Elements of an Essay/Research Paper
Writing Process
The series of steps that most writers follow in producing a piece of writing. The five major stages in the writing process are finding a topic and generating ideas (discovering), focusing on a main or controlling idea and mapping out an approach (organizing), preparing a rough draft (drafting), reworking and improving the draft (revising), and proofreading and correcting errors.
Discovering – The first stage in the writing process. It may include finding a topic, exploring the topic, determining purpose and audience, probing ideas, doing reading and research, planing and organizing material. Discovery usually involves writing and is aided considerably by putting preliminary thought and plans in writing.
Organizing – The sequence in which the information or ideas in an essay are presented.
Drafting – The stage in the writing process during which the writer puts ideas into complete sentences, connects them, and organizes them into a meaningful sequence.
Revising – The stage in the writing process during which the author makes changes in focus, organization, development, style, and mechanics to make the writing more effective.
Editing – The last stage in the writing process during which the writer focuses on the details of mechanics and correctness.
Discovering
Audience – The readers for whom a piece of writing is intended. Many essays are aimed at a general audience, but a writer can focus on a specific group of readers.
Topic or Subject - The particular issue or idea that serves as the subject of a paragraph, essay, report, or speech. The primary topic of a paragraph may be expressed in a thesis statement. The main topic of an essay, report, or speech may be expressed in a thesis statement.
Purpose – The writer's reasons for writing; what the writer wants to accomplish in an essay.
Attitude – The attitude that a writer conveys toward the subject matter. Tone can be serious or humorous, critical or sympathetic, affectionate or hostile, sarcastic or soothing, passionate or detached, or any numerous other attitudes.
Resources – Diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications.
Search Strategy – A system for systemically locating information, facts or supporting evidence.
Supporting Evidence or Material – Facts, figures, statistics, details, examples, reasoning, expert testimony, personal experiences, and the like, which are used to develop and explain the general ideas in a piece of writing.
Deadlines and Constraints – Deadline: The time by which something must be finished or submitted; the latest time for finishing something. Constraints: A restriction on the operation of a linguistic rule or the occurrence of a linguistic construction.
Organizing
Title – The heading a writer gives to an article or essay. The title usually catches the reader's attention and indicates what the selection is about.
Thesis – The main point or proposition that a writer develops and supports in an essay. The thesis statement is often stated early, normally in the first paragraph, to give the reader a clear indication of the essay's main idea. The thesis statement must be unified, specific, and restricted. The thesis statement is not the whole essay, the title, announcement of the subject, or a statement of absolute fact. Some writers use extended thesis statements. Professional writer sometimes use implied thesis statements.
Thesis should be Unified, Specific, and Restricted.
The Thesis Statement The THESIS STATMENT is your paper in a nutshell; that is, a thesis tells the reader what main idea the writer is going to develop. More importantly, it helps the writer discover what main idea he or she wants to develop. It is a promise to the reader to develop a certain idea in a particular manner. It is used chiefly in expository essays (argumentative, analytical, comparison/contrast, etc.). It is always a complete sentence – never phrases or fragments such as “Why am I a music major” or “The main problem with our schools.” It is never a question like “Who is the best tackle in the NFL?” or “Why are space missions so important to our economy?” NOTE: Answer the question, and you are closer to having a thesis statement. It is never an exclamation: “I love the Beatles!” “Skin diving is the greatest!” An exclamation leaves you nothing more to say that is not repetitious. The thesis statement, remember, is not an end to itself, but a tool that will help you define, focus, nail down exactly what you want to write about. It is never merely a statement of intent; for example, “In this paper I want to show why our membership in NATO is so essential to world peace.” a statement of intent tells the reader what you plan to say. The thesis statement is a saying of the thing itself. It is never an obvious statement, something generally known by the average intelligent reader. For instance, “Dan Rather is the anchorman for CBS News.” such statements usually elicit the deserved “So what?” response. A good thesis statement answers the “So what?” question. A good thesis statement states an opinion or an idea, reflecting your attitude or point of view. A good thesis statement is (1) restricted, (2) unified, (3) precise. Restricted: To be restricted, the thesis statement must state the idea the paper is going to develop. It thus limits (or narrows down) the scope of the paper to what can be discussed intelligently in the space available. Example of a