Carolyn Pittenger

McGill University
Fall, 2007

A writer is not so much someone who has something to say, as he is someone who has found
a process that will bring about new things he would not have thought of if he had not started
to say them. William Stafford
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Strong writers develop a writing process that works for them. Since different writing
projects require different approaches, you can strengthen your writing ability by building
a wide repertoire of strategies. You need strategies to solve the problems that occur
during the various stages of writing: creating ideas, planning and organizing, composing
texts, revising drafts, editing the final draft, and proofreading.

Problem: I cant get started.

Start early. Leave sufficient time to write and re-write in stages. Getting an early
start is probably the single most important strategy you can use. Last-minute
starts are almost guaranteed to produce rushed and imperfect work. In this class, a
wise approach would be to read carefully the instructions for all of your
assignments. Get an overview. When you understand what you are being asked
to do, you can begin to think of topics for each project. Dont wait to finish one
assignment before planning the next one. Be a multi-tasker!

Start by writing & chunking. Academic writers often make the mistake of not
writing anything until they have researched and read everything on their topic.
Since reading is a lot easier than writing, they find themselves taking endless
notes with no draft in sight. A better strategy is to start by writing down your
concerns and questions, your partial understandings. Use them to guide your
reading. Also write up responses to your readings as you go along. Then you will
have a lot of stuff to begin playing with.

Set sub-goals. Instead of sitting down to complete a paper in one sitting, reduce
anxiety and writers block by setting manageable sub-goals. Mark preliminary
deadlines for each sub-goal on your calendar (Finish research on Friday. Do
outline on Saturday. Write for two hours each day until draft is completed. Write
second draft.). Reward yourself for each goal you accomplish!

Think creatively. In the early stages of any project, begin by allowing creativity to
flourish in a relaxed atmosphere. Play with ideas. Dont be self-critical. Dont
censor this play as stupid. Give yourself time and space to do a lot of idea
generating. Sleep on your ideas; let your dreams help too.

Brainstorm. Turn off your internal editor. Jot down as fast as possible any ideas
that come to mind about your topic. Use short phrases instead of sentences. Dont
reject anything. Often the seed of a great idea lies hidden in an absurd one. For
even more creative juice, brainstorm with others.

Freewrite. The best cure for writers block is to write. Dont think about spelling
and grammar. Dont consult books or notes. Just write. Keep your pen or cursor
moving. Make diagramsdrawwrite freely and quickly to discover what it is
that you know about your subject and what you need to know. Resist the
extraordinary pressure school, family, and society place on us to be perfect. Give
yourself permission to write a lot of garbage. This passage from Writing on the
Right Side of the Brain may help you give yourself this permission:

Once I went to a piano concert where a brilliant Russian pianist
was playing an evening of Franz Liszt The music was celestial; it
took the top off my head. When the house lights went up, I turned
my attention to the program notes. I was still somewhat dazed from
the power and the majesty of the music I had just heard. What I
read brought me sharply back to the mundane world. Liszt, the
program said, was a typical product of the Romantic Age. He
produced more than seven hundred works, including many that are
uneven in quality, superficially constructed, or downright dull.
Ha! Do you see the press for perfection we put upon even our
greatest composers? ... Imagine what it would have been like had
Liszt sat down and said, I am not going to write one note until I
think of something grand. Until I can compose Liebestraum
without stopping, do the Tarantella from top to bottom, until I can
let my pen fly across the page and never cross out or write
something less than celestial, I will not write at all. No way will I
put myself in the position of having some program notes on my
music dismiss the bulk of my outpourings as dull, shallow, and
uneven.
So when you are writing garbage, think of Liszt. Give yourself
permission to write at least 600 documents that are either uneven
in quality, superficially constructed, or downright dull. Once you
get that out of the way, you are free to do the kind of writing that
will make your heart sing and move your readers.
Hen riette Lau ser

Loop. Looping helps focus your ideas. Read over a brainstorm or a freewrite and
circle key words, compelling images, and intriguing ideas and phrases. Select one
circled item and do another round of rapid writing about it. You can keep looping
until you develop a key concept, raise important questions, or develop specific
details about your line of reasoning. Looping may even lead you to a tentative
thesis statement (see below).

