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THE PRINCIPLES OF GOOD WRITING

PRINCIPLE 1WRITE WITH A TOP-DOWN APPROACH

• Most everyday writing is expository • Your job – write for 5 minutes on a topic of your

choosing• BLOT• Newspaper strategy• What is wrong with the following?• “Sheila, can you do something for me when you’re

downtown? If you’re taking the subway to Main Street, get off and take the first exit out of the subway and walk down to Cross Street. At the intersection of Cross Street and Vine, you’ll find Sandy’s Stationary store. Can you go in a pick up a couple of reams of A5 paper?”

PRINCIPLE 1WRITE WITH A TOP-DOWN APPROACH

• Why should that conclusion be one of the first things said?• This technique is especially useful in on-demand

writing• Give the people what they want – instant

gratification!• An airline pilot never leaves the runway without

having a destination and a flight pattern – you shouldn’t either!

PRINCIPLE 2BREAK THINGS DOWN

• You know what you want to write about – topic• You must decide on the basic building blocks that are

essential to skirt-theory that topic• This is why the 5-paragraph essay became a staple of high

school writing• Especially in on-demand writing, consider incorporating a

“lead sentence” – this is the topic sentence of topic sentences

• Example: I would like to show who I am through a discussion of three special turning points in my personal and career development: when I switched from an English major to and education major, when I spent a year teaching in South Korea, and when I completed my graduate degree in business

PRINCIPLE 3USE TRANSITION WORDS

• Transition words serve one of four primary purposes• To show contrast (stop and get ready to turn)• However, but, yet, on the other hand, whereas• To show illustration or enumeration (keep going)• First, second, third, for example, for instance, in

fact• To show continuation (slow down but keep going)• Furthermore, moreover, on the one hand,

undoubtedly, coincidentally• To show conclusion (you’re about to arrive)• Finally, so, therefore, thus, as a result

PRINCIPLE 3USE TRANSITIONAL WORDS

• Identify the transition words and their purpose in the following text:• Time management involves thinking in terms of

effectiveness first and efficiency second. Whereas efficiency is concerned with doing a task in the fastest possible manner, effectiveness is concerned with spending time doing the “right” things. Effectiveness is therefore a broader, more useful concept, which questions whether we should even do a particular task.

PRINCIPLE 3USE TRANSITIONAL WORDS

• The simplest writing approach – this is not the most exciting but it is clear and it works. • Take a stance• Write your conclusion• State “there are several reasons for this”• Use transitional words• Voila • Consider it for the ACT as long as you have both

sides of the argument covered in your “several reasons” section

PRINCIPLE 4EMPLOY THE SIX BASIC WRITING STRUCTURES

• Writing structures refers to the order things are introduced and the importance or emphasis given to these things. There are six common structures:• Categorical• Evaluative• Chronological• Comparative• Sequential• Causal • Take a look at the handout provided

PRINCIPLE 4EMPLOY THE SIX BASIC WRITING STRUCTURES

• There are, of course, other potential structures and rhetorical modes that you can use. Two other common ones: • Question and Answer• Problem and Solution

PRINCIPLE 5KEEP LIKE THINGS TOGETHER

• Don’t put all the zoo animals in one big mess of a cage – don’t put all ideas together in one big mess of an essay!• Finish your discussion/point of each idea before

moving on to the next.• Fix this mess…

PRINCIPLE 6SUPPORT WHAT YOU SAY

• This is the biggest difference between effective writing and mediocre writing – concrete and specific examples• Apples are interesting.• Abigail Williams is a horrible character.• Work on the examples provided• Keep this idea in mind when you write your

college entrance essays and when you ask teachers to write letters of recommendation!

PRINCIPLE 7PERSONALIZE EXAMPLES

• This results in “I” statements so consider the appropriateness• This technique makes the examples more

memorable• Nigel is too busy to enjoy himself.• Consider principle 6• Despite working evenings, Nigel arrives home and

diligently tackles his homework to prepare for next day’s classes.• Not only does it give support but you, as

students, can relate

PRINCIPLE 7PERSONALIZE EXAMPLES

• People are starving.• People are starving—you can see it in their eyes

and in the way their bones press against the skin.• “But it’s the faces you can’t forget, like images in

a recurring nightmare, they keep coming back, haunted faces, staring blankly back from the windows of tumble-down hovels. The hollow lifeless eyes, skin stretched tight across backs, hands out-stretched, dull listless eyes imploring. I move as if in a dream through the agony that is famine.”—The Year of Living Dangerously

PRINCIPLE 7PERSONALIZE EXAMPLES

• Use literary techniques to strengthen nonfiction writing• Anecdotes• Quotations• Analogies• Similes and metaphors• Let’s try it…

PRINCIPLE 8KEEP IT SIMPLE

• Be careful with a thesaurus!• Simple verbs, nouns, and adjectives have broader

meanings in English than more complicated words• Consider the following• Acceded or• Agreed• Accommodate or• Serve• Accumulate or• Gather