non-restricted thesis: “If our civilization is to survive, we must solve the problems of overpopulation, pollution, and war.” TO RESTRICT A THESIS STATEMENT, BREAK THE UNRESTRICTED THESIS INTO ITS PARTS AND CONCENTRATE ON A PART YOU KNOW ABOUT. For example, the above non-restricted thesis can be made into three different, restricted theses on pollution: A) The invasion of Fort Lauderdale by hundreds of college students during spring vacation results in pollution of that city's beaches. B) A good part of the smog problem in Los Angeles is caused by the increased number of people who must drive considerable distances to and from work in the city. C) The army's need to find some place to dump its accumulation of chemicals presents a serious pollution danger, especially in the southwestern states. Unified: To be unified, a thesis statement must express only on dominant idea. Example of a non-unified thesis: “Flights to the Moon are thrilling adventures which also produce practical benefits, yet it is difficult to justify their costs.” TO UNIFY, DECIDE WHICH IDEA YOU WANT TO EMPHASIZE AND WHICH IDEA OR IDEAS YOU WISH TO SUBORDINATE. In the above example you can choose to emphasize (a) the thrill (b) the practical benefits or (c) justification of costs. Make one of these dominate; or eliminate the others. For example: “The costs of moon flights are too great to be justified by the thrills and practical results we get from them.” Precise: To be precise, a thesis should be so stated that it can have only ONE interpretation. Example of a non-precise thesis: “My hometown is a very interesting place for people who like to fish.” TO MAKE A THESIS STATEMENT PERCISE, AVOID VAGUE WORDS (Interesting, colorful, inspiring, unusual, difficult, etc.) AND METAPHORS (far out, just the thing, a bad trip, like water to a plant, the test was a bear, etc.) IN THE WORDING OF THE THESIS STATEMENT ITSELF. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS: “What do I mean by that?” “In what way?” “ How?” “ What am I getting at?” An example of the above being made precise would be: “The well stocked farm ponds, trout streams, and salmon hatcheries that surround my hometown make the area a haven for fishing enthusiasts.”
The Persuasive Principle
This book offers you one central piece of advice: Whenever possible, think of your writing as a form of persuasion.
Persuasion is traditionally considered a separate branch of writing. When you write what's usually called a persuasion paper, tell your readers what side you're on, and try to persuade them that you're correct: the defense budget needs to be decreased, handguns should be outlawed, doctors must be protected against frivolous malpractice suits, required freshman English courses should be abolished. Persuasion is supposed to be based on different principles from those of other kinds of writing—description, narration, exposition, and so forth.
It isn't.
A description of a relative, an account of what you went through to get your first job, a comparison of two brands of dishwashers—if you can approach such assignments as an effort to persuade your reader of the validity of a particular opinion or major point, you're in businesses a writer. Your paper's opinion or major point is called its thesis. Your thesis may be that your relative is the most boring person you have ever met, that getting your first job was easier than you thought it would be, that a General Electric dishwasher is likely to last longer than Whirlpool. If you have a thesis and if you select and organize your material so that it supports the thesis, a number of basic writing problems begin to solve themselves. You have built-in purpose. You have built-in organization. You have the potential for built-in interest. Aside from a few obvious exceptions like newspaper reports, encyclopedia articles, instruction manuals, recipes, and certain types of stories, poems, and plays, all writing can benefit from a commitment to the persuasive principle: develop a thesis and then back it up.
There is no better way to demonstrate the effectiveness of the persuasive principle than to take a closer look at what goes on, or ought to go on, as a paper is being planed.
General Subject
“Write something worth reading about . . .” In essence, all writing assignments—for students, business executives, Nobel Prize winners, and everyone else—begin this way, though ordinarily the directions aren't that frank.
Let's start from scratch and assume that your instructor has left the choice of subject mostly up to you. You may be entirely on your own or you may have a list of general subjects from which you must make your selection. Imagine that you have to write something worth reading about one of the following: education, sports, prejudice, politics, or television.
You make your choice, if you're like the majority of people, by deciding what you’re most interested in and informed about or what will go over best with your audience. Lets say you pick education. You now ha a subject, and your troubles have now begun.
You have to write about 500 words or so on a subject to which tens of thousands of books have been devoted. Where do you begin? Where do you stop? Will it ever be possible to stop? What's important? What's not important?until you limit your subject, you have no way of answering any of these questions. You are at the mercy of every miscellaneous thought and scrap of information that drifts into your mind.