Cluster. In the world of computers, clustering means connecting two or more

computers in such a way that they behave like a single computer. In the world of
writing, clustering is a non-linear form of brainstorming designed to tap the
holistic power of the right brain.

Clustering
1. Put your topic or key word in the middle of a blank page
and draw a circle around it.
2. Instruct yourself to think in images (word pictures). What
do your five senses perceive about your key word? Be
receptive to advertisement jingles, bits of songs or poetry,
proverbs anything concrete. Relax. Avoid judgment.
Spill these word-images out onto your page.
3. Circle each word-image and draw connecting lines
between those that seem related. Cluster strings of
associations out onto the page.
4. Look for that Aha! moment. Once you feel your sense of
direction, start writing. Dont look back at the cluster that
much, or worry about getting all the details in. Just write.
5. When you finish freewriting, come full circle by repeating
some aspect from your beginning: a word, phrase, image,
or idea.

For examples of cluster diagrams see the following:

http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/cluster.html
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/scluster.htm
http://webpages.csus.edu/~sunderm/handout_prewriting.htm
Students often compare the freewriting they do after clustering to the freewriting
they do without clustering. They regularly report that the clustering technique
results in richer, more specific freewriting, writing that has an internal
organization and touches deep wells of personal meaning. Clearly the few
minutes spent clustering pay great dividends.

 Visualize. Draw pictures of your topic. Use arrows, ladders, Venn diagrams,

boxes, and charts. Use anything that will help you see the relationships among
your ideas.

Ask the basic questions of journalism. Look at your topic from various perspectives
by asking six simple questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

Force metaphor. Quickly compare your topic to 10 different things. Keep saying,
My topic is like______________. Dont be afraid to let silly comparisons
happen. Keep going. At least one of the ten comparisons will be a keeper!

Analyze your topic. If you prefer a more rational, analytical approach to your
topic, you might consider asking the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

How may the subject be described or defined?

How may it be analyzed? What are its parts or varieties?
Which of these are most important for my purpose?
Are there examples of the subject?
What have others said about it?
What is it similar to?
What is it different from?
What exceptions exist? What qualifications must be made?
What caused it?
What reasons or purposes does it have?
What are its consequences and implications?
What is it related to?
What are its advantages and virtues?
What are its disadvantages, defects, and limitations?

Explore your topic with tagmemics. Freewrite about your topic from the three
physics perspectives introduced to rhetorical analysis by linguist Kenneth Pike.

1. See your topic as a particle, as a thing in itself.

2. See your topic as a wave, a thing changing over time.
3. See your topic as a field, a thing in its context.

Brainstorm a list of heading and subheadings. Dream up a number of headings and

subheadings you might use in your paper. Make some of them sentences, some
fragments, and some questions. Play around with their arrangement. Which ones
will come first? Last? Try chunking out some writing under each heading.

Explore your subject with Aristotles four Topics. Over 2,500 years ago, the Greek
philosopher Aristotle taught young debaters to see from four perspectives that he
called topics: definition, comparison, cause & effect, and evidence. Heres how a
writer might use Aristotles four topics to generate ideas on active listening.

Aristotles Topics
Definition: The active listener is an engineer or builder,
actively seeking information to construct a coherent argument.
Comparison & Contrast: While the active listener is a builder
or an engineer, the passive listener is a sponge trying to absorb
each word in the hope it will all make sense in the end.
Cause & Effect: Active listening increases comprehension
since the listener is hooking new ideas onto old ones.
Support from Evidence: New studies show even brief training
in the techniques of active listening will increase a students
comprehension of a lecture and result in higher grades!

