1. Be clear. Get to the point. Avoid wordiness. Don't overdo
it when a simpler phrase will suffice. This makes you look pompous and
pretentious.
2. Use standard essay structure: an introduction that previews topic and
approach, paragraphs each with a topic sentence and supporting sentences, and a
conclusion summing things up.
3. Spell all proper names properly. If you don't know how or aren't
sure, look them up. Check them in any case. (Imagine writing a
judge, school principal, Congressman, or your boss about something and spelling
their name incorrectly. You will look foolish. You will start off
on the wrong foot.) Spell-checks don’t catch everything.
4. Use appropriate quotations and references to support what you
claim. Don't simply say "Plato thought that a culture's art could be
immoral." Cite the passage, use a brief quote, give the page
reference, offer one of his examples. Back up
what you claim. In the same way, during your future professional life you
may need to quote from a lease, contract, or manual; it’s good to get into the
habit of nailing things down.
5. Do not plagiarize (do not copy from someone else's work without giving
due credit). This also means, do not simply paraphrase—that is also stealing!
In any case, do not copy or quote other work too extensively. An essay
(report, letter, proposal, statement, article) should
be your own work.
6. Draw upon all of the material that is available to you. For our
course, that means the textbook and lectures. Not to draw on these suggests
that you have been lazy, inattentive, and/or stupid. Clearly, you have
missed the boat.
7. Use complete sentences. Avoid run-on sentences and sentence
fragments.
8. Clarify pronouns. Avoid using "this," "it,"
"he", "she," "they," etc. where the antecedent of
the expression is unclear or ambiguous.
9. Never start a paper with a quote from the dictionary. This is one
of my pet peeves, but many professors share it. To do this is an escapist
and a trite move that shows you are about as original as 10,000 other students
in the past. It is BORING to read a dictionary definition since they are
neither “deep” nor “philosophical.” Hence, they are irrelevant to our
course!
10. Avoid all forms of
vagueness. Re-read your writing out loud to see if it
makes sense.
11. Work on
continuity. Don't leap from topic to topic. Provide transitions
between paragraphs to help the reader follow your line of thought. Use an
outline to structure your paper if you are having problems with
transitions. Plan the structure in advance.
12. Proofread,
proofread, proofread. There is no excuse for obvious errors of spelling
or sentence construction. Ask a roommate or friend to read your paper to
note errors.
13. Communicate.
Help readers follow you, rather than mystifying them about what your plans,
ideas, and viewpoints are.
14. Say something
interesting. Why should anyone ever read your writing unless you are
yourself interested in what you have written?
15. (This last one is
the most difficult.) Strive for a unique style that is
"you." Are you suave and elegant or witty and clever? Are
you forthright and forceful or delicate and discriminating? What do you
want to reveal about yourself to others? Your writing does this every bit
as much as other things that you probably care about (your clothing, hairstyle,
preferences in decorating and music, friends, major, etc.).