Do you have a strong range of B+'s and A-'s for your essays? Does your teacher always say, "Your essay was good, but...." Does you teacher always include that heartbreaking "but?" Does that frustrate you? If your answer is yes, which it should be, you have come to the right place! If your answer is no, this blog post will still definitely help you improve your writing.
People enjoy reading books for a reason. People enjoy reading poems and stories for a reason. They are entertaining, interesting, and they contain little to no grammatical errors. Different authors have their own style of writing. Everyone has their own unique voice that they are accustomed to. You have one, your friend has one, and I have one. We all write differently. Some people's writing is flowery and opinionated, while others are factual. Although everyone has their own style of writing, all writers can improve. You can improve on your writing by staying concise, taking into account who your audience is, and by minimizing your overall comma usage.
Concision is an important factor in all forms of writing pieces. The reader does not want to read any extra words that do not make the writing any better. These two sentences could be combined into one, “Taken by Brian Gordon Green, the photograph of a red, blown out candle is an example of an artwork that connects to Macbeth. The photograph relates to Macbeth because it connects to the tomorrow soliloquy and it symbolizes Macbeth’s reign as King of Scotland” (Sethbhakdi, The Red Candle and Macbeth).” It is important to refrain from using empty qualifiers such as: absolutely, very, truly, and really. It is also crucial to not be repetitive in writing. Enjoyable writing is not wordy and gets straight to the point. You should also use descriptive and specific words. This means using adjectives and verbs with a better and a more indepth meaning to fit the context of the writing and to give a clearer explanation. You should also try to avoid generalizing. Instead of writing “says” in “Macbeth says, ‘And all our yesterdays have lighted fools’(Shakespeare 5.5. 22)”, write “declare” instead. The word “declare” gives a stronger feel and gives the audience a sense of the tone of Macbeth’s voice, as well as the emotion of the scene. Concision is important, but it is also crucial to differentiate from poorly written short work to writing a concise piece with a strong message. Short writing does not mean using a poor choice of basic words.
Knowing one’s audience is also an important factor for effective writing. It is important to acknowledge, keep in mind, and to take into account who the audience is. You should be aware that your teachers and peers already know the subject, thus essays written on assigned books should not contain a lot of summary, but it should contain your critical analysis on the matter. You should use your knowledge of who the audience is to your advantage and you should use it to keep yourself from straying off course and writing too informally or too formally. For academic writing, it is often not appropriate to use first person. “She makes us see the reality and hooks us in from the very first page” (Sethbhakdi, Station Eleven Essay). The word “us” should not be included as it is first person. Knowing your audience also affects your voice. When you know who your writing is directed towards, your choice of words should be altered. In a blog post, you should add features to enhance and utilize the social media aspect of it, in contrast to a formal academic essay. “We are able to step into their shoes and see what it is like to be them, or what it would be like if we were one of them” (Sethbhakdi, Station Eleven Essay). The “we” in this academic essay should also be left out. First person makes the writing less formal, which is necessary in academic writing pieces such as essays.
Commas are the most misused punctuation mark. When it comes to using commas, follow the famous phrase of “When in doubt, leave it out!” You should not fill their writing with commas as it adds awkward pauses in the writing. When apparent that it has been misused, it often stops the reader from continuing, thus interrupting their flow. In order to correctly use commas, you should learn the most important comma rules, such as the FANBOYS that separate two independent clauses. “Life is brief, it must end someday, much like a burning candle” (Sethbhakdi, The Red Candle and Macbeth). In this sentence, there should be the word “and” instead of the first comma. There are many instances where writers tend to add in a comma that is unnecessary. Sometimes, it is hard to tell whether or not the comma should be there. In these cases, it is safer to leave the comma out. “It can be uncontrollable, and could burn a house down, similar to how Macbeth’s reign could damage the entire state of Scotland” (Sethbhakdi, The Red Candle and Macbeth). The first comma should be left out as it is not needed and serves no purpose. It is important to know that adding many commas in your writing does not enhance it in any way unless it is used correctly.
Nobody likes to run into mistakes when reading. It is a red flag and it interrupts, and sometimes, stops the reader. Occasionally, the mistakes even catch the reader off guard and it might even change the reader’s view on the author and on the whole piece itself. To avoid writing errors, you should make sure to edit your writing. You should also always strive to improve on your writing style and usage. When writing, you should aim to be concise, keep the audience in mind, and you should refrain from using too many commas.
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http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2015/05/4-things-before-writing-essays/
This is a well-written post! The three ideas are clearly organized with helpful elaborations and supporting evidence. The title is also catchy and grabs readers' attentions.
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