Do a memory search. The art of productive, quiet contemplation is foreign to our

busy lives, but it is vital to academic work. Two strategies promote such
contemplation. (1) Keep a journal. Freewrite regularly and youll get into the habit
of musing, speculating, playing with ideas, testing hypotheses, recording
interesting observations, analyzing puzzling events, and generally trying to make
sense of what is happening around you. Your journal then becomes an excellent
source of ideas for writing. (2) Use guided imagery. The steps are simple: Relax.
Relive (see, smell, hear, taste, and feel). Make notes. Write. This simple process
develops higher-order thinking skills such as the ability to call up and articulate a
highly complex and detailed image. In fact, this technique is practised in many
areas besides writing: sports performance, memory and learning enhancement,
pain control, stress therapy, creativity development, and work productivity.

Retreat and incubate. Pacing is important. After youve done a healthy amount of
work, relax. Ideas will simmer actively in the back of your mind, and you will
return to the task with clearer, sharper perceptions. But be sure you use this highly
productive strategy correctly. Before you stop work, formulate the next unsolved
problem or question you want to be thinking about. Also remember to do two
things: (1) Return to your unfinished business from time to time so as to keep it
actively working in the back of your mind, and (2) when a new idea or new
connection comes to you, write it down. Carry around a small notebook just for
this purpose. Dont expect inspiration to knock twice!

Problem: I cant focus my ideas into a plan.

When it is time to plan your paper, remember these five principles from Linda Flowers
book Problem-Solving Strategies for Writing:
1. Plans are made to be broken.
2. Any plan is better than no plan.
3. Plans are instructions you give yourself.
4. Form doesnt matter. You can talk to yourself in doodles, outlines, or full-color
images. If it works, its good.
5. Good plans are detailed enough to argue with and cheap enough to throw away.

Limit your topic with a thesis statement. A key element in planning is deciding on
your thesis or main idea. A frequent problem with student papers, especially
research-based papers, is that the scope is too vague or too ambitious; the paper
seems to be drowning in detail that has been trotted out to show how
knowledgeable or thorough the writer is. Remember that you are not saying the
last word on your subject. Adapt your scope and focus to the realities of the time
and task you have. Develop a specific and interesting thesis.

Too Broad

The novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald

Still Too Broad

F. Scott Fitzgeralds novels created our view of

the 1920s, popularly known as the Jazz Age.

Properly Narrowed

F. Scott Fitzgeralds novels help to create our

image of the Jazz Age as one of frivolity and
irresponsibility, while still exposing its
corruption and moral decay.

As you can see from this example, a thesis is a statement of aboutness. It is also a
statement of opinion, a claim. It is the writers appraisal of the significance of her subject.
She doesnt always have to express this opinion verbatim in her paper; she can let the
facts speak for themselves. Generally though, a direct thesis statement, such as the one
above, is very helpful to the reader, especially when the subject of the paper is complex,
lengthy, abstract, or unfamiliar. In such a case, readers appreciate a clear, direct thesis
statement given to them in the introduction.

In a traditional essay, we use the thesis statement to express our main point. However,
in business and professional writing, we call the sentence that expresses our main point
the purpose statement. Readers expect very direct and explicit purpose statements:
Im writing to request 2000 used widgets (ref. # 2-600-188).
Im writing to apply for the summer internship advertised on your website.
Im writing to recommend Anne Coe for the new opening in Accounting.
Im writing to propose a change in next weeks training schedule.
The purpose of this report is to propose a program for giving students an
introductory experience in interviewing and answering the questions interviewers
regularly ask.
This report explores (1) the tenants options, (2) the factors to consider in
choosing an option, and (3) the procedures tenants should follow for each choice.

Thesis Checklist
1. Have you stated your thesis clearly near the end of your introduction?
If not, why do you think that your thesis should not be stated overtly?
2. If stated directly, does your thesis make an assertion about your topic?
3. Does your thesis convey your purpose, your opinion, and your attitude
toward your topic?
4. Is your thesis limited to one idea?
5. Does your thesis preview the structure of your argument?
6. Does your thesis offer your reader a new idea, a complex and
interesting idea, one involving some conflict or tension, revealing a
problem, or setting up a framework for comparison or contract.

