Monday Money: Read Your Work Aloud

Yep, you should read your work aloud like this person is doing.

Usually, I encounter someone who asks me, “how can I improve my writing?” I look at the person, look at the pile of words on paper on hand, and look at the person again. “Read your work aloud. I’ll be here, listening to you,” I respond.

That’s easily the most significant tip I can offer anyone looking to improve one’s writing. Often times, your writing voice is vastly different from your speaking voice, so it helps to hear your writing voice talking.

Once you begin, do not stop. Keep reading aloud. Make sure you are reading slow enough so someone else, who may or may not be in the same room with you, can understand every single word coming out of your mouth. During the process of reading slowly, little grammatical errors will arise, as well as any other structural problems. Make note of them with a pen (of a color other than black) and proceed with reading.

If someone else is in the room with you, listening as you read your narrative piece aloud, have them make note of anything that seems odd to them. Their perspective will assist you in improving your words for clarity, consistency, and cohesiveness. Even as you read aloud, you may not catch everything that doesn’t make sense. Another person will be able to provide that.

If you stumble upon sentences or words that need to be rephrased or are simply awkward, make note of this and continue reading until the end of the paragraph. Stop briefly, then ask yourself, what is the point I am trying to make in this paragraph? What am I trying to say overall? What was I trying to say in that one specific part that was awkward? Declare your intents aloud so you hear your speaking voice, not your writing voice, articulating the ideas you intend to put on paper. Take note of your intents, then rework your verbalized ideas into a cohesive, pleasant sentence that flows well.

Resume reading the rest of your work. Repeat this process of identifying awkward sentences, clarifying your ideas,  and editing until you are satisfied.

If you would like some guidance with the editing process, please come by WSP  before you write your draft. We will help you articulate your ideas and identify your main argument, translating your thoughts onto paper. Then come back with a draft and we will assist you in developing your editing skills using the above technique!

Post submitted by: Courtney Lee

Monday Money: Using Semi-Colons

It can be difficult sometimes when writing to be as clear and concise as you want to be, especially with the wide variety of punctuation available for you to use. Semicolons (;) in particular can be challenging to use appropriately. Remember, semicolons serve two main purposes:

1. To Connect Two Independent Clauses: Independent clauses are phrases or a series of words that could stand alone as complete sentences. When you have two otherwise complete sentences that you want to connect to form one long sentence, use a semicolon between them. Usually you do this when you have two ideas that when joined by a semicolon make a stronger point than they would as separate sentences.
2. To Serve as a Super-comma: When you have a series of three or more items that normally would be separated by commas except that each individual item already has a comma in it, you use the semicolon between items.

Using punctuation can be difficult to master, so practice! Once you have gotten used to using a variety of different types of punctuation, your writing will become more clear, concise, and interesting.

For examples click HERE

Post submitted by Lauren Park

Monday Money: Consider Your Audience

What constitutes common sense? When it comes to expressing our opinions, sometimes we believe that facts are apparent or certain conclusions are easily drawn. Therefore, as writers who want to reach out to a wide and ranging audience, we want to be inviting and inclusive with our language. In order to do so, we must avoid words that may alienate or exclude any one. For instance, saying, “Clearly, one should conclude ________” or “It is obvious/apparent that __________” can carry a condescending tone and compromise how receptive the audience will be toward your ideas. In the article, “Respect Your Audience,” the authors of Writer’s Block advise a few techniques to use and to avoid so that writers can respect the varying values of their audiences:

“A writer who wants to lead an audience towards a conclusion must refrain from clipping on a leash and pulling too hard. Being human, the audience is likely to resist being told what to think unless already perfectly in tune with the writer’s thinking … and how often does that happen?

A writer who is very close to a subject being written about may fail to notice that the facts presented are open to alternative interpretations. If the writer’s interpretation is presented as the only logical or only possible view, readers whose interpretations differ—possibly a considerable majority of the audience—could be irritated, or offended, or worse.”

Some tips include: 

• Lay out the facts in the most logical and cogent manner possible, then trust the reader to draw the appropriate conclusions. For example [in fiction], rather than say “The Smiths had low-class tastes”, the writer might describe how the Smith family’s house was decorated.
• Avoid making value judgments based on certain facts or conclusions. Values are best judged by each reader independently. For example, a newspaper story leads off with the following statements: “Students at Smith High School achieved the highest test scores of all the high schools in town. The school is also consistently rated “better than most” by a majority of its graduates.” Do not follow up by saying: “Smith High School is the best in the city.” The question that is sure to be asked is: “Best at what?” Smith may be the best academically (or maybe it is simply located in an affluent neighborhood). Maybe other schools have better remedial reading programs, sports participation, or drama and chess clubs. Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
• Avoid placing the reader on your side of an us-versus-them statement: “We now can see that….”, “We recommend that….” Statements like these vaguely imply the superiority of the “we” (author) who is dictating to the “they” (reader). Rewrite the statements to emphasize the benefits of agreeing with the conclusions or advice being presented. For example, rather than use “We recommend that the Whizzbang be placed on a hard, flat surface”, try “For best operation, place the Whizzbang on a hard, flat surface.”

Remember – to address a wide audience and keep the attention and respect of your readers, use non-judgmental words and keep the above tips in mind as you write!

Read more at: Writer’s Block

Post submitted by: Christina

Monday Money: Parenthetical Insertions

the cloud of writing.

As I counsel students with their writing, some ask what ways exist to make stronger sentences. One of my favorites, the parenthetical insertion, was taught to me by my high school English instructor. Parenthetical insertions are sentences that have extra details or afterthoughts enclosed in commas within the span of an entire sentence. Consider:

The counselor, the one most students preferred, looked at her timesheet and saw she had worked too many hours this week.

versus

The counselor most students preferred looked at her timesheet and saw she had worked too many hours this week.

