Resources: Writing Tips

Some familiar, but oft-ignored guidelines to writing success. These are especially oriented to the short argumentative or analytic paper in history or the humanities, but the lessons here will apply to all college writing.

1. Remember that writing is a process. Sitting down to write your paper is only one step in this process. It may be unpleasant and will likely be unsuccessful if you attempt it without some preparation. Assuming that you have already read your sources and taken some notes on them once, the steps of the writing process are as follows:

a) Brainstorm a few ideas on paper to develop your topic.
b) Skim through your sources with these ideas in mind, adding examples to your notes.
c) Develop an argument and formulate a thesis. Write this down in a prominent place.
d) Outline your paper as a set of paragraphs that will deliver your argument.
e) Draft your paper.
f) Revise.
g) Proofread for clarity and mechanical errors.

These steps won't necessarily follow one after the other. After you draft your paper, you may have to go back and revise the outline to make your argument work.

2. Define your thesis carefully. Be sure you have one. A good thesis is precise, interesting, and novel. It is-this is the most important part-not obvious. It is the point of your paper. It sets out the argument of your paper in a nutshell. Generally, it stands in opposition to some other view; that is, it should be arguable. The reader should know what your thesis is early on in the paper, usually by the end of the introduction. Your thesis does not have to say everything about your argument; it only needs to set out your point of view and launch your paper.

3. Make the first paragraph count. Get to the point quickly. Don't fool around with long paragraphs of very general background or vague introductions. Remember the funnel introduction? Forget about it. Avoid introductory blather about things being true throughout history. If you are at a loss for how to start your paper, you might try one of the following strategies: outline the argument that your thesis refutes, describe a problem of interpretation that you are going to shed some light upon, present a vivid example that leads to your topic.

4. Organize your paper. Give your paper a suitable design, so that each paragraph follows logically from the previous one and leads logically to the next. Include signposts in the text to make your design clear. Guide your reader through your argument with clear transition sentences.

5. Organize your paragraphs. A paragraph should be unified, coherent, and developed. It should center upon one particular question, idea, or example. The sentences should follow in some clear sequence. The central idea of the paragraph should be well supported. Generally, the first sentence of the paragraph is a topic sentence that points to the main idea.

6. Argue from evidence. Keep your unsubstantiated opinions and your feelings in the background-or save them for the conclusion. Instead, show your reader that the words of your sources support your thesis. For the assignments in this class, your evidence will generally consist of quotations from primary sources. Explain to the reader what the evidence you cite means and how it proves your thesis.

7. Make your conclusion count. Don't just summarize the argument of your paper. Instead, tell your readers what difference your argument makes. Tell them how they should think about the topic after your argument. The conclusion can be thought of as a mini-essay that takes your paper as its starting point.

8. Write for an educated audience. Imagine that you are writing your paper for your fellow students in this class.

9. Get your facts straight. Use an encyclopedia to get a handle on facts, events, or developments that are important to your paper. (I often use the Columbia Encyclopedia, online at Bartelby.com).

10. Write as clearly and as forcefully as you can. Choose your words carefully. Be sure you know precisely what they mean, especially when they have a prominent place in your paper. Avoid the passive voice. Avoid clichés, faddish expressions, and meaningless, outworn words and phrases. Avoid filler phrases that obscure your main point.

11. Give your essay a title that captures the principal idea you want to convey to your reader. A bad title: "The Industrial Revolution." A better one: "Is this Progress?: One Worker's Experience of the Industrial Revolution."

12. Read your paper aloud. When you finish each paragraph and again when you have written all the way through your paper and again when you have finished revising your paper, read it aloud. Mark the phrases that are not clear or that sound strange to your ear. Mark the places in your paragraphs where further development is needed. Mark the places in your paper where your argument jumps from one idea to another without transition.