Limited Subject
Narrow down your subject. Then narrow it down some more. Narrow it down until you have a subject that can be treated effectively in the assigned length. In many respects, the narrower your subject, the better off you are, as long as you still have something to say about it. With a properly limited subject, you explore only a small part of your general subject, but you explore it thoroughly.
General SubjectLimited subject
Education Professor X Prejudice Interracial marriages Politics People who don't vote Television Commercials
Sports Baseball salaries
A paper of 500 words on education is doomed to be superficial at beast. It might be possible, however, to write 500 words worth reading on one of your teachers, essay versus objective examinations, reasons for attending college(narrowed down to just one reason if you have enough to say), registration procedures, fraternities, physical education requirements, and so on.
With a sensibly limited subject, you have a chance of producing a good paper. You are no longer doomed to a superficiality. If you write a description of one of your teachers, for example, you possess immensely more knowledge of your subject than do fellow students who have not taken a course from that teacher. Certainly, you are no longer at the mercy of every thought about education that you have ever had.
Your troubles are not over, though. You've limited your subject, and you've done it well, but what now? Look at the most limited of the subjects in the preceding table. You're writing a a description of a teacher—Professor x. do you tell your reader about the teacher's height, weight, age, marital status, clothing, ethnic background, religious background, educational background? Publications? Grading policy? Attendance policy? Lecture techniques? Sense of humor? Handling of difficult classroom situations? Attitude toward audio-visual aids? Knowledge of field? How short, do you determine what belongs in your paper and what doesn't?
The truth is that you're still at the mercy of every thought that occurs to you. This time it's every thought about Professor X, not every thought about education in general. But until you find a thesis, you still have trouble.
Thesis
your thesis is the basic stand you take, the opinion you express, the point you make about your limited subject. It's your controlling idea, tying together and giving direction to all of the separate elements in your paper. Your primary purpose is to persuade the reader that your thesis is a valid one.
You ma, and probably should, have secondary purposes; you may want to amuse or alarm or inform or issue a call to action, for instance—but unless the primary purpose is achieved, no secondary purpose stands a chance. If you want to amuse your readers by making fun of inconsistent dress codes at you old high school, there’s noway to do it successfully without first convincing them of the validity of your thesis that the dress codes were inconsistent and thus do deserve to be laughed at.
A thesis is the only vibration in the brain until it is turned into words. The first step in creating a workable thesis is to write a one-sentence version of the thesis, which is called a thesis statement, for example:
Professor X is an incompetent teacher.
Professor X is a classic absentminded professor.
Professor X's sarcasm antagonizes many students.
Professor X's colorful personality has become a campus legend.
Professor X is better at lecturing than at leading discussions.
Professor X's youthful goo looks have created awkward problems in class.
If you need more than one relatively uncomplicated sentence, chances are either that the thesis isn't as unified as it ought to be or that it's too ambitious for a short paper.
Limited SubjectThesis Statement
Professor XProfessor X is an incompetent teacher.
Interracial marriagesHostility to interracial marriages is the prejudice least likely to die.
People who don't voteNot voting may sometimes be a responsible decision.
Baseball salariesMany baseball players are paid far more than their abilities can justify.
Writing with a thesis gives a paper a sense of purpose and eliminates the problem of aimless drift. Your purpose is to back up the thesis. As a result, writing with a thesis also helps significantly in organizing the paper. You use only what enables you to accomplish your purpose. Weight problems and religion have nothing to do with Professor X's abilities as a teacher, so you don't bother with them. Most of all, writing with a thesis gives a paper an intrinsic dramatic interest. You commit yourself. You have something at stake: “This is what i believe, and this is why I'm right.” you say, “Professor X is incompetent.” Your reader says, “Tell me why you think so.” You say, “I'll be glad to.” Your reader says, “ I'm listening.” And you're ready to roll.
So far, then, we've established that a thesis is the main idea that all elements in the paper should support and that you should be able to express it in a single sentence. We've established that a thesis has several important practical benefits. That's the bird’s-eye view, but the concept is important enough to demand a closer look.
What a Thesis Isn't
A Thesis Is Not a Title
A title can often give the reader some notion of what the thesis is going to be, but it is not the thesis itself. The thesis itself, as presented in the thesis statement, does not suggest the main idea—it is the main idea. Remember, too, that a thesis statement will always be a complete sentence; there's no other way to make a statement.