Finally, here are three excellent sources of information on thesis statements:

http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/thesis.html
www.rpi.edu/web/writingcenter/wc_web/handouts/Thesis_Statements.pdf
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/Thesis.html

 Focus on your reader, purpose, and format.

Audience Analysis Questions

Reader
1. What information does your reader need?
2. What does your reader already know about your topic?
3. How does your reader feel about your topic?

Purpose
Write down what you want your reader to think, to feel, or to do after reading
your paper. Use these goals to construct a purpose statement (or thesis) to focus
your writing and guide the reader through your paper.

Format
If a recognized format is called for (essay, technical paper, business letter,
informal report, e-mail, memo, rsum, book review) be sure to familiarize
yourself with the features and style of this format.

Explain the writing task to yourself. What does your reader, often your professor want?
Try to identify the key words in the assignment, words that can be translated into a set
of actions you could take: compare, contrast, define, describe, evaluate, justify,
support, analyze, summarize, narrate, illustrate

Nutshell and teach your ideas. Put your ideas into just a few words and teach those ideas
to someone. Write them in an e-mail message to a friend, for example. Or present
them to a live audience. When you do so, what angle or interpretation comes through
as the most important? Condensing your ideas in this way helps put noisy
supporting information in its place. While nutshelling, you may also be able to
synthesize or combine ideas to create a new and better concept.

Problem: My material lacks structure.

Hierarchical-structuring is crucial for academic writing. Thus, academic writers often use
idea-trees and outlines to shape their papers. These strategies work best after a writer has
generated and probed some initial ideas. When structure is rushed, a paper can be out of focus
or the thinking it contains can be superficial. When this happens, writers often fall back on
predictable structures: narratives (This happened, and then that happened, and then),
memory dumps (Im going to tell you everything I know about X), and lists or simple
descriptions (X has features A, B, C).

On the contrary, a well-structured paper presents a clear point of view or position (thesis) and
supports it conceptually. Every sub-section contributes to the argument.

Develop counterarguments. To see if your paper has a strong claim (thesis) and
supporting arguments, take up a counter-position. Raise counter-arguments to
your claim. Try to answer them from your own position. Seeing the oppositions
arguments in detail will help you strengthen your own more fully.

Build an outline. The chief virtue of an outline is that it allows you to separate main
ideas from supporting information. Below is an outline using traditional
numbering and lettering. Note that the main sections are given capital Roman
numerals. After that, come capital Arabic letters and then Arabic numbers.

I.

Introduction: Why do we need a grapplegrummer?

II.

A. Benefits
1. No more need to borrow one
2. Fluffles can be coded immediately
B. Saves cost of hand coding
C. More accurate than hand coding
D. Frees up personnel

III.

Potential Vendors
A. Ace
B. Apex
C. Acme

IV.

Costs
A. Financing
B. Installation
C. Training

V.

Long-term plans
A. Options to upgrade
B. Potential applications

VI.

Conclusion

Build an idea tree. An idea tree is an informal outline that puts your ideas in a hierarchical
order. It is less rigid than an outline and allows you to sketch out ideas and their
relationships as you write. An idea tree also lets you visualize your developing paper.
You can sketch a few idea trees or outlines early in your process, as well as in its later
stages to give yourself an overview of how your argument is developing.

Running is a good investment of ones time.

Why?

Why?

A limited effort will

have a large effect.

Such as?
30 minutes a day,
4 times a week
can vastly
improve your
stamina and
overall health.

It improves
your physical
health.

How so?
Tones muscles.
Improves heart
and lung systems.

Why?
It improves your
mental health or
morale.

How so?
Increases energy.
Improves sleep.

Why?
Its a far better source of
exercise than other sports.

