How To Polish An Essay

By Timothy Hayes on June 24, 2015

If you’re like me, writing is a joy. It is filled with excitement and promise of self-expression.

There are few wonders like writing. Scribbling or typing with reckless abandon just a breath away from losing pace with my own thoughts as they tumble out just ahead of the pen. The excitement of new ideas flying away from my hands as I type just to keep the ideas from getting out of my reach is breathtaking sometimes. Each note I keep, each journal I fill, each scribbled on post-it note is a possible script, article, book, or ballad I could write.

Now, if you’re not like me, writing is a pain. Many people do not enjoy writing. One question we will inevitably hear on syllabus day is “will we have to write in this class?” You’ve all heard it. Maybe you’ve asked it. Maybe you hate the inevitable “yes.”

Love it or hate it, writing is an essential life skill that more and more people are not learning. Increasing anti-plagiarism measures at schools nationwide are indicative of ever increasing rates of copying. A survey of college presidents in 2011 by the Pew Research Center documented an all-time high in rates of plagiarism. Writing seems to be an ever increasingly unpopular challenge with college students.

So with rates of plagiarism up, U.S. test scores down, and a general sense of malaise at the mention of writing, college students could stand to use some help. Here are some ways to polish off that writing once you’ve got the basics down.

The word “very” is lazy.

As the great comic Robin Williams said in “Dead Poets Society,” “Avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy.”

Williams couldn’t have been more write. Puns aside, using ‘very’ makes your writing seem younger and less sophisticated. For instance if I say a problem is very bad, it instills a sense of vagueness that cannot effectively convey the scope of the calamity that may be at hand, but if I say that the situation is grave or that this issue is serious, suddenly the phrase snaps right back to an authoritative tone.

That attitude in your writing of “I know what I’m doing” will carry you miles, even when you have no clue what you are talking about. Remember, few people can tell the difference between confidence and brilliance.

(image courtesy of www.pinterest.com)

Literally, stop using literally.

This word is so overused it hurts, figuratively. Literally means that what you have just described has actually transpired. This is usually in situations of some extreme circumstance that sound to some people like hyperbole or exaggeration and is meant to clarify that the event or action in question happened.

So if I say that I literally was so tired that I could not get out of bed that means that for some reason I was so exhausted that I could not make my muscles work to pull myself out of bed. Instead of literally, try using seriously. This word rhythmically sounds similar and means approximately what you want it to mean.

Show you’re confident in your topic. 

If you have to say “I think” or “I believe,” you are not confident enough in your topic or else you are desperately trying to increase your word count. Whenever one is writing anything, unless otherwise stated, the reader will assume that the views printed in the work of writing are the views held and expressed by the author.

As such, saying “I believe” or similar phrases is unnecessary and cluttering. Cluttering phrases like these and “therefore” or “because of this” should be taken out and replaced with simple declarations. So instead of “I think that we should use this system of government,” you would say “This system of government is superior” and go on to defend that statement.

(image courtesy of www.fastyetitees.com)

Defend your statements.

Speaking of statements, defend them. Making claims in papers is no good unless you can prove them. If I claim that I, the author, am actually an alien you would say I’m insane. I have no evidence to prove my extraterrestrial nature. Use declarations mentioned above to lead into evidence that can explain your statement. Never assume that what you say is self-evident, unless your name happens to be Thomas Jefferson.

When writing any sort of paper, your argument is not going to be airtight. There are no exceptions to this. You are human and your logic is flawed. Build a bridge and get over it. Find out what your biggest problem is in your argument and admit it. Admitting that there are holes in your idea will allow you to conquer counterclaims and arguments defending them. This way you address the problems that may be brought up and still admit your failings. A little bit of humility goes a long way.

Don’t write like you speak.

Lastly, do not write like you talk. Go back through this article and reread it. Do you honestly think that I talk like this in real life? I most certainly do not. My grammar is poor. I swear (sorry Mom). I don’t use complete sentences. My vocabulary is significantly more limited, especially considering some of my company.

When you write, you are writing to impress. If you happen to talk something like this in real life, then by all means please write how you speak, but for most of us we will have to adjust our vocabulary, our sentence structure, and our topics to the subject at hand. Your topic should be expressed with words in a manner that may seem at times arrogant, snobbish, or posh. If you sound slightly condescending, that’s okay. Professors would rather you explain minutia and use proper tone than leave out important material or misrepresent the topic.

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