Friday, August 24, 2012

9 Tips on How to Make an Essay Shine

 

 9 Tips on How to Make an Essay Shine

Here are nine tips on how to make an essay shine by paying attention to simple writing rules.
A good essay is not simply about content; the elements of style are equally important if a piece of writing is to receive top marks. An argument cannot be persuasive, incisive or elegant, if it is not lucid, and it will not be clear if it has not been redrafted, revised and rewritten several times over. The following reminders about writing will help produce well-rounded, and well-written essays.

Tip #1: Concise Essay Writing

In an effort to reach the required word limit, students often pad their essay with extra words mistakenly thinking that how much they write is more important that how they write. This is usually a sign that a student does not know what they want to say or are short on ideas. The result is papers that use lots of words but say nothing. A general rule is that less is more when it comes to essay writing. This does not mean that sentences should be short, but that students should make every word count

 Three tips for eliminating wordiness includes:

1) use the active voice. "Shirley loves Bob" is concise and active. The passive form is longer and less concise, "Bob is loved by Shirley."

2) Avoid phrases such as "It can be seen that," or "due to the fact that," "In this essay I will argue that." These are wordy and unnecessary. An argument , for example, should be clear without having to announce it to the reader.

3) Prune. Read each sentence and eliminate unnecessary words; "there are many women who never marry" can be shortened to "many women never marry" without changing the meaning.

Tip #2 The Art of Writing is Re-writing

Rewriting is the essence of all writing. It involves evaluating and reading each sentence from the perspective of a skeptical critic – is it clear? Is it relevant? Does it serve the argument in the best way possible? Be honest. Then re-write. And re-read. And revise. After a bout of late-night writing, re-read everything in the cold light of morning. Do not be surprised if ideas no longer seem as brilliantly conceived, or as beautifully expressed.

Tip #3 Proofreading an Essay... Read more at Campus Life Suite 101 


If you need help typing your papers this upcoming school year, make sure to contact one of our IWRITE professionals. IWRITE can help you get your papers revised and typed so you get on with other things in life.  Contact us today! 

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Become a Better Writer Through Revision

 
 
Become a Better Writer Through Revision 
 
If you ever want to be successful at writing better and taking it to the next level, you will soon learn that revision makes all the difference.

Our friends at Writing Forward have some great advice for anyone including undergraduate and graduate students:

Some writers love the revision process; others think it’s a drag. Regardless of how you feel about revising your work, one thing is certain: if you want to produce better writing (and become a better writer), then revision is absolutely essential.

Revise What?

We use the terms “first draft” or “rough draft” when we are composing a piece of writing because almost every single project is going to have to go through a revision (or two, or three, four, or more). But what does that mean? How is it done? And what are the benefits?

We’ve already discussed the difference between proofreading and editing. Where does revision fit into all of that?

If you need help typing and revising your papers this coming semester, its not too late to contact us her at IWRITE. We can help you get the best grades possible from your written papers.

To revise means to change or alter. In the world of writing, revise means “to alter something already written or printed, in order to make corrections, improve, or update: to revise a manuscript.” (dictionary.com).

Generally speaking, revision involves making substantial changes to make the writing better. In fiction, this could involve changing characters’ names, realigning the plot, or re-sequencing the scenes. In other types of writing, revision might involve major structural changes (moving chapters around) or a content overhaul (adding, removing, or changing information). Sometimes, revision means rewriting a project entirely.



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