yourself as an educated person. This does not necessarily mean that you have to be a good speller. What it does mean is that you have to learn to look up the spelling of a word when you are not completely certain of it. It is much better to be certain than sorry. Many's the admission, job, or advancement that has been lost because of a few misspelled words. If you find that you have to look up the same word frequently, it is worth your while to make up a mnemonic.
At one time, I had difficulty remembering that the "u" in four drops out in forty but returns in fourth, while the "e" in nine stays in for ninety and drops out in ninth. By making up verbal mediators, "I have looked up forty for the last time," and "There are nine tees on a golf course," I am able to recall the correct spellings without having to look them up. I now remember how to spell "precede" and "proceed" by the mnemonic, "There are only two e's before the d." I was taught that stationîerïy and papîerï have an "er" while stationary does not. Some children learn to spell "arithmetic" by the acrostic, "A rat in the house may eat the ice cream." In sum, when phonetic spelling fails, mnemonic spelling succeeds.
Citations. The cardinal sin in writing is plagiarism, copying someone else's writing without citation. If you submit a composition as your original work, it must be original. Certainly you can quote other writers, but you must indicate the source of any quotation. A few short quotations may make your composition appear scholarly, but it is wise to avoid extensive quotations. Remember that professors want to know if you understand something, and the best way to show them that you do is to say it in your own words.
Finally, "proofread your writing to see if you any words out." Writing is so much slower than thinking that it is easy to make mistakes while trying to keep up. Like the other verbal skills, writing is a mental time-sharing task, with attention divided between the mechanics of putting marks on paper and the cognitive processes that generate the words to write. Errors are especially likely if you are already thinking about the next sentence while writing this one down. It is best to focus on the sentence that you are writing, but proof-reading is the best safeguard against submitting a paper containing writing errors.
| absence | description | license | precede | separate |
| argument | essential | mortgage | proceed | certain |
| balloon | forty | necessary | procedure | surprise |
| believe | grammar | ninety | professor | truly |
| category | holiday | occurrence | repetition | twelfth |
| climb | illegitimate | privilege | ridiculous | until |
| definitely | leisure |