Tips: How to write BETTER

Tips: How to write BETTER
by Merrill Sheils and Alan Deutschman, from Newsweek, 1986
inputed by flowinglight, 2004

1,Read - as much as you can.
Teachers of wrting almost unanimously emphasize that reading and writing are inextricably linked. "I donot think you can write any better than you can read", says Univ. of Texas English Prof. John Trimble. who adds that even many bright students are not very sophisticated readers. If you are already a reader, make it a ppoint occasionally to sample boks you wouldn't ordinarily try. Someone steeped in 20th-century pulp fiction, for instance, can get surprising enjoyment--and learn a great deal about the rich variety of English language --from the works of 19th-century novelists. If you are not a regular reader , try to get into the habit. At the very least, set aside some regular time to read something that is not required by your stuies .

2,Organize before you start.
Writing is , at base , an exercise in thing. the very act of setting down thoughts in words forces the writerto examine the real meaning of those words and the logic - or lack of it- that leads from one thought to another. It requires careful decisions on which information is unimportant to the task at hand and which is critical. and it demands attention to the most effective order in which to present the critical information. The clear message is that writing is much easier if you have first outlined just exactly what it is you want to say. An outline is not set in concreted: even the best writers revise their plans as they go along. But simply throwing a jumble  of thoughts nonto paper or a computer screen without prior consideration produces just a jumble of thoughts in a new medium -not good wrting.

3,Simplify.
As you write, beware of highfalutin word choice and pretentious phrasing . Always try for the simplest. clearest, most lucid wi\ay of expressing twhat you want to say. Beware , too, of jargon. Itis a common misconception among students that adopting the specialized idiom of a particular discipline sounds more knowledgeable or important , and therefore makes their writing "better". This is not true. In fact, a student who can wrestle a complex idea into felicitous new phrasing demonstrates that he or she has mastered the idea behind the jargon.

4,Revise and rewrite.
Professors asy this is where college sudents most often fall so\hort: once they see their words written or typed out , they think the job is done. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Start a wrting assignment far enough ahead so that you will have time to do it again - and again, if nessary. Read closely for meaning. Are the words you have chowsen the best words possible? If noe, change them, Does each sentence you have written precisely convey the meaning you intended? If not, try again. "Goodwrting is extraordinarily time-consuming, observes Richard C. Marius, director of Harvard's Expository Writing Program. "You have to sit and shut out the rest of the world."

5,Read your prose aloud.
This is a most useful way to determine whether your writing is awkward or stilted.If it sound strange or incomprehensible to your ear, it probably will strike the reader the same way. This is also an excellent exercise for checking the rhythems of you writing. If every single sentence is a simpled declarative statement (or, alternatively, too long and convoluted), you will hear it immediately--and be able to vary your pace to make it better.

6,Practice.
You learn to write by reading and writing as much as you can. English courses are not the only places to work on your writing: strive for same tight thinking, the dame clarity and even elegance of expression by writing for your biology or business or art classes - even if no writing is formally required. It is not simply a matter of honing the skill. The discipline of writing also forces you to think in away that enhances your learning.  And althoughmany students - and even some professors- contend that writing is not useful in di9sciplines outside English, taht is arrant nonsense. It is no accident that an economist like John Kenneth Galbraith and scientists likeLewis Thomas and Stephen Jay Gould  are renowned in their respective fields. They have mastered the art of communicating difficult disciplineds to nonspecialists with grace, lucidity and wit.

8,Seek criticism.
If you cannot get harried professors to critique your writing , do not despair. Many scholls maintain one-one tutorial programs that will help with everything from a term paper to a cover letter for a job application. Wisconin's writing lab, for instance, operates much like a clinic: students make appointements with instructors who examine their work closely, then wor,k with them on their weakness. Wven if your school donot have such a resuource. do not give up. Ask friends and classmates to read your work- and be honest in their reactions.