Why?
1. Good at any age.
2. Can be done any place.
3. No special equipment needed.

How?

Uses more calories per hour

than any other exercise.

Strengthens heart.
Lowers blood pressure.
Increases red blood cells.
Improves oxygen
capacity.

Examples?

How do you know?

Running = 600
Tennis = 420
Golf = 150

Canadian Heart Association

How do you know?

Aerobic Research magazine

Plan on paper. Although this diagram has been drawn on a computer to make it easy for
you to read, use paper, not your computer screen, for drawing your own idea trees,
maps, clusters, flow charts, or any strategy that depends on non-linear thinking.

Problem: Im stuck on the actual writing.

Use freewriting for your first draft. After you formulate a plan (an understanding
of your task and purpose, a knowledge of your reader, a clear idea of your
format), freewrite your first draft. Write quickly, stopping to check your research
materials only when absolutely necessary. Dont stop to edit language. Focus on
expressing your ideas. Be receptive to new ideas that crop up. Readjust your plan
to fit any of these new ideas that are keepers.

Try satisficing. In your first draft, be willing to accept a less-than-ideal wording so

you can maintain your momentum. Keep the flow of ideas coming by satisficing.
(This blended word is made up of satisfy and suffice.) When you cant think of
the exact word youre looking for, or any word for that matter, use a symbol like
###. Later, use the search command to find these symbols and work on the
missing words, phrases, or bits of information. If the word you need comes to you
in another language, write it down and use the same ### sign to return to it later.

Leave plenty of space. Always double-space or triple-space your rough drafts.

Leave plenty of room for changes. Use wide margins. Number each draft or date
it so you dont become confused.

Use WIRMI. WIRMI is a strategy for making a clear, concise statement of your
point whenever you find yourself lost in words or bogged down trying to perfect a
sentence. Simply say to yourself, What I Really Mean Is Then switch from
writing prose to talking to yourself or to some imaginary bystander. Take notice
of what you say. Does it clarify what you are trying to write?

Problem: I dont know how to diagnose the problems in my draft.

When we re-read our drafts, we often make small corrections in language but dont see
the major flaws. Thats because a draft is writer-based, close to our own inner sense of
logic and our own knowledge base. In other words, we understand what we mean, but
the draft is not explicit enough for someone else to follow. Revision (which means reseeing) is the central process professional writers use to move from a writer-based draft
to a reader-based final version. In fact, the amount and depth of revision is the biggest
single difference researchers have found between the writing process of mature writers
and the processes of developing writers. Here are some revision strategies.

Approach writing as a problem-solving activity, even a language game. Writers often

get stuck in an unproductive process. For example, some writers depend heavily
on inspiration; they assume that when inspired ideas finally come, those ideas
will not need improvement, so these writers dont spend the time they should on
re-reading and revising. Other writers dont count on inspiration, but instead
work hard for the perfect first draft too hard. These writers tend to suffer a
slow, painful drafting process, and they are reluctant to re-read their papers,
feeling theyve suffered enough! In contrast to these two extremes, the problemsolving writer knows revising and editing are steps that make the overall process
easier to handle. Problems that block composing can be solved later when the
writer begins to revise. Be a problem-solver. By all means, court inspiration,
but dont sit idly waiting for it! And dont make writing more difficult than
necessary by trying to polish your first draft as your write. Instead, be quick. Be
prepared to cut, add, move, and reword material repeatedly. See your words as a
series of Lego Blocks to play with and reassemble. Revision is central to the
creative process of writing, not just a minor flourish done quickly at the end.

Distance yourself. Leave time between drafting and revising, and between
subsequent revisions. You can read more objectively if you put your writing
aside before revising it. Try waiting for at least a day. Another distancing
strategy is to ask someone else to read and respond to your paper.

Emphasize the positive. When you ask others for feedback, you are not asking for
criticism as much as for perspective. If you are giving your writing group your
first draft, you could ask them to do only two things: (1) point out your papers
strengths and (2) give their reactions to its ideas.

