style uwc

Write Academic : 

Write Academic Texas A&M University Writing Center Student Research Week 30 March 2005

Myth: 

Myth True/False: Writing ability is entirely based on talent. FALSE If this were true, your presenters would be unemployed. I’m a horrible writer.

The Starting Point: 

The Starting Point Audience has: mastery of research matter, understanding of analytical argument, and logical organization.

The Next Step: 

The Next Step Audience needs: style Organization, logic, and understanding are the basics – shirt, pants, shoes. Style is the sheen and fabric of the shirt. Is it acrylic, cotton, wool, or cashmere? strategies for “cashmere” writing.

The Goal: 

The Goal Effective communication of information to suit audience’s needs. Expression of ideas in “clear and coherent language, a difficult task for most writers, and a daunting one for many” (Williams 4). But chill out—it’s not voodoo.

Just the Facts: 

Just the Facts Concise writing is minimalist writing. You want to get the point across with less “filler.” Minimalist tips: Keep the essentials Don’t repeat yourself Keep it simple Replace negative statements with positive affirmations when possible

The Minimalist in Action (1): 

The Minimalist in Action (1) Cut out the informal excess. Use transitions sparingly (however, therefore, nevertheless, meanwhile, moreover, consequently). Use ambiguous words occasionally (really, so, basically, effectively, essentially). Avoid conversational words (kind of, wrap up, break down, so then, in between).

The Minimalist in Action (2): 

The Minimalist in Action (2) Cut the redundancy. Delete doubles (full and complete, any and all, first and foremost, honest and true, each and every). Delete ideas that are implied (true facts, free gift, each individual). Try turning adjective and noun pairs into adverbs: The pieces must be aligned in an accurate manner. The pieces must be aligned accurately.

The Minimalist in Action (3): 

The Minimalist in Action (3) Simplify “This must be done prior to any other subsequent action” Really means, “This must be done first” “In the event that the information is available before next year, contact…” Really means, “If the information is available before next year, contact…”

The Minimalist in Action (4): 

The Minimalist in Action (4) Change negative statements to positive words Not different—similar Not stopping—continuing To not notice—overlook To not allow—prevent

Higher Order Writing : 

Higher Order Writing Now that you’re thinking about how to strip away the excess… Start looking at how your thoughts come through—where is the emphasis? Is it consistent? Fine tune sentences by looking for balance and symmetry. Try mapping it out.

Slide12: 

Getting Creative A concise style can improve our own thinking and our readers’ understanding by placing the emphasis where it is necessary. A concise style can improve both our own thinking and our readers’ understanding. A concise style can improve not only our own thinking but also the understanding of our readers. Which is stronger, ending with the preposition “of our readers” or ending with “understanding”? Can the mirroring effect change the statement?

“The national unity of a free people depends upon a sufficiently even balance of political power to make it impracticable for the administration to be arbitrary and for the opposition to be revolutionary and irreconcilable” (Walter Lippmann).: 

“The national unity of a free people depends upon a sufficiently even balance of political power to make it impracticable for the administration to be arbitrary and for the opposition to be revolutionary and irreconcilable” (Walter Lippmann). The national unity of a free people depends upon a sufficiently even balance of political power to make it impracticable for the administration to be arbitrary revolutionary and irreconcilable. and for the opposition to be Is there balance between administration and opposition? Does there need to be?

“Consciousness consists of not only wishes and fears but of vastly more than these, and it is highly probable that the unconscious psyche contains a wealth of contents and living forms equal to or even greater than does consciousness, which is characterized by concentration, limitation, and exclusion” (C.G. Jung). : 

“Consciousness consists of not only wishes and fears but of vastly more than these, and it is highly probable that the unconscious psyche contains a wealth of contents and living forms equal to or even greater than does consciousness, which is characterized by concentration, limitation, and exclusion” (C.G. Jung). Consciousness consists of not only wishes and fears but of vastly more than these, and it is highly probable that the unconscious psyche contains a wealth of contents and living forms equal to or even greater than does consciousness, which is characterized by concentration, limitation, and exclusion

Clarity and Complexity: 

Clarity and Complexity Complex phrases and clauses, new information, and technical terms should come at the end of sentences. Compare: Lincoln’s claim that the Civil War was God’s punishment of both North and South for slavery appears in the last part of the speech. In the last part of his speech, Lincoln claims that God gave the Civil War to both North and South as a punishment for slavery.

