Example and rules Editing the Essay, Part One

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Example and rules Editing the Essay, Part One

Whoever has been through the ecstasies and agonies of writing the satisfaction is known by an essay(and sometimes the sadness) of finishing. When you have done all of the work of figuring out what you would like to say, arriving at an arguable and thesis that is interesting analyzing your evidence, organizing your thinking, and contending with counter-arguments, you may possibly feel that you have nothing left to do but run spell-check, print it out and await your professor’s response. Exactly what spell- check can’t discern is exactly what real readers might think or feel once they read your essay: where they could become confused, or annoyed, or bored, or distracted. Anticipating those responses may be the job of an editor—the job you are taking on as you edit your own work.

As you proceed, understand that sometimes what may seem like a problem that is small mask (be a manifestation of) a bigger one. A phrase—one that is poorly-worded seems, say, unclear or vague—may just need some tweaking to correct; however it may indicate that the thinking hasn’t developed fully yet, that you are not exactly sure what you need to express. Your language can be vague or confusing due to the fact idea itself is. So learning, as Yeats says, to “cast a cold eye” in your prose is not only a matter of arranging the finishing touches on custom writing your own essay. It’s about making your essay better from the inside (clarifying and deepening your ideas and insights) and through the outside (expressing those ideas in powerful, lucid, graceful prose). These five guidelines might help.

Read your essay aloud .

We can sometimes lose sight of the larger picture, of how all the sentences sound when they’re read quickly one after the other, as your readers will read them when we labor over sentences. Once you read aloud, your ear will pick up some of the problems your eye might miss.

She was bothered by a single pea buried beneath the pile of mattresses she lay upon as you read your essay, remember the “The Princess and the Pea,” the story of a princess so sensitive. As an editor, you wish to be like the princess—highly alert to anything that seems slightly odd or “off” in your prose. So if something strikes you as problematic, do not gloss over it. Investigate to uncover the nature of this problem. Odds are, if something bothers you only a little, it will bother your readers a whole lot.

Make sure all of your words are performing important operate in making your argument .

Are typical of one’s words and phrases necessary? Or are they just using up space? Are your sentences tight and sharp, or are they loose and dull? Do not say in three sentences what you could say within one, and don’t use 14 words where five will do. You would like every word in your sentence to add as meaning that is much inflection as possible. If you see phrases like “My own personal opinion,” ask yourself what “own personal” adds. Isn’t that what “my” means?

Even small, apparently unimportant words like “says” can be worth your attention. In place of “says,” could you use a expressed word like argues, acknowledges, contends, believes, reveals, suggests, or claims? Words such as these not merely create your sentences more lively and interesting, they offer useful information: if you inform your readers that someone “acknowledges” something, that deepens their knowledge of how or why she or he said that thing; “said” merely reports.

3. Bear in mind the thought of le mot juste. Always try to find the most wonderful words, the most precise and specific language, to say what you mean. Without needing concrete, clear language, you cannot convey to your readers exactly what you see a subject; you are able to only speak in generalities, and everybody has already heard those: “The evils of society are a drain on our resources.” Sentences similar to this could mean so many things that they end up meaning very little to your readers—or meaning something completely different from that which you intended. Be specific: What evils? Which societies? What resources? Your readers are reading your words to see just what you think, what you need certainly to say.

If you’re having problems putting your finger on just the word that is right consult a thesaurus, but and then remind yourself of your options. Never choose words whose connotations or usual contexts you do not really understand. Using language you are unfamiliar with may cause more imprecision—and that may lead your reader to question your authority.

4. Beware of inappropriately elevated language—words and phrases which are stilted, pompous, or jargony. Sometimes, in order to sound more reliable or authoritative, or higher sophisticated, we puff up our prose with this specific sort of language. Usually we only find yourself sounding like we are trying to sound smart—which is a sign that is sure our readers that people’re not. Because you think they’ll sound impressive, reconsider if you find yourself inserting words or phrases. Should your ideas are great, you don’t have to strain for impressive language; if they’re not, that language won’t help anyway.

Inappropriately elevated language can result from nouns getting used as verbs. Most areas of speech function better—more elegantly—when the roles are played by them they certainly were supposed to play; nouns work nicely as nouns and verbs as verbs. Read the following sentences aloud, and listen to how pompous they sound.

He exited the area. It’s important that proponents and opponents with this bill dialogue about its contents before voting on it.

Exits and dialogues work better as nouns and there are numerous ways of expressing those ideas without turning nouns into verbs.

He left the area. People should debate the good qualities and cons of the bill before voting.

Every now and then, though, this is a rule worth breaking, as with “He muscled his solution to the front associated with relative line.” “Muscled” gives us a lot of information which may otherwise take several words or even sentences to convey. And because it’s not awkward to see, but lively and descriptive, readers will not mind the shift that is temporary roles as “muscle” becomes a verb.

5. Be tough on the most sentences that are dazzling. You may find that sentences you needed in earlier drafts no longer belong—and these may be the sentences you’re most fond of as you revise. We’re all guilty of trying to sneak in our sentences that are favorite they do not belong, because we cannot bear to cut them. But writers that are great ruthless and certainly will throw out brilliant lines if they are no longer relevant or necessary. They already know that readers would be less struck by the brilliance than by the inappropriateness of those sentences and they let them go.

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