The main problem at the beginning of a project is to form the ideas that
will be the guide for your research and writing. An added psychological
problem for some people is getting the ideas out of their head on to a
piece of paper. To get your ideas flowing, you leave being critical of
yourself (scrutiny) to a later stage. Relax, and try to enjoy writing down
your ideas.
Anxiety
will be the enemy of creativity. At this stage you need
to play with ideas. Use whatever technique you find necessary to start your
ideas flowing. Once they have started to flow, you will
be able to tighten them up.
- Some people get their ideas flowing by using rough
diagrams (
spider diagrams,
for example)
of their ideas.
- Other people "brainstorm" by writing
down every idea that comes into their
head.
-
I do it by drafting my ideas on a
wordprocessor.
See
the web page on generating ideas
Academic writing requires multiple drafts
|
Because writing is
a creative task, you will need to think, and read, and write, and think
again, and read again, and rewrite - and so on.
As you go through this
process new aspects of the problem will occur to you, and will lead you to
redraft your essay, report or whatever. Your end result will probably be
very different from your first plan.
Because drafting and redrafting are so important, there are many words to
describe the ways in which we break down, change and reconstruct writing.
People speak of correcting, checking, drafting, editing, paraphrasing,
redrafting, revising, rewriting ...
A draft refers to an early version of a letter, essay, poem, speech
or other word creation. This draft is then used as the starting point for
further work. The best way to write a first draft is usually to dive
straight in with your own rough version of what you want to say. A less
successful way, but one it is occasionally useful to use, is to start by
expanding notes we have written on a subject.
See
The good and the bad way to write
"in your own words".
Paraphrasing is altering the phrasing of something, or changing the
way it is written. The word means to tell (phrase) the same thing
differently (in a parallel way). If you paraphrase what someone has said or
written, you express it differently. The word is most often used for
altering the way
someone else's work is written, but it can also be used for expressing your
own ideas differently. "Could you paraphrase that?" might mean "Could you
express that differently?". As the intention of paraphrasing is to make
something clearer, paraphrase is often use for an expanded version of the
original. However, if writing rambles, a précis can make it clearer.
Editing is preparing material for its use. It includes selecting the
material to be used and altering it to make it more suitable for its
purpose. On a computer wordprocesor, the edit menu lets you cut out pieces
of writing or move them to other places. This indicates that editing
includes arranging material. Editing also includes correcting errors,
removing silly bits and thinking of better wording. It can also include
making the material shorter or longer.
In academic work it is important to
show that you have read and thought about the relevant sources of
authoritative information and your work should show that you have used your
texts in this way.
Referencing
is one of the ways that you
demonstrate your reading.
In projects, reports and dissertations you may be asked to
provide a
Literature Review.
Do not borrow ideas without
acknowledging the source.
This is
plagiarism,
which is an academic crime.
The style of
writing
will depend partly on the writing and partly on the
writer's taste. Rules of style are only advice, and advice that is relevant
to writing a poem will not be relevant to writing an essay about a poem.
People sometimes distinguish between creative writing (for example,
a poem) and academic writing (like an essay about a poem), much of
which is explanatory. The suggestions I make here are about
writing that
seeks to explain, (like essays, reports and dissertations), and not about
stories, plays, poems or the lyrics of songs.
A poem does not have to explain itself.
Its
rhyme,
rhythm
and
reason
are not those of an explanatory essay
|
Even with respect to explanatory writing, the subject of how you should
write is controversial. There are people who will advise you to use the
longest
words you can find, in the obscurest way you are capable of, in order to
give the impression that you know what you are talking about.
Those who
follow such advice should be very sure that their readers are fools.
|
Clear English and a precise use of
technical terms
are the two rules that I would advise.
I have based these guidelines on advice from
writers on
style
who aim at clear English:
|
Although simple, straightforward writing is easier to read than confused,
complicated writing - It is much more difficult to write. To help the
reader understand your writing you should also
signpost it
clearly with a good introduction and well constructed paragraphs. A
full outline in
the introduction pointing to clearly marked parts in the body, and a systematically
constructed summary often enable readers to understand what you
write, even if your English is confused.
|
See (more) tips to make your writing
clearer
Use technical terms correctly
|
Each subject will have its technical terms and learning to use these
correctly and meaningfully is one of the purposes of student writing.
Many of these terms will be new to you. The deluge of new words often makes
starting University confusing. As you try to use some of the new words in
your writing you will gain confidence and the words will become a language
instead of a cacophony.
But not all the technical words will be new. Often, words from
everyday speech will take on special meanings and become
technical words. "Happiness" becomes a technical term in
utilitarian
theory
and "market" in economics.
"Argument"
and
"critical"
have meanings in
academic discussion that seem quite far removed from the way we use them in
a family squabble.
Work hard at understanding technical words, and explain them in your
writing. The way the words are used in your recommended reading and in
lectures may tell you a lot about what they mean. Often the reading or the
lecturer will define the words.