Ask for a descriptive response. Ask others to describe your writing back to you.

Sayback

Say back to me what you hear me getting at.

Pointing

Which of my words or ideas sticks in your mind?

Summarizing

What are my main and subsidiary ideas?

Implications

What would you like to hear more, or less about?

Centre of Gravity

What is the energy source, focal point, seedbed, the

center of my piece?

Ask for a more analytic response. If you writing to persuade, you might ask your
editors to respond to Lisa Edes questions about your texts structure.

1. Reasons and Support What is the main point (the claim or

assertion) of the paper? What are the subsidiary points? For
each subsidiary point ask: What argument or support is given for
it? What should be given? What counter-arguments could be
made against it?
2. Assumptions What assumptions does the paper seem to
make? What does the paper take for granted? Are these
assumptions valid?
3. Readers or Audience Who is the audience? To whom is the
writer talking? What kind of readers will accept the texts
arguments and assumptions? How does the writer treat the
audience? Enemies? Friends? Equals? Subordinates?

Five Principles of Effective Revision

The following advice comes from Donald Murrays book Write to Learn.
1. Build on strength. Focus on the positive rather than the negative. Worry and
negative self-talk will block the writing process. Stress what works well so it
can be extended through the paper.
2. Give the reader a full serving of information. Ideas should be developed and
documented with examples, stories, analogies, discussions, proofs, cases, and
definitions anything that is specific and creates a sharp clear picture in the
readers mind. (Remember the acronym FRESCA: Facts, Reasons, Examples,
Statistics, Comparisons, and Anecdotes.) And remember that your ideas and
your proofs should be new and appealing.
3. Cut whatever can be cut. Everything must relate to a single dominant
meaning (thesis or purpose). Cut away all else.
4. Simplicity is best. Simplicity doesnt mean dumbing down your writing
with point form lists or baby words. It does mean you should write to express
not to impress. Choose middle diction and a clear, graceful style.
5. Listen to the writing. Read your text aloud, or have a friend do so.
Your ear is a better editor than your eye.

Read your draft three times.

1. Read your first draft for meaning. Read your paper quickly all the way
through, just as a reader might. Take notes in the margins: use C for what needs
to be cut. Use an arrow for what needs to be moved and a double-headed
arrow for a section that needs expansion. Does your text say what you want it
to? Does it fit the requirements of the assignment? Ask these questions:

What does this piece of writing mean?

Is the meaning built on well-documented claims?
Does the reader need more or less information?
Is the text too long? Is it too short?
Does it go off on tangents that need to be cut or trimmed?
Is there convincing evidence for each point?
Are the readers questions answered?
Does the piece answer: Why should I read this?
Does the text deliver on the promise made by the thesis?
Is there scaffolding that was used to build the writing but
that now needs to be removed?
Does the piece have an embedded narrative or thread that
runs through the entire text and keeps the reader reading?

2. Read your second draft for organization. When youve revised your first draft, youre
ready for your second reading. Read your revised draft at a pretty good pace. Do not stop
for problems with language. Now you are dealing with chunks, making sure that each
section of the paper is developed well and is in the right order. Ask these questions:

Is the title helpful to the reader?

Does the introduction capture the readers attention?
Does the draft show as well as tell?
Are the paragraphs of readable length? Not too long?
Is each section an answer to a readers question?
Are the questions in the order in that the reader will ask them?
Is the documentation complete and appropriate?
Are the summaries or paraphrases of outside sources well
framed? [Can the reader find the boundary between the writers
argument and that of the source? Between contributions from
one source and those from another source?]
Does the pace keep the reader moving yet allow enough time to
absorb each point?
Does the end echo the beginning and give the reader a sense of
completion?
Does the piece stay within the limits of the genre or format that
is being used?

