- Samuel Johnson

Good writing reflects good thinking. Research, analysis, argument, and style-the ability to gather data perceptively, consider a problem carefully, organize one's ideas coherently, and communicate these ideas articulately-are the essence of both good writing.

Some specific pointers on problems which frequently bedevil student writing follow:

In his wonderful satirical essay "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses," first published in 1895, Mark Twain sets out the following expectations for good prose, which every writer ought to follow:

"The author shall:

Say what he is proposing to say, not merely come near it.

Use the right word, not its second cousin.

Eschew surplusage.

Not omit necessary details.

Avoid slovenliness of form.

Use good grammar.

Employ a simple and straightforward style."

Analysis and Argument

DO imagine the readers. Write on their level and seek to convey to them your overall understanding of the problem and convince them of the validity of your interpretation.

DO start your paper with a statement of the problem. Pose an interesting dilemma or a series of questions which will capture the reader's curiosity and draw him or her into your argument. DO NOT start: "In this essay I will . . . "

DO develop your points logically and one at a time, each point (or paragraph) continuing on from the preceding one and leading into the following one. Be sure to employ smooth transition sentences to link your points to each other and to your general thesis.

DO use paragraphs thoughtfully; they are basic building blocks in the development of your argument. Start each paragraph with a general statement, or point. Then explain this point, analyzing how and why it is so, and support it with evidence. Your analysis and evidence demonstrate to the reader the validity of your opening statement.

Style

DO spend some time editing and re-working your writing. Nothing is so disappointing as a paper which seems to contain good points, but which is so illiterate and illogically developed as to be unintelligible. (An excellent short guide to stylistic considerations is Strunk and White's The Elements of Style.)

DO keep to the past tense when writing of the past.

DO strive for an economy of prose. Avoid run-on clauses and sentences; keep your writing simple, clear, and direct.

DO NOT overquote; use direct quotations only as evidence (e.g., where wording from a relevant document reinforces your point) or where someone else has said something particularly succinctly. DO use your own words, but remember you must footnote these when you have drawn your ideas or evidence from somewhere else and have paraphrased.

DO be definitive; avoid "would" tenses and words such as "probably," "apparently," and "possibly."

DO read your finished paper out loud or ask someone to read it to you; you should be able to hear awkward, misleading, or confused sentence constructions.

DO use proper footnotes and bibliography.

DO plan to spend some time editing and rewriting your work. Hemingway wrote 125 drafts of The Old Man and the Sea (a relatively short novel) before its publication; you need to write at least two to three drafts to develop a clear and logical paper.

DO remember that writing is a skill that can be honed only through experience; as those in the performing arts tell us, "the only way to get to Carnegie Hall is practice, practice, practice." As the musician trains her musical "ear," you can train your "ear for prose" through lots of writing and reading, so that you can learn to appreciate-and eventually produce-good writing yourself. See you in Carnegie Hall!

revised August 1993 printed

Reading and commenting on your papers takes time. A lot of time. It's something I do willingly because I think effective writing is such an important skill to develop. While I usually enjoy reading students' papers, this process can become a real chore when a paper's ideas are obscured by a host of distracting mechanical and stylistic errors. Therefore, I offer the following guidelines, the consideration of which will make my life (and ultimately yours, as well) a lot easier. Please be sure your paper:

contains impeccably-spelled words (the advent of computer programs to check spelling in word processed documents is a godsend for many; I encourage you to investigate this option if you have spelling trouble).

adheres to accepted standards of grammar, punctuation, structure, and presentation (see Exhibit I for a sample title page).