12 Steps to Effective Writing
1. Remember that writing is a process
Writing is a recursive process composed of Exploratory, Drafting, Revising, and Editing stages. As you work your way through each stage you will revisit earlier stages. Writing is like climbing a circular staircase, you continually cover the same territory, but from a different vantage point or perspective.
2. Generate ideas to write about
Use brainstorming, freewriting, clustering, or other techniques to generate ideas you might write about. You can also use Dr. John's Eazy-Peazy Guide to Creative Ideas for Writing.
3. Generate ideas about a specific topic
Use brainstorming, freewriting, clustering, or other techniques to generate ideas about a specific topic. Write quickly. Don't stop to worry about mistakes. Don't dwell or sense or organization. This is a battle between the "editor" and the "writer." Help the writer win. Try to get as much of your thinking down on paper as you can.
4. Consider purpose, audience, and tone
Before your start writing your first draft, consider
- Purpose
What is your purpose for writing? The answer to this question will help determine your tone of voice. - Audience
Who are you writing to? What does your audience need to get from your writing? What benefits will your writing bring them? The answers to these questions will help determine your tone of voice. - Tone
How should you speak to your readers? The tone of voice you use depends on the purpose and audience for your writing.
Example:
Dear Dr. John, I am writing to inquire about the homework assignment for tomorrow.
Writing to someone you know, but not well --> use semiformal voice.
Example:
Dr. John, I was wondering about our homework assignment for tomorrow.
Writing to someone you know well --> use informal voice.
Example:
Yo, Doc, 'sup with homework?
5. Use organizational models
Use these models to help you organize your writing:
- 3T Model
Tell what you are going to tell (Introduction)
Tell it (Body)
Tell what you told (Conclusion) - 3 Supporting Detail Model
Structure your writing in this order:
Introduction with a clearly stated thesis and three supporting details
First supporting detail
Second supporting detail
Third supporting detail
Conclusion - Inverted Pyramid
Here is an example of how you might organize an essay in the Inverted Pyramid Format:
This sentence starts your introduction.
Your introduction should cause your reader to
feel interested in your essay. Your introduction
often "funnels" down to your thesis statement.
Your thesis statement should come near
the end of the introductory paragraph,
like here! It has a topic
and a controlling
idea.
The first developmental paragraph goes here.
It provides a transition between the thesis statement above,
and the development of supporting details below. The topic sentence
of this paragraph often comes near the top. It should reflect the thesis
statement in some way and help to build your essay. This paragraph should have
a topic and a controlling idea. A paragraph is, in general, from five to ten sentences long.
The last sentence might be a concluding remark about the topic of the paragraph.
Transitions are needed between developmental paragraphs
and usually come at the beginning of a new paragraph. Transitions take a little bit
of what has already been said and introduce what is coming up next. The first line may
contain the topic sentence for the paragraph, or you can build up to the topic through a series of informational sentences. Again, this topic sentence reflects the thesis statement in some way, just as the topic sentence of the earlier
developmental paragraph did.
Effective transitions are always important
because they provide a clearly marked path for readers
to move from one idea to another through your writing. Remember
that the ideas of a paragraph never go beyond its topic sentence.
And,there should be a concluding sentence.
Although there is a transition moving into the concluding paragraph,
it is a bit different because it doesn't have the same kind of structure.
Often concluding paragraphs are longer than the development paragraphs,
especially if you choose to restate the thesis statement as the conclusion, rather than
briefly summarize all of your supporting details. You may also want to include
a call for action in your concluding paragraph. Now that you have a model, I hope
you will use it to help make your writing more effective.
6. Attract immediate attention
Use effective introductory paragraphs that will attract your readers interest. Select "Introductions" in the menu to the left for examples of different ways you can effectively start your writing.
7. Use transitions between thoughts
Use transitions as bridges between thoughts in your sentences and paragraphs. Transitions make it easy for your reader to follow your thoughts and move from one idea to another.
8. Use paragraphs to separate ideas
Paragraphs contain separate ideas. As separate idea units they are stepping stones leading a reader through your writing. They create rhythms and flows to your writing. And they allow for places of rest. They mark changes of direction, or the introduction of new, or different information. Use them to increase the effectiveness of your writing.
9. Hang your writing on a central idea
Thesis/Central Idea/Controlling Idea—whatever the name, they are all the nail that your writing hangs on. Everything about your writing revolves around the central idea. Use one.
10. Revise often
In the revising stage, try to "resee" your writing from a more effective perspective.
- Play with word choice, or word order.
- Move sentences around, trying to find places in your writing where they will be most effective.
- Move whole paragraphs in order to improve the organization and effectiveness of your writing.
- Be flexible. Suspect everything. Be willing to change everything. Have the courage to see your writing in new, more effective ways. Ask of each word, sentence, and paragraph: "Is this component of my writing doing the work it needs to do in order to make my writing most effective?" If the answer is "no," change or get rid of the offender.
- Use descriptive details to SHOW rather than tell what you are writing about. Descriptive details are important to effective writing. They help your readers create video movies in their minds while they read your writing.
- Use the right words, the ones with power and excitement to carry your writing along, and to keep your reader interested. To paraphrase Mark Twain, the difference between a word and the right word, between a sentence and the right sentence, between a paragraph and the right paragraph is the difference between a lightning bug and lightning. Make sure your writing has lots of lightning. Here's an example of good, descriptive writing (from, of all places, a J. Peterman catalog advertisement for a coat modeled after the one worn by Charles Lindberg on his famous transAtlantic airplane flight, the first ever):
He was 25. He just made it over the tops of those trees, and now he was far out over the Atlantic somewhere. But where? What time is it? How long have I been asleep? Wake up. Switch to the other gas tank. Is that ice? Is that ice on the wings? Down, get down quick. Suddenly, at ten feet: white caps, dark blue water. Suddenly awake. He was 21/2 hours ahead of schedule. At Paris, they were waiting. Everybody in France was waiting. The entire field was covered with running figures. Roughly they pulled him out of his plane and carried him over the heads of the crowd. He was the most famous man in the world. He did it he did it alone.
11. Edit for effectiveness
In the editing stage, look for and address problems that drag down the effectiveness of your writing, that discharge the lightning.
Effective writing clearly communicates the thoughts and ideas you wish to share with other people. Here are some points that will help improve the effectiveness of your writing. They are illustrated as mistakes that purposefully break, and thus draw attention to, the guidelines for effective writing they are meant to reinforce.
- Avoid run on sentences they are hard to read
- It behooves us to avoid archaisms
- Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration
- Don't use no double negatives
- Avoid commas, that are not necessary
- Verbs has to agree with their subjects
- Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky
- Writing carefully, dangling participles should not be used
- Kill all exclamation points!!!
- Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do
- Proofread carefully to see if you any words out
- Take the bull in the hand, and don't mix metaphors
- Don't verb nouns
- Never, ever use repetitive redundancies
- Avoid cliches like the plague.
Cliches are phrases that have been used so much they no longer communicate anything fresh. Using cliches is lazy writing. By using cliches you fail to allow yourself to stretch your senses, your perception. You fail to look for the real and immediate level of experience in whatever you are writing about, and of course, you fail to share anything of significance for your reader. Cliches make you think you are saying something of value when in fact you are saying nothing.
12. Have fun while working hard