What Does One Need to Know to Become a Better Writer?
In this essay, I will describe what you should know to become a better writer. Although the rules of good writing are simple, it often turns out that applying the rhetorical and stylistic moves of good writers to your own writing is not easy. Because of this fact, I will probably fall into the trap of setting a bad example. This is a necessary risk, and if you can find a clearer way to express an idea, please let me know. I am but a student, still learning. Some of the ideas in this paper are my own, but many were collected from the advice of real experts on the subject of writing – authors and academics. There is plenty to read on the subject of writing – when you finish this essay I suggest you continue with Stephen King’s On Writing.
What is good writing?
In order to be a good writer, you should be familiar with what makes writing good or bad. Luckily, there is a realization that makes writing a great deal easier - there is no such thing as correct or incorrect writing. Instead, writing is either effective or ineffective. Because there is no absolute scale to judge writing, the author (that’s you!) has a great deal of freedom in choosing how they want to present their ideas. All writing, then, is rather a best attempt, and will change as the writer adds, subtracts, and edits. Any piece of writing is a living, changing document until the author decides it is finished.
How do you get there?
A good paper is a paper in which every element - the paragraphs, sentences, and words - work together in a meaningful way to present and support an idea to a reader. Considering the most effective way to convey information leads us to the four elements which determine your rhetorical situation. Each of these aspects should be known explicitly before you begin to write your paper. All writing should begin with a consideration of the rhetorical situation – the audience, speaker, occasion and purpose. Your rhetorical situation can be discovered by honestly answering the series of simple questions:
•Who are you writing for?
•Why are your writing?
•What experience do you have about the topic?
•What is the occasion?
Answering these questions is quick and easy, but will give your paper a solid sense of direction if you keep them in mind while writing.
Once your have established/discovered your rhetorical situation, outline your paper in a logical manner. Then write every single thing you can thing of related to your topic. Don’t be afraid to write something that is not perfect. Your paper can always be revised. Focus on getting your thoughts down on paper, and do not worry too much about stylistic errors. Do not worry about repetition. The important thing at this point is to fully explain your ideas without taking any shortcuts. Shortcuts might make sense in your mind, but you should remember that the goal of all writing is to convey the things going on in your mind to the mind of another person. In order to achieve this transfer, you should write down your thoughts in their entirety as soon as possible. Get your words on paper, or on screen. This material can later be carved away in order to form the final paper. Once you have written down everything you can think of about your topic, you are ready to begin editing.
The Editing Process
Based on my experience, editing is the most important part of the writing process. The process of editing is much like carving a statue from marble. Let me explain. When you carve a statue from marble, you start with a block of stone. The statue is already contained in that block of stone - it is the artists job to remove unnecessary rock and reveal the statue. When you begin editing, it is your job to uncover the thought process in the jumble of ideas you have written down. Luckily, artists who work with words have several advantages over artists who work with stone. While editing a paper, you are not constrained to what already exists. If a key idea is missing, now is the time to add it. Neither are you constrained to the current order of ideas. Words, sentences, and paragraphs are exceptionally fluid and can be moved around easily. Mistakes can be fixed with a click and a keystroke - try doing that with stone.
When you are editing, start at a large scale and work your way down. Do not worry about changing grammar mistakes on the first pass through your paper. This is a waste of time because you can spend hours perfecting word choice, only to find out that a paragraph does not suit your intended audience and must be deleted. You can use the basic scales of organization to order your approach to editing. The largest scale is the paper as a whole. It is at this scale that you consider things like audience, tone, and topic of your paper. It is here that your paper is invented. The second major scale is the paragraph. Each paragraph serves to introduce, discuss, and conclude one major component of your overall idea. Your paragraphs should exist together in a manner which carries your argument smoothly. The third scale is the sentence, and on a smaller scale, individual words. Sentences should flow nicely from one to the next, and state known information before introducing a new idea. Words should be clear and not overblown. Be sure you have your paragraph structure figured out before you start worrying about word choice. And even if you have a favorite paragraph or sentence, do not be afraid to remove it from your paper if it does not help convey your thoughts to your reader.
The Importance of Practice
Unfortunately, writing well is not a natural human ability. Like doing mathematics or playing the piano, the act of writing must be practiced. Writing practice can take many forms. Edit your own writing, and edit the writing of others. Editing the work of others will help you identify assumptions you make about your own readers which may be invalid, leading to confusions in arguments and understanding. By developing an ear for the more subtle uses of rhetoric and style in the work of others, you will be able to recreate a similar effect in your own writing.
Reading the writing of good authors is a very effective way to improve your own writing. Stephen King recommends that aspiring novelists read for two hours each day, and write for another two hours. Whether or not you are an aspiring novelist, practicing reading is a valuable and easy practice. Find a book you like, and curl up for a couple of hours. Practicing writing can be much more difficult. Practicing writing does not just mean writing a lot. Writing for two hours a day won’t help you much if you have a talent for consistently churning out drivel. Successful practice means constantly challenging yourself to convey your arguments in the clearest and most precise manner possible. Always look for more effective ways to express your ideas. As you can see, this essay conveys some of the most important ideas about writing into less than seven pages. This concision makes ideas easier for you to follow and understand.
General Tips
There are several general practices which I have found help me distill the raw ideas which I can then work into an understandable paper. First of all, a lack of distraction is invaluable for thinking more clearly about your topic. I prefer a pen, legal pad, and an isolated study carrel in the library. When I want to type a paper, I use a special program which clears my screen of everything except the words I am working with. I also find that it helps to turn off my phone and disconnect my internet. This might sound extreme, but I find that leaving myself an open internet connection is too tempting. If I leave an internet connection open and I reach an idea which requires hard concentration and long though to successfully complete, it is very tempting to turn away from the idea and surf. When your brain is not presented with any distractions, it will automatically turn to the task at hand - writing a paper.
In Conclusion
Good writing uses the tools of language to convey an idea. Anyone can improve their writing. By following the advice I have laid out in this paper and practicing your writing, you can improve. Most importantly, read a lot, write a lot, think a lot, and have fun.