You can also look
them up in a general dictionary or a dictionary about the
subject.
Do not let the use of technical terms degenerate into
jargon.
Most ideas can be simply expressed once you have them clear in your mind.
To reach that point, however, may take a lot of work, as you can see from
reading the following example.
Example
The technical terms id, ego and superego (as used by
Sigmund Freud),
explained in an essay by Deborah Goulden.
- Freud believes that the human mind is divided into three distinct
regions.
At birth we are equipped solely with the id. The id contains "everything
that is inherited...the instincts" (Freud, S. 1938 p.1). It represents our
basic drives, which are not conscious and require instant gratification. A
baby crying to be fed or held illustrates this. Freud says "the id ...
knows no judgements of value; no good and evil, no morality.'(Freud, S.
1933
p.499). The id is our mind before social skills have developed. The rest of
the world is merely a vehicle for satisfying its needs.
- A baby soon learns that the external world does not always meet these
needs, so its mind has to develop a new region which Freud names the ego.
The ego's main task is one of self-preservation by avoiding unpleasure.
Unpleasure is Freud's terminology for the heightening of tension. The role
of the ego is a balancing one, it balances our need for pleasure within the
demands and restrictions of society. The ego develops through experiences
as we become aware of our individual existence and learn to deal with the
reality that we cannot have whatever we want, whenever we want it. The ego
is therefore the part of the id that has been affected by the outside world
and it represents the influence of this upon the id.
- "We might say that the ego stands for reason and good sense whilst the
id
stands for untamed passions" (Freud, S. 1933 p.501). This statement is
rather
inconsistent with Freud's axiom that our unconscious past is the controller
of our mind, not the power of reason. However, in this case, the reason,
which the ego stands for, needs to be understood as being unconscious.
Freud compares the relationship between the id and the ego to that of a
horse and rider.(Freud, S. 1933 p.502) The id being the strong, powerful
horse
and the ego being the rider that guides it.
- Freud believes that our childhood experiences create our personality.
These
become repressed into our unconscious, which leads to the emergence of the
third region of our mind, the super-ego. "The parental influence of course
includes not only the personalities of the actual parents but also the
family, racial and national traditions handed on through them' (Freud, S.
1938 p.3). So, the super-ego is the way in which the culture and values
that our
parents and mentors instil in us effect our personalities acting in the
form of a conscience and control over the ego. It is the tool through which
the ego evaluates itself and constantly strives for perfection in the same
way that a child sees its parents as being perfect and tries to emulate
them. According to these theories it would then be very unusual for a child
to break away from his past because he would in fact be breaking away from
himself. To summarise "the id and the super-ego represent the influences of
the past ... the id the influence of heredity, the super-ego the influence,
essentially, of what is taken over from other people - whereas the ego is
principally determined by the individual's own experience, that is by
accidental and contemporary events." (Freud, S. 1938 p.4)
- Bibliography
Freud, S. 1938 An Outline of Psychoanalysis, London,
Hogarth Press
1979
Freud, S. 1933 "The Dissection of the Psychical Personality", in
Freud, A.
(Editor) 1986 The Essentials of Psychoanalysis, London, Penguin.
Plan to finish your writing ahead of time
|
You need time to put
the writing in perspective, before reading it through to make final
corrections.
See the student tips on time management
Be specific rather than general
in the following sentence the phrase "all concepts mentioned above" is
general rather than specific:
"Freud believes that all concepts mentioned above determine the
individual's fate in society."
It becomes specific when the sentence is changed to:
"Freud believes that the individual's personality development,
childhood sexual fantasies and conflicts, and the resulting
content of the unconscious mind will all determine that
individual's fate in society."
Use familiar words unless a more unusual one adds precision
I suggest you write |
Not: |
These issues are discussed in Plato's The Republic and Aristotle's
Politics.
|
These two greek philosophers discoursed their studies in two main sources
of literature The Republic and The Politics.
|
Shortening sentences to make sense
Breaking long, confused, sentences into shorter ones makes it easier to
work on the meaning. In the following example, a thoughtful student
commented on a quotation. I could not understand what she was saying, so I
broke her long sentence into shorter one and thought about how each of
these could make sense.
The student wrote:
"This quote infers that to encourage individuals into the way
of thinking as they wish the state imposes its ideals to the family as does
the church to place principles, morals and politics a manoeuvre by the
state for citizens within society to be stereotypical."
I re-wrote this as:
"I infer from this quote, that state and church encourage individuals to
think the way they want them to. They impose ideals on the family.
Together they try to establish the principles, morals and politics they
desire. Such manoeuvres by state and society (church) aim to make citizens
stereotypes of one another."
Do not torture your English
It is not a good idea to use "I" frequently in academic writing.
Some people try not to use "I" at all, but this often results in tortured
English and loss of clarity. I hope you will nurture, not torture, your
English - and I would advise you to always use "I" when it is needed for
clarity.