Emphasis: 

Emphasis Put important information at the end of sentence for stress. Shift peripheral ideas to the beginning. Known--------------------------------------New

Emphasis: Syntax Strategies: 

Emphasis: Syntax Strategies Manipulate passive/active verbs. Some sociobiologists claim that our genes influenced aspects of behavior that we think are learned. Some sociobiologists claim that aspects of behavior that we think are learned are in fact influenced by our genes.

Emphasis: Syntax Strategies: 

Emphasis: Syntax Strategies “There is/are” allows for development later in sentence. Several syntactic devices let you manage where in a sentence you locate units of new information. There are several syntactic devices that let you manage where in a sentence you locate units of new information.

Emphasis: Syntax Strategies: 

Emphasis: Syntax Strategies Use “it” in place of long noun clause. That oil prices would be set by OPEC once seemed inevitable. It once seemed inevitable that oil prices would be set by OPEC. “Not only X, but Y” — emphasizes last known element.

Diagnosis: 

Diagnosis Put a slash mark after every punctuated sentence. Underline the first five or six words of every sentence in a passage.

Analysis: 

Analysis Topic Do the underlined words match up with your most important points? Give the passage a title. The title will often indicate the topics of the individual sentences. Coherence Do the underlined words contain unclear connections that will confuse your reader? Even if you see connections, think hard about whether your readers can. Concision Read sentences longer than two lines aloud, listen and look for: Many words separating subject and verb. Sprawl of relative clauses after the verb that cloud the meaning.

Revision: Subjects and Topics: 

Revision: Subjects and Topics What to do: In most of your sentences, use subjects to name topics. Put those subjects close to the beginning of your sentences. Why: The topic of a sentence is expected to be its grammatical subject. Writing is clear and direct when subjects and topics are the same.

Revision: Reshaping Sprawl: 

Revision: Reshaping Sprawl A sentence sprawls when there are many clauses after the verb. Cut Reduce relative clauses by cutting who/that/which + is/was. Change subordinate clauses into sentences Change clauses into phrases Coordinate ABFONSY Arrange from shorter to longer elements.

Troubleshooting Sentences: 

Troubleshooting Sentences Unclear Connections Internal connections and references are lost in a series of long coordinations. How to fix: Teachers should remember that students are vulnerable and uncertain about those everyday, ego-bruising moments that adults ignore, and that they do not understand that one day … Teachers should remember that students are vulnerable to ego-bruising moments that adults ignore and that they do not understand that one day …

Troubleshooting Sentences: 

Troubleshooting Sentences Faulty Coordination Parallelism Coordinate elements of the same grammatical structure Misplaced Modifiers Scientists have learned that their observations are as subjective as those in any other field in recent years. Change to: In recent years, scientists have learned that… Scientists have learned that in recent years their …

In Summary: 

In Summary Style is not a dark art! Remember: Concision Coordination Minimalism Balance

Source Information: 

Source Information Williams, Joseph M. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 2003.

A Sample: 

A Sample Dear Dr. Pepper, That the deadline for our midterm paper is due on this coming Monday came to my attention yesterday. I will not be able to turn it in on Monday, and I am going to be out of town the rest of this week because of my sister’s wedding, being sick with mono, and my computer exploded. May I turn my midterm in your box on Friday when it is cleaned up? It would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Mr. Pibb

A Sample Revisited: 

A Sample Revisited The deadline for our midterm paper is due on this coming Monday came to my attention yesterday. It came to my attention yesterday that our midterm papers are due on Monday. I will not be able to turn it in on Monday, and I am going to be out of town the rest of this week because of my sister’s wedding, being sick with mono, and my computer exploded. I am writing to inform you that I will be unable to meet the deadline due to personal reasons involving illness and family obligations. To complicate matters my computer will be in the repair shop until the middle of next week.

A Sample Revisited: 

A Sample Revisited May I turn my midterm in your box on Friday when it is cleaned up? May I leave my paper in your mail box next Friday once I have resolved my situation? It would be greatly appreciated. I would greatly appreciate the extension.

A Sample Revised: 

A Sample Revised Dear Dr. Pepper, It came to my attention yesterday that our midterm papers are due on Monday. I am writing to inform you that I will be unable to meet the deadline due to personal reasons involving illness and family obligations. To complicate matters my computer will be in the repair shop until the middle of next week. May I leave my paper in your mail box next Friday once I have resolved my situation. I would greatly appreciate the extension. Sincerely, Mr. Pibb

University Writing Center: 

University Writing Center Presenters: Mary Compton Yeo Ju Choi Contact Information: (979) 458-1455 uwc.tamu.edu