Title: Not a ThesisThesis Statement
Homes and SchoolsParents ought to participate more in the education of their children.
James Cagney: Hollywood GreatJames Cagney was one of the greatest actors ever to appear in movies.
A Shattering ExperienceMy first visit to the zoo was a shattering experience.
The Fad of DivorceToo many people get divorced for trivial reasons.
A Thesis Is Not an Announcement of the Subject
A thesis takes a stand. It expresses an attitude toward the subject. It is not the subject itself.
Announcement: Not a ThesisThesis statement
My subject is the incompetence Professor X is an incompetent teacher. of Professor X.
I want to share some thoughts withOur space program is a waste of money. you about our space program.
The many unforeseen problems II encountered many unforeseen problems when I went encountered when I went campingcamping. are the topic of this theme.
This paper will attempt to tell you somethingThe Grand Canyon was even more magnificent than I about the emotions I felt on viewing thehad imagined. Grand Canyon.
The thesis of this paper is the difficultySolving our environmental problems is more difficult of solving our environmental problems.than many environmentalists believe.
A Thesis Is Not a Statement of Absolute Fact
A thesis makes a judgment or interpretation. There's no way to spend a whole paper supporting a statement that needs no support.
Fact: Not a Thesis
Jane Austen is the author of Pride and Prejudice.
The capital of California is Sacramento.
Suicide is the deliberate taking of one's own life.
President Lincoln's first name was Abraham.
The planet closest to the Sun is Mercury.
A Thesis Is Not the Whole Essay
A thesis is your main idea, often expressed in a single sentence. Be careful not to confuse the term as it is used in this text with the book-length thesis or dissertation required of candidates for advanced degrees in graduation schools.
What a Good Thesis Is
It's possible to have a one-sentence statement of an idea and still not have a thesis that can be supported effectively. What characterizes a good thesis?
A Good Thesis Is Restricted
Devising a thesis statement as you plan your paper can be a war in itself of limiting, or restricting, your subject even further. A paper supporting the thesis that Professor X is incompetent, besides taking a stand on its subject, has far less territory to cover than a paper on Professor X in general. Thesis statements themselves, however, may not always be sufficiently narrow. A good thesis deals with restricted, bite-size issues that would require a lifetime to discuss intelligently. The more restricted the thesis, the better the chances are for supporting it fully.
PoorBetter
The world is in a terrible mess.The United Nations Should be given more peace-keeping powers.
People are too selfish.Human selfishness is seen at its worst during rush hour.
The American steel industry has manyThe worst problem of the American steel industry is problems.unfair competition from foreign countries.
Crime must be stopped.Our courts should hand out tougher sentences to habitual criminals. A Good Thesis Is Unified
The thesis expresses one major idea about its subject. The tight structure of your paper depends on its working to support that one idea. A good thesis may sometimes include a secondary idea if it is strictly subordinated to the major one, but without that subordination the writer will have too many important ideas to handle, and the structure of the paper will suffer.
PoorBetter
Detective stories are not a high formDetective stories appeal to the basic human desire for of literature, but people have thrills. always been fascinated by them, and many fine writers have experimented with them.
The new health program is excellent, butThe new health program should be run on an it has several drawbacks, and it shouldexperimental basis for two or three years. be run only on an experimental basis forOr two or three years.Despite its general excellence, the new health program should be run for two or three years.
The Columbus Cavaliers have trouble at theThe Columbus Cavaliers should be able to make the defensive end and linebacker positions, andplay-offs. front-office tensions don't help, but the teamOr the team should be able to make the Even granting a few troubles, the Columbus Cavaliers play-offs.Should be able to make play-offs.
A Good Thesis Is Specific
A satisfactorily restricted and unified thesis may be useless if the idea it commits you to is vague. “The new corporate headquarters is impressive,” for example, could mean anything from impressively beautiful to impressively ugly. With a thesis statement like “ James Joyce's Ulysses is very good,” you would probably have to spend more words defining “good” than discussing Ulysses. Even when there's no likelihood of confusion, vague ideas normally come through as so familiar or dull or universally accepted that the reader sees no point in paying attention to them.
PoorBetter
James Joyce's Ulysses is a big problem.James Joyce's Ulysses helped create a new way for writers to deal with the unconscious.