I suggest you write |
Not: |
I will discuss the relation between sex and gender.
or (if you must avoid I)
This essay will discuss the relation between sex and gender.
|
The writer will discuss the relation between sex and gender.
or (ambiguously, as well as tortured)
The author discusses the relation between sex and gender.
|
There are a minority of academics who tell students never to use "I" in
essays, but reading academic texts will show that most writers use "I" when
it is needed. The tragedy of the advice "never use I" is that many students
who take it seriously have weak English. If you have difficulty expressing
your ideas clearly (unambiguously) in English, you must use "I"
where necessary if you want to survive as a student. Essays with meaning
buried under strange phrases are likely to fail because the meaning is far
more important than the style.
Read about clear English
First, second, third person
"The writer will discuss the relation between sex and gender" is writing in
the third person.
"You will discuss the relation between sex and gender" is
writing in the second person.
"I will discuss the relation between sex and
gender" is writing in the first person.
You will not improve your work by replacing several "Is" by "the
writer" or "the researcher". Whichever
person you write in
(see above), try to avoid saying I, or its equivalent, many
times.
Do not use Question Style
"What have Mill and Taylor to say about social change? How can society move
from hierarchy to democracy? How can the working class become self-
determining?"
May sound exciting when you write it. Rather like:
"Will Amanda escape the criticisms of her boring tutor? How can she write
the way she wants to? What is the matter with writing in questions anyway?"
Nevertheless, the following communicates more, provides an argument rather
than just questions, and provides content that can gain you marks:
"Mill and Taylor argue that the struggles of the working class for self-
determination are an engine of social change leading from hierarchy to
democracy."
Some
(more)
tips to make your writing clearer
|
|
If you are writing in a language that you are new to, or if you have
problems writing clearly in your first language (perhaps because what you
are writing about is difficult), there are things you can
do to make it easier for the reader to understand.
The same practices will help you write clearer essays about difficult
texts, even if your English is fluent. These are some of them:
Plan your writing and include the plan in
an introduction. Also write a
summary of what you have written in the introduction. Make the introduction
as clear as you can. This will help the reader to understand the rest of
what you have written
Use sub-headings to separate the parts of your essay. The sub-headings
should match the outline in your introduction.
When
reading difficult texts take word for word
quotations from them that illustrate key points, think about
these rather than getting overwhelmed by the whole text. Use them as
described below.
Do not mix the words that you read with the words that you write.
Separate
quotations from your own writing with a clear line. Whenever you quote,
explain what the quotation means in your own words. When you have explained
something in your own words, add a quotation that illustrates it.
Reference what you say clearly, so that the reader can check the
meaning
against your sources.
Here is an example of some of these points:
In this essay I will be talking about the philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau
(1712-1778). I will analyse some of his ideas about society, and I will
relate these to the French Revolution (1789). In the first part of the
essay I will look at Rousseau's book The Social Contract, published
in 1762. I will then compare this to The Declaration of the Rights of
Man and the Citizen, which was written by the revolutionary French
Parliament in 1789.
The Social Contract
[Missing part]
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
The The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen says that
"Men are born free and remain free and equal in rights.
Social distinctions can only be founded on communal utility"
(Declaration 1789 par.1)
By "men" this means all human beings. The first part of this quote means
that everyone is born with equal rights, no matter who they. It suggests,
therefore, that people are born equal whatever their physical differences,
including race and gender. Whoever we are, we are not born better than one
another.
The second part of the quote ("Social distinctions can only be founded on
communal utility") does say that people can have different positions in
society. Some may be more powerful than others. However, it argues that
these differences have to be based on usefulness (utility)
[Missing part]
Bibliography
Declaration 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen
Paragraph numbers from the web copy at
<http://studymore.org.uk/x1789.htm>
|
|
Quotations should illustrate, not carry, your essay
Quotations are
used in essays to illustrate what the essay writer is saying. Sometimes
they carry the writer's message, but this should be done with care. Here is
an example of what I mean by carrying the writer's message
The writer makes an intelligent choice of quotations from Freud to show
what he is saying, but her essay just jumps straight in with the quotes,
with a few words of her own to link them. Here is how she could have
embedded this in explanation of her own, and used the quotations mainly as
illustration:
By surround the quotes by her
own words, the writer explains Freud and gives her
interpretation
of what he is saying.
Study
Link
Andrew Roberts' web Study Guide
Top
of
Page
Take a Break - Read a Poem
Click coloured words to go where you
want
Andrew Roberts likes to hear from users: To contact him, please
use the Communication
Form
© Andrew Roberts
12.1999
Index
ABC of writing
Academic Writing
Advice on essays
Advice on reports
Anxiety
Being
specific
Clear English
Creative Writing
Drafting
Editing
Familiar terms
Generating ideas
"I"
Literature Review
Paraphrasing
Plagiarism
Planning
Question Style
Referencing
Showing Reading
Simple English
Style
Technical Words
Time Management
Tortured
English
Using "I"
|
|