Writing: The Importance of Second Opinions

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You are – in your most humble opinion – brilliant. Your writing reflects a superior collection of thoughts and theories, the academic wonders that are certain to be recognized by all. You are daring with your dissections of history and philosophy, able to conjure intrigue from dull statistics. Your papers are experiences, not mere pages. Words are your carefully chosen allies, meant to sway others and prove genius.

That genius means little, however, when it’s revealed that you left a substantial amount of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes in your work. This was an unfortunate and avoidable consequence.

Your inspiration cannot be denied; but it can be tamed. Your papers are praised for their inventiveness but their grades still reflect the all too easy flaws – a confusion of words, improper substitutions and poorly constructed contractions. Your cleverness cannot be questioned. Your basic language skills, however, can.

And this is why it becomes so vital for you to seek the aid of others. Don’t assume your research will compensate for weak writing. You can’t rely on a perfect theory to make readers forget the imperfect presentation. You must instead find an editor – an individual who can decipher your meanings and shape them accurately. You can go to 411.ca and search for the kind of service that you need to make your life easier.

You worry, though, that this will be impossible: your papers are complex affairs, able to be understood only by those who are as familiar with the topics as you are. This is rarely a concern, however. Unless your research is filled to technical explanations, there should be no difficulty in pointing out the problems. Language is the purpose, not what it is trying to prove.

Academia is not meant to be solitary. Just as you rely on others to for theories and experimentations, you must also rely on them to offer advice. Your work cannot suffer from improper writing. It must instead be edited. Look to those who will not simply praise your ideas but will instead make them fully logical.

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Create Fascinating Characters

Humans are designed to socially connect with each other, and some of your best loved works resulted from most loved characters. Who are the Muppets without Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy? Which Disney character is quick to act and lose his temper? “No one, but Donald Duck.” Not only do we humans enjoy falling in love with characters, but we equally enjoy hating characters and psychoanalyzing characters.  Here are some basic tips for creating those fascinating characters you love and hate.

Avoid Overly Describing Your Characters

Leave some of the description to the reader’s imagination. Many times, they may see a character to resemble people they already know, which is an easy way for readers to feel that instant connection. In addition, most people do not want to read a bunch of paragraphs that sound like a social networking “about me” quiz. Only describe what is necessary to the story, and unfold details through action and dialogue.

Give Them Personality

Take a few personality tests in character. Write out some of the answers that you feel most compelled to bring out in the story. Of course, don’t exactly say, “Kari is your average introvert,” but something more like, “As Kari walked into the chaos of the large party, she kept her head low looking to the ground as she made her way to the shadows behind the punch bowl to stand alone and observe the Mad Hatters frolicking in their protective egos.”

Test Them

Readers not only like to connect with the characters, but they also like to see what the characters are going to do when faced with moral and ethical concerns. What if Kari finds a wallet on the floor? What if the wallet belonged to a person she hates?

Give Them Easy Names

It’s difficult to connect to a character with a name you aren’t sure how to pronounce let alone remember when you walk away from the story.

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Style or Structure: Writing

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You have received an insult, a red ink smear. Your pages were branded inaccurate – all clever phrases deemed weak, all inventive punctuation refused. The stylish form you crafted (letting lyricism flow throughout the paragraphs, the perfect meet of fact and fantasy) has been noted as wrong; and the grade it’s received is far from the expected perfection. Your professor has named you instead a failure, and your paper is to be ignored by all.

There is far too great of an appeal is spicing history with sensationalism, in transforming dry text into a fascination. You wish to make writing interesting; and so you choose unexpected words and unique devices. You manipulate commas and colons. You change the accepted rules of grammar. This is not meant to be a slight against language. It’s instead to be an embracing of it. Your research is to become dynamic.

Too often, however, is it also to become a mistake.

Style over structure is a source of contention within the academic world. While most understand the desire to layer pages with the techniques of novels, more still understand the disaster this can bring – the purpose of a paper is lost, shaped into a fiction instead of a truth. It becomes an excess of punctuation changes and nonsensical ideas: entertaining but ultimately flawed.

It is therefore recommended that all writers choose to follow the established patterns, instead of forging new ones. While poetry and prose can allow you to experiment, research is meant instead to be given respect – and this includes taming all of your wilder grammatical instincts. The pages do not have to be brittle, simple recitations of statistics and percentages; but they do have to remain unbiased. Avoid the hyperbole and exclamations. The purpose is instead to convince through fact, not dazzle with empty style.

