Some Tips for Making Your Essay a Little More Kick-Ass

 Whether it is apparent or not, everyone’s ability to write will be tested at some point or another.  Everyone should have basic writing skills, regardless of his education or occupation.  Strong writing displays strong intellect.  In today’s day and age, human interaction is largely based off of expressing one’s viewpoints on social media, like Facebook, Twitter, or the Hype, for that matter.  Whether it is a formal academic essay or a thoughtful Tweet, careful effort should be taken in creating writing.  In addition to investing decent time and effort, there are several steps that can be followed to write a more effective essay--or Tweet, for that matter (but today, the focus will be the art of the essay).  To explore some of these useful steps, some written works of a high school student will be sampled.  The steps being explored today include (1) use of strong diction, (2) implementation of proper punctuation, and (3) crafting a sufficient thesis statement.

    Advanced diction, although it may not seem so, is one of the best ways to spice up an essay.  Understanding how different words with similar meanings can be used in different contexts is important in getting a desired mood out of a specific phrase.  Having an expansive vocabulary allows for variation to be added to the essay, and can captivate an audience.  Take for example this sentence from the essay “On Station Eleven” by our high school writer: “Evading peril at what seems like every turn, it is inevitable the Symphony will have to confront its obstacles in order to reach its ultimate destination” (“On Station Eleven”).  Take a look at the first word in the sentence, “evading.”  If this choice of word is considered, it is apparent that the student had alternate options to choose from when selecting a word with a similar meaning.  Why evading?  Take, as an example, escaping in its place.  The student obviously had to make a decision based on which word he thought would contribute more to the sentence and the essay.  Evading is a term which reflects getting away from something through cleverness and trickery, which implies something that escape does not.  The student wanted to show that the Symphony had to use all its wit and intellect to avoid danger, and “evading” possessed the best connotation to reflect this idea.  To maintain proper use of diction, it can be helpful to know what not to do.  To provide an instance which a specific word was used in an incorrect manner, another essay from the student can be consulted: “Today, stereotypes of Native American homelessness, substance abuse, and poverty seek to strip indigenous people of their pride and freedom” (“Exploring Reasons for Native American Disadvantages”).  In this case, the verb “to seek” is used as though it is an action performed by stereotypes.  In this context, “to seek” may have not been the best verb to use, as a stereotype is not an object, but an idea, which is incapable of performing this action.  To improve this sentence, omitting “seek” entirely may have been a wise decision to improve the quality of the sentence.  As is evident in both of these examples, diction is an important part of any essay, and it is vital to create a balance between proper use and overuse of advanced diction.

    Equally important to use of strong diction is the proper use of punctuation.  Punctuation can have a significant impact on how an audience perceives the writer.  If the writer is consistent in his or her punctuation use, his or her work will likely look more professional and appealing to an audience.  Inconsistent punctuation can make an audience unsure of the credibility of its author.  It is important to know how to use punctuation marks and syntax in the proper manner to make sure the audience has no difficulties following along.  A concept which is often confused in writing is use of quotations; it is important to remember that punctuation typically is placed inside quotation marks in the English language:  “The symphony’s motto, a line which was taken from Star Trek and was originally Shakespeare’s, emphasizes the central theme which is reinforced by the Station Eleven comics: ‘Survival is insufficient.’” (“On Station Eleven”). When the motto of the symphony is stated at the end of the sentence, the period appears inside the quotations.  Another grammatical concept which is often confusing for students to grasp is differentiating between different types of titles.  When referring to the title of a large work of art, music, or literature, titles should be italicized.  Conversely, a single song or a short story should have quotations around it.  This is true for any short work.  For example: “...provides sufficient detail to help the audience attain a basic understanding of Macbeth, but is concise enough to permit the audience to develop their own understanding of the play” (“Tickling Your Brain With Shakespeare”).  Macbeth is italicized in this instance because it is a long work.  While quotation use and title formatting are two important aspects of punctuation, they are just two of many important components of a vital aspect of writing.  For an overview on some other important punctuation tips, visit the Punctuation Guide here.  This is an extremely useful resource for understanding the functions of each mark.

    The thesis statement is probably the most important aspect of any essay.  Theses introduce the essay’s claim and prompt the reader for the body paragraphs of the essay.  Theses can be tricky, but there are a few key things to remember that can help to write a solid thesis.  Initially, it is most important to ensure the thesis properly addresses the claim the writer wants to make.  If the thesis fails to make a claim, reading the essay can be tricky and boring.  In addition to being the foundation of the essay, the thesis should be concise.  The thesis should be clear, and in extent, brief, so as not to confuse the audience.  For examining a thesis, it is often times easier to start with one that could be improved: “In his short story ‘What You Pawn I Will Redeem’ and the article ‘No, Native Americans aren't genetically more susceptible to alcoholism’ by renowned neuroscience journalist Maia Szalavitz, there is a central motive to disprove common stereotypes about Native Americans, and explore potential causes for excessive Native American homelessness and substance abuse” (“Exploring Reasons for Native American Disadvantages”).  Clearly, this is a very lengthy thesis.  While it does make a decent claim, its length will likely make it more difficult to interpret than it should be.  To shorten the thesis, there are some unnecessary words that can be eliminated immediately, such as “renowned,” “common,” “potential,” and “excessive.”  It should be noted that all these words are adjectives, and often times, unnecessary adjectives stand in the way of concision.  In addition, it may be wise to revise the thesis so that it is stated in a less awkward manner.  For example, a thesis such as, “The story ‘What You Pawn I Will Redeem’ and the journal article ‘No, Native Americans aren’t genetically more susceptible to alcoholism’ both seek to explore stereotypes, homelessness, and drug abuse among Native Americans,” would probably function better because it is more clear and concise.  Clarity and concision are vital to making any thesis the foundation of a solid essay.  For a great external resource on writing concrete theses, visit the UNC-Chapel Hill Writing Center’s Website here.

    Strong diction, proper punctuation, and a concrete thesis statement are vital to the crafting of a solid essay.  When writing, it is important to ensure that there is an appropriate balance in the level of words chosen.  Are there advanced words present to improve the essay?  Are there less complex words to relieve the audience?  It is also necessary to constantly revise essays to avoid punctuational errors.  The thesis should be carefully constructed to reflect the claim of the essay, without compromising concision.  If these measures are taken in writing an essay, it is possible to make significant improvement on the essay as a whole.