Drug addiction is a big problem.Drug addiction has enabled us to learn the true meaning of sharing.
My parents are wonderful people.Everything my parents do is based on their loving concern for the welfare of the family.
You may also extend your thesis statement to include the major points you will discuss in the body of the paper. The previously cited thesis statements could be extended as follows:
SpecificExtended Specific
James Joyce's Ulysses helpedJames Joyce's Ulysses helped create a new way for writers to create a new way for writer to deal with the unconscious by utilizing the findings of Freudian deal with the unconscious.Psychology and introducing the techniques of literary stream-of-consciousness. Drug addiction has caused a hugeDrug addiction has caused a huge increase in violent crimes in increase in violent crimes.the home, at school, and on the streets.
Our vacation enabled us to learn theOur vacation enabled us to learn the true meaning of sharing our true meaning of sharing.Time, space, and possessions.
Everything my parents do is based onEverything my parents do is based on their loving their loving concern for the welfareconcern for maintaining the welfare of the family by of the family.keeping us in touch with our past, helping us to cope with our present, and inspiring us to build for our future.
These extended thesis statements have certain virtues, but they have their drawbacks, too. They can be considered summaries or mini-outlines, in some respects, and therefore they can be useful because they force you to think through the entire essay beforehand. They may be especially helpful if you are uneasy about your organizing abilities. In short essays, on other hand, extended thesis statements frequently may not be necessary or desirable. They may, for example, tell readers more than you want them to know and tell it to them too soon. After all, a summary usually belongs at the end of an essay, not at the beginning. Be sure you know if your instructor has any preference. Remember the main point, though: It is essential that the thesis be specific.

Introduction – A preliminary part, as of a book, musical composition, or the like, leading up to the main part.
Paragraphs – One of a series of subsections each usually devoted to one idea and each usually marked by the beginning of a new line, indentation, increased interlinear space, etc.
Topic Sentences – The sentence in which the main idea of a paragraph is stated. Writers often state the topic sentence first and develop the rest of the paragraph in support of this main idea. Sometimes a writer will build up the topic sentence and place it at the end of a paragraph.
Conclusion – The sentences and paragraphs that bring an essay to its close. In the conclusion, a writer may restate the thesis, sum up complex and important ideas, emphasize the topic’s significance, make generalization, make a prediction offer a solution to a problem, or encourage the reader to take some action. Whatever the strategy, a conclusion should end the essay in a firm and definite way.
Drafting
Sentences – A grammatical unit of one or more words that expresses an independent statement, question, request, command, exclamation, etc., and that typically has a subject as well as a predicate, as in John is here. Or Is John here? In print or writing, a sentence typically begins with a capital letter and ends with appropriate punctuation; in speech it displays recognizable, communicative intonation patterns and is often marked by preceding and following pauses.
Narration – Writing that recounts an event or series of interrelated events; presentation of a story in order to illustrate an idea or make a point.
Strategies for Discovering and Relating Experiences
Narrative writing brings ideas and experiences to life through vivid language and concrete detail. Effective narrations are organized according to time or logic. Writers must decide when to summarize events and when to narrate them in detail. Summaries capture only important elements. Details are for emphasis. Among the oldest and most powerful ways people come to understand their own lives and to communicate with one another is through sharing of their stories. Narration is a method of recording thoughts and experiences for one's own enjoyment or future use. Narration can lead to any of the formal strategies. Narration depends upon memories, diaries, and journals. Good narrators often improve on real life by adding to, or deleting from, or reordering events, to make them more dramatic. Such changes make the stories clearer and give them heightened drama and energy. Narratives offer insights from experience. Carefully selected dialogue is an effective way to develop narrative, to show the tone of a conversation or the personality of a character. Bring the reader into the story.
Appealing to the Senses
Description presents information and expresses feelings. Good descriptions add life and interest to any conversation or piece of writing. Virtually everything you write includes descriptive details. Descriptions enliven narrative, clarify explanations, perk up examples, sharpen comparisons, and add vigor to arguments. No matter what you have to say, accurate and effective descriptions will help you say it better. Generally in concrete language. “effective descriptions include specific characteristics, examples, analogies, and contrasts.” People write descriptions for two reasons: 1) to present information accurately and clearly, and 2)to convey their feelings about the subject. 1) is an objective description, 2) is an expressive description. Some descriptions can be arranged spatially-top to bottom, left to right,near to far, back to front, and so on, like the movement of a camera filming a room or a scene. There is no built-in approach (like presenting a narrative in chronological order) that will work for many descriptions. Writers have to tailor the arrangement of details to suit the subject. E.g., Her appearance and mannerisms, her environment, the way her family took advantage of her. Effective description depends on language that appeals to the senses. Images – words and phrases that prompt readers to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel what the author is describing.