Read your draft a third time for language. When youve revised your draft with
the questions above, you are ready for your final reading. Read slowly, sentence
by sentence. Read every word out loud. Be aware that every time you change a
word there is a chain reaction. Keep re-reading until every word fits perfectly.

Does the paper sound good? Will the reader have the
illusion of the writer speaking to the reader?
Is key information in key places? Do sentences have strong
beginnings and strong endings? Are subjects, verbs and
objects used as key words?
Do all the repetitions serve an emphatic purpose?
Does the reader leave each sentence with more information
than he had when he started?
Is the sentence length varied, with shorter sentences used for
special emphasis or clarification?
Is each word the simplest word?
Are there plenty of strong, active verbs?
Has the verb to be been cut whenever possible?
Have ing endings been eliminated whenever possible?
Is the simplest verb tense used? Are tenses consistent?
Have the heavy Latin nouns been replaced with more
concrete nouns whenever possible?
Is the writing as specific as possible?
Have you cut unnecessary words like that, quite, very,
which?

Keep outlining and re-outlining your paper. A planning outline is one you write
before you write your paper. In contrast, a revisioning outline is one you pull out
of a draft to give you a fresh perspective, to help you see what you need to do
next. Below are revision strategies that use various types of outlines.
1. Create a descriptive outline. Number each paragraph and put beside it a brief
note describing the main purpose of that paragraph. What does it do to further
your assignment? Be sure to use verbs: Argues Analyzes Compares
Proves Illustrates Asks for Suggests Explains Describes
Persuades You are looking for the strategy behind the paragraph, the effect you
want it to achieve, not merely its topic sentence or main idea.
2. Create a Topic Sentence outline. Check the forward movement and logical
flow of your writing by following these steps: (1) Underline the topic sentence
(the major idea) in each paragraph. (2) Use the topic sentence like a lens to
refocus its paragraph if necessary. (3) Write down all the topic sentences in
sequence and study the progression of ideas they represent.
3. Create a first/last sentence outline. Check the internal coherence of each
paragraph and the links between paragraphs as follows: (1) On a back-up copy,
delete all but the first and last sentences of each paragraph. (2) Determine
whether the first and last sentence in each paragraph are actually about the same
topic. (3) Check that the last sentence in each paragraph and the first sentence of
the next paragraph are smoothly connected.
4. Switch your opening and closing. On a back-up draft, switch your introduction
and conclusion. Does this switch give you any ideas for revision? During the
writing process, we often make discoveries that show up in our conclusion.
Readers may prefer to share these discoveries sooner or better anticipate them.
5. Look closely at your introduction. Your introduction is the part that most
often needs revision. Does yours seize the readers attention? Does it show your
purpose and approach? Does it preview the shape of your argument?

Keep working on your paragraphs.

Paragraphs are the building blocks of any document. Examine each of your
paragraphs for its topic sentence, development, transitions, closing, and length.

1. Topic sentence: This sentence states the main idea to be developed in the
paragraph. Usually it appears first. Do not delay or bury the main point, for busy
readers may read only the beginnings of paragraphs. If you fail to put the main
point up front, they may miss it entirely.
2. Develop the main idea: Sentences that follow the topic sentence develop the
main idea with examples, stories, explanations, or other details. Give the reader
concrete supporting details, not generalizations.

3. Transitional elements: Structural transitions help the paragraph flow smoothly.

Use transitions in the form of repeated nouns and pronouns, contrasting
conjunctions, and introductory clauses.
4. Closing sentence: Most paragraphs, like sections and documents, need closure.
Use the last sentence for a concluding point about the topic or for a transitional
point that links the paragraph with the one following it.
5. Length: Six to ten lines are readable. Many readers just wont read long blocks of
text, no matter how well organized the information is. If you see that your topic
runs over ten typed lines, split it in two and develop two paragraphs. Or if you
must express a complex idea in a longer paragraph use it judiciously.

Problem: I find editing difficult.

Once your draft has ripened sufficiently through critical revision, you are ready to
polish its language. Here are some general strategies:

Again incubate. Errors and clumsy expressions often spring into view after a gap
of hours, better yet, days.