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The Value of Precision: Writing

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Language is a complex creature – filled to subtleties and exaggerations, the careful questions and triumphs. Words, you are certain, are the greatest of gifts. Their abilities of expression allow you to create perfect prose, the scathing commentaries. Research becomes a joy (if only for the chance to complement it with definitions, synonyms). Description becomes your most valued of companions: you can utilize the endless variety of adjectives to stage a time, a situation. There shall be no detail left unnoticed. There shall be no element left unattended. Your work will be soaked to drama.

It will also be soaked to redundancy.

The all too sad truth of language is that, while it does offer infinite possibilities, it can also become a quick repetition. Words can be stuffed together, creating too long sentences and too verbose meanings. There is a lack of precision in the writing – replaced to the absurdity of trying to prove points by cataloging their every component. And this can become an easy annoyance for those who must then read them.

Academic writing is meant to be concise. The intention is to validate a thesis, to offer evidence and a strong conclusion. It is not to be an excess of words. While you may intend for them to be celebrations of language, they will instead become frustrations – professors will feel no favor toward you if they must wade through unnecessary paragraphs. And your grades will reflect that discontentment.

You must instead be deliberate with your choices: consider every description, being sure that each is necessary. Edit extensively and remove all adjectives that are not vital to a sentence (the ratio should be balanced, not overwrought). Ignore words that few may recognize. You wish to be understood, not a source of confusion. The paper is to be efficient and sparingly sensationalized. This is not a reflection of personality but instead proof of intellect.

Be wise. Be concise.

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Limiting Favored Expressions: Writing

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You have been raised on the thesaurus, taught always to seek out the uncommon phrases, the unexpected twists of rhyme. There is no lack of inspiration within your vocabulary – it is composed instead of clever adjectives, the subtle differences of words. And you choose always to use those in your academic writing. History is not to be tamed to parchment dry recitations. It’s instead to be drenched in your own shades of brilliance; with particular offerings of your favorite expressions. They provide character, drama. They will therefore be appreciated; and they are… for the first dozen times.

The utilization of familiar phrases is common within the many genres of writing – including academia. Among the technical meanings and statistical offerings, students seek to flavor pages with personality. This is understandable.

It is also, however, problematic.

When unique expressions are used frequently throughout a paper (even a lengthy one), they begin to lose their importance. They instead distract the reader, reminding always that they have been offered before. Their power diminishes with each occurence and they change into tediums. None admire them – they are instead deemed frustrations.

And it is vital then for all students to censor themselves. While certain words cannot be refused (the precision of years, names and specific events), descriptive phrases must be examined carefully. Their purpose is to encourage the reader, providing validation to a point. If they are applied to all minor details, however, that validation becomes impossible. There is no distinction between the necessary and the meager. They instead blur together and cause a paper to fail.

Strong editing is therefore needed for all academic writing. Understand what phrases you tend to favor and highlight them as they are used. This will quickly verify their frequency and if they must then be replaced. Be deliberate with your decisions and spare your pages repetition.

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Critical Reading Within Writing

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It’s an assertion of skill, a belief that all words are the precisions you wish them to be. Papers are formed from wisdom, the careful examinations. No theories are betrayed by personal opinions; no obscure statistics are used to battle the accepted standards. You wield facts as certainties, not occasional allies. You have learned to understand more than text, but instead the application of it. Every choice is therefore deliberate and well intended – branding you a student of critical reading.

Simply defined: critical reading is the understanding of subtleties within any form of literature (whether it be fictional masterpiece or scholarly treatise). The purpose is not merely to comprehend what has been written, but it is instead to acknowledge the influences hidden within. Individuals are to look for signs of bias, uncertainty or a manipulation of facts – such as choosing unknown sources to verify a claim instead of listing reputable academics.

It is through this process that research can take on an entirely new form: one of truth. When pages are read with more than a desire to find proper grammar or spelling abilities, their context becomes apparent. This leads individuals to have a greater understanding of what the author intends and what may merely be implied. Influences of philosophy, ideology, social status and more can become known – simply by dissecting paragraphs and finding their slants of bias.

Such slants, of course, are meant to be avoided in academic work; and critical reading assures they can quickly be found (and then just as quickly be eliminated). Look for use of language, frequently emphasized points, sensational meanings and a lack of foundational proof. If a statement cannot be validated it must be removed. If phrases have been chosen purely for their descriptive abilities they must be reconsidered.

Critical reading serves as the first (and last) defense against a failed paper. It must be utilized to maintain high standards and higher competency.

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