How to improve your
writing ability in general
Read Strunk's Elements of Style (Sections I-III) (better yet, buy the revised edition: Strunk and
White, 3rd ed.) and the Purdue Online Writing Lab "handouts". See especially http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/,
and also the Univ. of Wellington
site for essay-writing tips and composition exercises. See my section on Composition. For specific questions, look up
the key word (e.g., punctuation, comma, tense usage, transition words, outline)
in my Index. There
are many sites with exercises, e.g., at Bedford St. Martin's (you can use a fictitious name, and
you do not have to add my address). See also my Grammar
Links Project.
There is a German site with some basic rules for writing, including
punctuation, called ego4u.
How to evaluate an
essay (structural analysis)
Ask yourself these
questions about someone else's paper, or about your own. This will bring out
both the strong and weak points of your essay, and guide you in the right
direction for rewriting. See also "Seven Rules for
Essay-Writing."
- PURPOSE: What is the writer trying to
accomplish in this essay?
- THESIS: Is the thesis of the essay clear
from the introduction? If not, what is unclear and how could the
introduction be improved?
- CLARITY: Is every sentence clear?
- UNITY: Does the essay stick to the
subject, or wander far afield?
- COHERENCE: Is there an easy flow to the
essay? Does one paragraph move smoothly into the next? Does each sentence
move smoothly into the next?
- DEVELOPMENT: Are there sufficient
explanations, details, and examples to support the author's points?
- RESULTS: Does the essay accomplish what it
sets out to do?
- Give specific comments on specific
elements, noting areas where you are confused and pointing out sections
that work especially well. Be honest. Think to yourself: what would I like
to know about improving this essay, if it were mine?
- Make a sentence outline of the essay, if you can. What
changes need to be made in the outline to make it clear?
Here are the same questions
in more detail.
Is the thesis (main point)
of the letter/essay clear? Is there one sentence (thesis statement) that
expresses it clearly and concisely? Does it appear early enough in the essay to
make it easy for the reader to follow the train of thought throughout, or does
the author seem to jump around from one idea to another without making it clear
how each point relates to the thesis?
Is the thesis interesting? Does
it make you want to know why the author has this opinion, and how she will
support it? Does it limit the topic and focus on a specific aspect that can be
dealt with in some detail in 500 words, or is it so general that it cannot
possibly be supported except in an equally general and uninteresting way?
What are the supporting
points? Are they separated into paragraphs? Are the paragraphs indented? Are
there too many or too few paragraphs? Is it immediately clear how each
supporting point or paragraph relates to the thesis? Is each one given an
appropriate amount of attention? Which points should be emphasized more, or
less? Where is more explanation needed? Where would a concrete example be desirable?
Does the last sentence or
two successfully close the essay (for example, by re-phrasing the thesis
statement), or does it leave the reader in confusion or suspense (for example,
by bringing up a new topic)?
Are the paragraphs and
supporting points arranged in an orderly way--for example, chronologically or
by sub-topic--and in order of ascending importance? What improvements on the
arrangement of the parts of the essay can you suggest?
Are the transitions between
paragraphs clear? Is it clear how each paragraph relates to the preceding and
following ones? How could this be improved?
Within the paragraphs, is
it always clear how each sentence relates to the preceding and following ones? Are
transition words and phrases like so, but, on the contrary,
therefore, etc. used carelessly, implying logical connections that are
not in fact there, or not enough, failing to make explicit connections that are
there? Where could the insertion, or removal, of a transitional word or phrase
improve the flow of thought from one sentence to another?
Is each supporting point
not simply stated, but developed in some way? What further arguments, examples,
explanations, analyses, definitions, anecdotes, comparisons or contrasts could
be added to make a particular point more effective? Are some points developed
better than others? Is it necessary to make all the points? Which could be
omitted, in order to concentrate on developing the others more fully?
Does the author seem to be
just parroting the language and ideas of the text she refers to, or even
quoting extensively from it (e.g., in a letter to the editor), or does she seem
to have given serious thought to the issues and to be trying to express her own
ideas in her own words?