“Use no superfluous word, no adjective which does not reveal something. Mixing abstract and concrete language dulls the image from the writer not realizing that the natural object is always the adequate symbol.”
Exemplification
Making a Point
Examples are, in a way, the SHOW part of show and tell. When writers simply TELL the result is dense, dry, and confusing. Lively and clear illustrations help readers understand, remember, and visualize. EXEMPLIFICATION writing explains and clarifies a generalization through illustration. Successful writers make their points clearer by providing examples.
Explaining How Things Work
PRCESS ANALYSIS/WRITING tells how to do something, how something works, or how something happens. Process writing gives directions and explains behaviors. Explains photosynthesis or the treatment of a sports injury.
Clarifying Meaning
DEFINITION writing explains the meaning of words, concepts, objects, or phenomena. Use definitions to clarify, evaluate, and increase awareness. Introversion and extroversion.
Organizing Ideas and Experience
DIVISION AND CLASSIFICATION presents information systemically. Clarifies thinking and helps us understand our feelings. TRAP: Stereotype.
Examining Connections
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST purposefully directs attention to similarities and differences. Helps us select the best of many options.
Interpreting Meaning
CAUSE AND EFFECT traces the why-to reveal the root of a problem or to illuminate the consequence of an action. Use cause and effect to explain both immediate and indirect connections. Investigation C&E is a basic pursuit in many professional fields like marketing and psychology. Logic.
Influencing Opinion
ARGUMENT
Persuasion is one of the most powerful uses of the written word. Persuade others to take action. Writers use strategies of all kinds to develop their points of argument: cause and effect, comparison and contrast, logical reasoning, description, narration, definition, and classification.
Combining Strategies
Writers sometimes use one dominant strategy. Writers sometimes use two or more dominant strategies.
Description – Writing that uses sensory details to create a word picture for the reader.
Division and Classification – Division: The process of breaking a large subject into its components or parts. Division is often used in combination with classification. Classification: The process of sorting items or ideas into meaningful groups or categories.
Examples – Specific cases or instances used to illustrate or explain a general concept.
Process – A rhetorical strategy in which a writer explains the step-by-step procedure for how to do something, how something works, or how something happens.
Comparison and Contrast – A strategy of writing in which an author points out the similarities and differences between two or more subjects.
Definition – A method of explaining a word or term so that the reader understands what the writer means. Writers use a variety of methods for defining words and terms.
Cause and Effect – The rhetorical strategy that allows a writer to interpret the meaning of events by focusing on reasons and/or consequences.
Argument or Persuasion – Writing that attempts to move readers to action or to influence them to agree with a position or belief.
Exact Language – Language that contains words that fit your meaning and convey your attitude precisely. When an author is writing about a subject, he can use denotation and connotation to better express the meaning of the word.
Appropriate Language - Language that fits your audience and matches purpose. Inappropriate language uses can damage your credibility, undermine your argument, or alienate your audience.
Active Language - The subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb. Using active language for the majority of your sentences makes your meaning clear for readers, and keeps the sentences from becoming too complicated or wordy.
Passive Language - The subject is acted upon; he or she receives the action expressed by the verb, and tends to be wordy.
Abstract Language – Language that refers to ideas, conditions, and qualities that cannot be observed directly through the five senses. Words such as beauty, love, joy, wealth, cruelty, power, and justice are abstract.
Concrete Language – Language that refers to real objects that can be seen, heard, tasted, touched, or smelled. Words like tree, desk, car, orange, Chicago, Roseanne, or jogging are all concrete. Concrete examples make abstractions easier to understand, as in “Contentment is a well-fed cat asleep in the sun.”
Sexist Language – Words and phrases that stereotype or ignore members of either sex.
Revising
Revise everything under Drafting plus the following:
Word Order – The way in which words are arranged in sequence in a sentence or smaller construction. The arrangement of words in a phrase, clause, or sentence. In many languages, including English, word order plays an important part in determining meanings expressed in other languages by inflections.
