JohnR.Trimble,WritingwithStyle

1GettingLaunched

1)Pickasubjectthatmeanssomethingtoyou,emotionallyaswellasintellectually(4)

2)Delimititsothatitismanageable(7)

3)Stockpiledatareadersliketobetaught(7)

4)Formulateavarietyofsearchingquestions[and]beginsketchingoutyourclaims,usingnotecards,slipsofpaper[ortheoutlineronyourwordprocessor](7)

5)Chooseoneideaastheprovisionalorganizingprincipleorthesis(9)

6)Writearoughdraft:Scribbleofftwoorthreeroughdrafts(9)[myapproachistoorganizeandreorganizeoutlinewithpiecesinvariousstagesofcompletion].Ideasthatlookgoodinitiallyhavetheunhappyhabitoflookingirrelevantorincompletefromhindsight(9)Irecommendthatyouusethesamestartingformulaforeachdraft.SimplywritethewordsWell,itseemstomethat(10).Neverletyourselfpausemorethanbrieflybetweensentences,anddontcensoryourthoughts

7)Readthedraftcriticallyunderlinephrasesthatpleaseyou(11)

8)(Re)writeanotherroughdraftbutdontstoptoedit:Ifyouslowdowntoeditwhatyouhavewritten,youllputanairtightlidonthoseunconsciousthoughts(11)

9)(Re)writeanotherroughdraft.Deleteeveryextraneousidea.Brightenuplacklusterphrases.Clarifymuddythoughts.Tightenuptheircontinuity.Convertunnecessarypassivecontructionsintoactiveones.Readeverysentencealoud.Aboveall,forceyourselftosearchpainstakinglyforevensmalllapsesincontinuity[notehowthisdiffersfromprimarysources](1112)

2ThinkingWell

"Thenovice"

Selforiented:hisnaturaltendencyasawriteristothinkprimarilyofhimselfandthustowriteprimarilyforhimself.Here,inanutshell,liestheultimatereasonformostbadwriting(15)

Thesuccessofthecommunicationdependssolelyonhowthereaderreceivesit(15)

"Theveteran"

theartofsellingthereadertwothings:yourideasandyouasintelligent,informed,credible,andcompanionable(17)

Fouressentials:sayingsomethingworthhisattentionmustbesoldonitsvalidityand

importanceyourselffurnishstrongargumentsuselanguagethatsellsvigorousverbs,strongnouns,assertivephrasing(17)

Yousellyourreaderbycourteouslyservinghim(17)

Fivewaystoservereader:phraseyourthoughtsclearlyspeaktothepointanticipatehismanyquestionsofferhimvarietyandhumorconversewithhiminawarm,friendly,openmanner(19)

Basicattitudes:principalgoalistocommunicatewhateverisntplainlystatedthereaderwillinvariablymisconstrueevenprofoundestideasarecapableofbeingexpressedclearlyninetenthsofallwritingisrewritingperhapsmostimportantofall,theyaresticklersforcontinuity(20)

"Anticipateyourreadersresponse"

Readerisjustwaitingforanexcusetotuneoutwritermustmusttakecaretouseemphathyanticipationtomeetchallengesineachsentence:helpreaderfeeltheurgencyofferanalogies[avoid]avoidconfusingsentences[isthereanywaytointerpretsentenceincorrectly?]avoidrepetition,pretention,verbosityusestronglyconversational,livingvoice(22)

"SomeConcludingThoughts"

Avoidwritingmumbojumbo:

1)Writeforyourreaderavoidwritingforoneself

2)Asinglereadingisall[yourreader]owesyou

3)Useshorterwordsandshortersentences

4)Rereadpapertwice:firstthroughtheeyesofanonliterarypersonthenthroughtheeyesofyourworstenemy(24)

5)Rereadthepaperthenextday.

3"Howtowriteacriticalanalysis"

AplotsummarybeginswithnothesisorpointofviewAcriticalanalysistakesaviewpointandattemptstoproveitsvalidity(26)

Usedetailstodemonstrateapoint(26)

Suggestions:assumethatyourbasicaudienceisawellinformedreaderhewillbeboredwithcommonplaceperceptionsheprefersreadingargumentstomerechat(29)

4"Openers"

YougiveeachstoryonlyfourorfivesentencestoproveitselfYou,too,willgenerally

begivenonlyfourorfivesentencestoprovethatyouareworthahearing(31)

Agoodopenerinvariablyhasagoodthesisbold,interesting,clearlyfocusedandagoodthesistendstoargueitselfbecauseithasabuiltinforwardthrust(31)

[Theexamplesofopeners,p.32,arenotappropriateforhistoricalwriting]

Askilledwriterwillsometimeshavetospendasmuchasathirdofhistotalwritingtimetryingtogethisopenerintoshape(35)

Suggestionsforopeners:strong,tightlyfocusedthesisconcretedetailsfrontdoorapproachfullbodiedbiggestpunchthestrongeststatementofyourthesiscomesattheend(36)

5"Middles"

"Theanalogy"

Primarygoal[ofexpositorywriting]istoexplain(37)

Theexpositorywriterislikeaprosecutingattorney[butyoumustbemorehonest,moreopentoevidence]:Tellemwhatyouregoingtotellem,tellittoem,andthentellemwhatyouvetoldem'(38)

"Thechecklist"

Fiveotheressentials:

1)Awelldefinedthesisorposition

2)Aclearplanofattack

3)Solidevidence

4)Strongcontinuityofargument

5)Apersuasiveclosingappeal(40)

Readerismostconvincedbyquality,notquantity(42)

"Theimportanceofcontinuity"

[Seeboxonpg.51,examplespg.52]

"Finaltips"

1)Makesureyouhaveaclearthesis.(53)

2)"Thinkofyourselfasaprosecutingattorney,thinkofyouressayasacase,andthinkofyourreaderasahighlyskepticaljury"(53)

3)Proveeachofyourpointssupportingyouroverallthesis(53)

4)"Signpostyourargumenteverystepoftheway"(53)

5)"Assert,thensupportassert,thensupportassert,thensupport"(53)

6)Paragraphsshouldbe"organizedaroundasinglemajorpoint"(53)

7)Insteadofstartingeachparagraphwithatopicsentence,use"abridgesentencewhoseprimefunctionistoconveythereaderoverintoanewparagraph"(54)

6"Closers"

1)Getyourmainpointinsharpfocus

2)Gratifyyourreaderwithatleastonenewidea

3)Giveyourendingemotionalimpact(57)