Read the first sentence versus the second one. The first one, if you omit the parenthetical insertion, still reads like a complete sentence. The second one without the parenthetical insertion still conveys the same idea but distracts the reader from the core meaning of the sentence: the counselor worked too many hours this week. Think of these parenthetical insertions as brief descriptions of nouns that can be included within another thought. Again, consider:

Electro-swing, a relatively new musical genre that includes elements of electronic and swing, makes great background music when the mind wanders.

In the above sentence, I define electro-swing as a musical genre and as great background music. Having two ideas within the same sentence is fine, but are usually best conveyed when parenthetical insertions are involved.

Now that you know all about parenthetical insertions, go forth and make your own writing stronger and clearer!

Post Submitted by: Courtney Lee

Monday Money: Converting Adjectives to Adverbs

How do you determine whether the adverbial form of an adjective should end in -ly or -ally?

For most adjectives, the reason to use -ally, rather than -ly, is that you’re adding -ly to a noun plus the inflection -al, which forms the adjective, as inemotionally, musically, ortraditionally. You’re starting withemotion, music, or tradition, converting the noun to an adjective (emotional, musical, or traditional), and then adding -ly.

But this process isn’t consistent. The adjectival form of romance is romantic, not romantical, nor are academical or sarcastical adjectival forms. But you can distinguish these exceptions by noting that the noun form of these words is not the word minus -al; those forms are the adjectival ones, and the noun forms are irregular: Romantic is derived from romance, not romant;academic comes from academy, not academ; and sarcastic stems fromsarcasm, not sarcast.

A generalization is that -ally follows words that end with the letter c; however, the adverbial form of public is publicly, not publically, and there may be other exceptions. In addition, some words bereft of the letter c, likesentimentally, are anomalously constructed.

Note, too, that other major parts of speech include words that end in -ly: for example, the nouns ally and bully, the adjectives friendly and lonely, and the verbs apply and supply. (Also, adjectives ending in -ly have no adverbial form.)

To summarize, if an adjective ends in -al, append -ly to produce its adverbial form. If an adjective does not end in -al, attach -ly — without inserting -alfirst — to transform it into an adverb.

 

Monday Money: Writing Resumes

As we move on to the professional world, the need for a well-written and thoughtful resume is mandatory for success. For those of us who need some guidance, here are some tips you can keep in mind when writing your resume. If you ever need any help, just stop on by the Writing Success Program! :]

Helpful Tips!

 

Post submitted by: Lauren

Monday Money: Proofread OUT LOUD

When proofreading a paper, it’s important to read it OUT LOUD.  After working on several drafts of the same paper, our mind knows what to anticipate in the reviewing process. When we read inside our head, we miss common errors or mistakes because our brain automatically fills in the gaps of what we know should be there.  Put in the extra effort to detach yourself from your writing, read out loud and read slowly like it’s the first time you’re looking at the paper.

Good luck! Happy Finals!

Monday Money: “Express Yourself”

It sounds like a silly tip but just as Charles Wright and the Watts say “All you got to do now: Express Yourself!” Too often writers, including myself, get bogged down in what other people want to see in our essays. Sure it’s important, as your professor or TA is the one who will be grading it, but that does not mean you have to change your writing style! Yes you want to stay true to the prompt. Yes you want to follow all formatting guidelines. However this has nothing to do with how you write. There really is no need to write “academically” or add in fancy words which you might not even know the meaning. It’s honestly better, as someone who reads a lot of essays, if you just write as you normally would.

Often times when students write “academically,” add in a few extra fancy words, or try to change their style completely, the essay is tough to read. The flow of the paper gets muddled and worse the point you are trying to make gets lost in the chaos. Writing according to your style really helps the natural flow of your paper, which in turn helps the reader better understand your message behind the paper. The clarity of your paper is worth so much more than what little authority a few extra words would provide!

Express yourself!

Post Submitted by: Jesse Chiang

Monday Money: Developing a Working Thesis

Tip #3: Don’t get stuck trying to make your thesis perfect the first time around. Try a working thesis instead.

Just as the rest of your paper goes through constant revision, so too should your thesis. Your thesis should be an accurate representation of what your paper is about and if your paper undergoes changes, your thesis should as well.

The focus of this week’s “Monday Money” is a technique called a working thesis, used for when you are stuck developing the always-tricky thesis. With a working thesis, you skip constructing the “perfect thesis” the first time around and instead put down an intentionally broad thesis. This is the start of your working thesis.  As you go along writing your paper and you understand what your ideas are centering around you can continually adjust your thesis (hence a working thesis) until your thesis properly encompasses what the paper is about.

Why use this technique?

First of all, it helps the flow of your writing and thoughts by putting you in the right mindset (or “write” mindset for people who like puns). At the Writing Success Program we often run in to students whose main problem (and only problem) is getting started. It is important to remember that while your thesis is an integral component of your paper, in the essay itself is the par that is really being graded.

Also, often times when students start writing, they often do not quite know everything they are going to write about. Only as they start writing do they form a full picture of what they are going to write. Thus, sometimes it is almost unreasonable to expect that “perfect thesis” the first time around. If you are going to revise your thesis multiple times regardless, it is best not to stress over it. Instead, trying a working thesis and continually adjusting the thesis would be a more practical use of time.

Thanks for reading! I hope this tip will be useful to you in your future writing endeavors.

Post Submitted by Jesse Chiang