Use an up-to-date writers handbook. To write well, you need good tools, including
a dictionary, a thesaurus, and a modern handbook. Whether you choose paper
copies or online references, use them regularly to check wording, usage, and
grammar questions.

Solicit the help of your colleagues. Others can see problems in your language usage
that have become invisible to you. Exchange your texts with a writing buddy.

Read your text out loud. When you hear yourself reading, you often find your
errors without anyones help. If you find yourself stumbling over a sentence or a
phrase, consider revising it.

Know your own error patterns. If you know you often overuse the passive voice,
long sentences, overloaded paragraphs, etc., do a special read-through looking for
these weaknesses.

Listen to the rhythm of the words. If your style is jerky and awkward, rework your
sentences or add smoother transitions. If you tend to use too many heavy, multisyllabic words, replace some with simpler words.

Use WIRMI. Helpful during composing, WIRMI can be even more helpful while
editing. When you come across a particularly long, awkward sentence, close your
eyes and say, What I Really Mean Is and a far better sentence will follow.

Use key-word editing. Cut unnecessary padding and put key words in powerful
places. Let your main ideas stand out prominently. When you find a long
sentence that is difficult to read, follow the steps outlined below.

1.

Divide the sentence into meaningful units.

2.

Identify the key words, or phrases in each unit.

3.

Cut out unnecessary words and build your statement around the key
terms.

4.

Pack in more concrete words when possible.

5.

Let the actors act.

Emphasize your key words by correct placement. Words placed at the beginning and
ends of sentences receive the most emphasis. Of these two positions, the one that
receives the most emphasis is the end. In English, the end of the sentence is called
the stress position.
1. Place an important idea at the beginning of a sentence. For example, if you say,
All production and administrative personnel will meet May 23, at which time we
will announce a new plan of salary incentives, you are burying the date in the middle
of the sentence. If the date is important, you could show that by putting it at the
beginning: On May 23, all personnel will meet.
2. Stress an important idea by placing it in a short sentence.

The teacup fell.

Thus, the war began.

Dont pet the alligators.

To Be or not to be?
I am a cavalryman.
The clock struck midnight.
We won!
Et tu, Brute?

Suddenly, her heart sank.

Trees work for a living.

Off with his head!

3. To create flow throughout the text via your sentences, put ideas you have
already stated, referred to, or impliedideas you can safely assume your reader
already knowsat the beginning of a sentence. Put new ideas and information
that you will expand upon in what is to come at the end of your sentences.

Problem: My papers always have a few typos that I dont catch.

How can I be a more successful proofreader?
Proofreading, sometimes called copyediting, is the final stage of the writing process.
Dont leave this stage to the last minute. Its a pity to ruin a well-researched, well-argued
paper because of spelling, typing, and grammatical errors and poor formatting.

Proofread more than once. Professional manuscripts are often proofread as many
as seven timeseven then an error can slip in.

Proofread aloud. Reading aloud slows you down a bit and lets you catch errors
your eye skips over when you read silently.

Run spell-checks and grammar checks. Use the tools on your computer, but be
aware that they dont pick up on all the errors.

Proofread backwards. Reading the sentences backwards lets you check each word
to see if it is spelled correctly.

Bibliography
Dias, P. et al. (1992). Writing for Ourselves/Writing for Others. ON: Nelson Canada.
Ede, L. (1998). Work in Progress: A Guide to Writing and Revising. NY: St. Martins.
Elbow. P. (1973). Writing Without Teachers. NY: Oxford University Press.
Elbow. P. (1981). Writing With Power. NY: Oxford University Press.
Murray, D. (1984). Write to Learn. NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Flower, L. (1989). Problem-Solving Strategies for Writing. NY: Harcourt Brace.
Young, R., Becker, A. & Pike, K. (1970). Rhetoric: Discovery and Change. NY: Harcourt.