Syntax - The rules by which signs are combined to make statements. If you consider the words of a language to be its signs, then its syntax is the rules which put signs together to make statements, ask questions, and produce other utterances.
Syntax incorporates the grammar of phrases, clauses, and sentences. Producing and uttering sentences is an important part of how we make sense of our world. We articulate the meaning of our experience in words; in the process of articulate, we make (or discover) the meaning of the experience. This process is similar to the ways in which we interpret literature.
The syntax the exact structure of what we write is an essential part of its meaning. Change the structure and you have changed the meaning, at least slightly.
Diction – Choice of words in writing or speaking.
Clarity – Clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from indistinctness or ambiguity.
Active Language and Passive Language – Active Language: The subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb. Using active language for the majority of your sentences makes your meaning clear for readers, and keeps the sentences from becoming too complicated or wordy. Passive Language: The subject is acted upon; he or she receives the action expressed by the verb, and tends to be wordy.
Wordy Sentences – Using more words than necessary to convey a desired meaning. Characterized by or given to the use of many, or too many, words.
Sound – To convey a certain impression when heard read.
Rhythm - Rhythm is a literary device which demonstrates the long and short patterns through stressed and unstressed syllables particularly in verse form.
Imagery - A description that appeals to the reader's senses of sight, smell, touch, or taste. Images add interest and clarify meaning.
Emotion – An affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness. Something that causes such a reaction.
Editing
Prepare for submission or publication.
Proofread for logic, grammar, and spelling.
Logical Fallacies
Logical Fallacies - Common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of your argument. Fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points, and are often identified because they lack evidence that supports their claim. Avoid these common fallacies in your own arguments and watch for them in the arguments of others. Slippery Slope: This is a conclusion based on the premise that if A happens, then eventually through a series of small steps, through B, C,..., X, Y, Z will happen, too, basically equating A and Z. So, if we don't want Z to occur, A must not be allowed to occur either. Example:
If we ban Hummers because they are bad for the environment eventually the government will ban all cars, so we should not ban Hummers.
In this example, the author is equating banning Hummers with banning all cars, which is not the same thing. Hasty Generalization: This is a conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence. In other words, you are rushing to a conclusion before you have all the relevant facts. Example: Even though it's only the first day, I can tell this is going to be a boring course.
In this example, the author is basing his evaluation of the entire course on only the first day, which is notoriously boring and full of housekeeping tasks for most courses. To make a fair and reasonable evaluation the author must attend not one but several classes, and possibly even examine the textbook, talk to the professor, or talk to others who have previously finished the course in order to have sufficient evidence to base a conclusion on. Circular Argument: This restates the argument rather than actually proving it. Example:
George Bush is a good communicator because he speaks effectively.
In this example, the conclusion that Bush is a "good communicator" and the evidence used to prove it "he speaks effectively" are basically the same idea. Specific evidence such as using everyday language, breaking down complex problems, or illustrating his points with humorous stories would be needed to prove either half of the sentence. Either/or: This is a conclusion that oversimplifies the argument by reducing it to only two sides or choices. Example:
We can either stop using cars or destroy the earth.
In this example, the two choices are presented as the only options, yet the author ignores a range of choices in between such as developing cleaner technology, car-sharing systems for necessities and emergencies, or better community planning to discourage daily driving. Bandwagon - A popular activity, effort, cause, etc., that attracts growing support. A popular party, faction, or cause that attracts growing support —often used in such phrases as: “Jump on the bandwagon.” The Bandwagon is a fallacy in which a threat of rejection by one's peers (or peer pressure) is substituted for evidence in an "argument." This line of "reasoning" has the following form: 1. Person P is pressured by his/her peers or threatened with rejection. 2. Therefore person P's claim X is false.
This line of "reasoning" is fallacious because peer pressure and threat of rejection do not constitute evidence for rejecting a claim.
Example:
Bill thinks that welfare is needed in some cases. His friends in the Young Republicans taunt him every time he makes his views known. He accepts their views in order to avoid rejection.
It should be noted that loyalty to a group and the need to belong can give people very strong reasons to conform to the views and positions of those groups. Further, from a practical standpoint we must often compromise our beliefs in order to belong to groups. However, this feeling of loyalty or the need to belong simply do not constitute evidence for a claim.