PRINCIPLE 8KEEP IT SIMPLE

• This doesn’t mean “big words” are bad, just that you need to make sure you understand their meaning and that they are appropriate!• We will talk more about power word choice later…• Try this exercise

PRINCIPLE 9CUT DOWN LONG SENTENCES

• Leadership—whether on the battlefield or in another area, such as politics or business—can take place either by example or command, and Alexander the Great, renowned in both history and legend, is a good example of a military leader who led by both command and personal example, whereas Gandhi and Mother Teresa, both famous for their devotion to great causes, provide instances of people leading primarily by the power of inspiring personal example.• Cut this sentence down to make it more

manageable

PRINCIPLE 9CUT DOWN LONG SENTENCES

• Consider this revision:• Leadership can take place either by example of

command. Alexander the Great is an example of a military leader who did both. Gandhi and Mother Teresa, on the other hand, led primarily by the power of inspiring personal example.• This rule does not mean that all sentences should

be short – just that you don’t need superfluous material!• Don’t underestimate the power of a short

sentence (3-5 words). It will catch the eye!

PRINCIPLE 10ELIMINATE NEEDLESS WORDS

• Draw a bicycle• “Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should

contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.” –William Strunk, Jr.• Needless words come in three forms: redundancy,

excessive qualification, needless self-reference

PRINCIPLE 10ELIMINATE NEEDLESS WORDS

• Redundancy• Advance notice or• Notice• Any and all or• Any• Attractive in appearance or• Attractive• Blue in color or• Blue • Deliberately chosen or• Chosen • This is a big ACT-thing!

PRINCIPLE 10ELIMINATE NEEDLESS WORDS

• Excessive qualification• This rather serious leak may possibly shake the

very foundations of the intelligence world.• This serious leak may shake the foundations of the

intelligence world.• Don’t qualify words that are already absolute:• Fairly excellent – excellent• Truly unique – unique• The very worst – the worst• Most favorite – favorite• Quite outstanding - outstanding

PRINCIPLE 10ELIMINATE NEEDLESS WORDS

• Needless self-reference• “I believe”• “I think”• “I feel”• “In my opinion”

PRINCIPLE 11GAIN ACTIVE POWER

• Active Voice v. Passive Voice• Today the computer files were erased.• Today Al Smith erased the computer files.• Sometimes passive voice is fine.• The world’s largest pearl (6.4 kg) was discovered

in the Philippines in 1934.• School was cancelled today.• Joyce Buckingham was awarded a medal by the

committee organizers.• Complete the exercise

PRINCIPLE 12FAVOR VERBS NOT NOUNS

• Nominalization – changing verbs and adjectives into nouns

• Reduce (v) – reduction (n)• Reduction of costs should be reduce costs• Precise (adj) – precision (n)• Precision of measurements should be precise

measurements• Verbs can also be gerunds (-ing)• Is the drinking of alcohol by students allowed on

campus?• May students drink alcohol on campus?• Excercise

PRINCIPLE 13ALWAYS USE PARALLEL FORMS

• Another big ACT-thing• Express similar parts of a sentence in a consistent

way. Elements alike in function should be alike in construction.• In the summer before college, I waited tables,

pursued magazine sales, and even had a stint at delivering pizzas. • Versus• In the summer before college, I waited tables,

sold magazines, and even delivered pizzas.

PRINCIPLE 13ALWAYS USE PARALLEL FORMS

• “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty.” –JFK• Parallelism relates to any part of speech• Look for it in lists• They went to London, to Paris, and Istanbul.• They went to London, to Paris, and to Istanbul.• She likes sun, the sand, and going to the sea.• She likes the sun, the sand, and the sea.

PRINCIPLE 13ALWAYS USE PARALLEL FORMS

• The entrepreneur had the personality, the contacts, and had the intelligence to succeed in almost any business venture.• The entrepreneur had the personality, had the

contacts, and had the intelligence to succeed in almost any business venture.• Exercise

PRINCIPLE 14CAPITALIZE ON SENTENCE VARIETY

• Normal English sentence pattern: subject-verb-object I play tennis.• What if every sentence followed this pattern?• Examples of how to vary sentence beginnings:• With a subject – Customers can tell us why

products sell if we take the time to listen to them.• With a phrase – For this reason, no product is to

be built until we know a market exists for it.• With a clause – Because human beings are

complex, the sales process cannot be reduced to a simple formula.

PRINCIPLE 14CAPITALIZE ON SENTENCE VARIETY

• With a verb – Try not to eat and talk.• With an adverb – Understandably, students like to hear

entrepreneurs speak of rags to riches stories.• With adjectives – Intelligent and compassionate, Dorothy

has the ingredients to be a leader.• With a gerund – Allowing plenty of time, the law student

started studying eight weeks before the bar exam.• With an infinitive – To be a monk, a person must be able

to relinquish selfishness in order to concentrate on a higher goal.

• With a correlative conjunction – Not only poverty but also pollution threatens the development of the third world.