Posts Tagged ‘standing out’

Reverse Psychology

Monday, July 12th, 2010

I occasionally teach creative writing; last week’s class involved an exercise where we took the “World’s Worst Poem” (according to Google) and fixed it.  One of the people noted that she was able to see many faux pas in the author’s style of which she, herself, was guilty.  We all had a look at the poem and, regretfully, each one of us could find at least one problem which was evident in our own writing.

This made me think: have you ever checked out some really bad academic writing?  If you do a quick search for “world’s worst essay”, you’ll get some prime examples.  (Caveat: the first link Google comes up with is an essay which has an extraordinary amount of inappropriate language, so don’t click on it if that sort of thing bothers you… no, I’m not giving you the link to it. )

This essay comes up in several places on the internet.  It looks like it was written by a 7-year-old who drank too much Red Bull.  It’s a good essay to read if you’re at all inclined to rambling, though; you’ll never want to ramble again.

Here is a college admission essay which is the epitome of pretentiousness and inappropriate vocabulary.  You’ll have to scroll down and click on “read more of this essay”.

It would be a good exercise to print out these two paragraphs and mark them up with a big red pen, as they break just about every rule of academic writing.

Have a look at some of these.  You may find some things which strike you as disturbingly familiar.

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Passive Ain’t Bad

Monday, June 7th, 2010

As an English tutor, I spend a great deal of time with people who don’t like English; the irony of this is not lost on me, so don’t worry about it.  :)  What I learn from my students is, mostly, perspective.

When you can’t get the right verb tense, that’s a major problem.  When you can’t keep i-before-e-except-after-c-and-several-other-seemingly-random-circumstances straight, that’s a minor problem.  When you use the passive voice, that’s not a problem.

They’re right.  It’s a new-ish “rule” in the schools: using the passive voice in a formal essay will lose you marks.

For those of you who are furrowing your brows, the passive voice is where the subject of the sentence has something done to it, rather than doing something.  For example:

  • The cake was made by me.  (passive)
  • I made the cake.  (active)

It seems simple, yes?  The active voice would be used when someone feels strongly about something, when the speaker would be loud and excited.  We tend to use the active voice for things like Teenagers break rules! or Penicillin saves lives! Now, people who are less-than-enthusiastic about teenagers or penicillin might say Rules are broken by teenagers, or Lives are saved by penicillin; neither voice will encourage nor discourage teenagers from breaking rules, or penicillin from saving lives.  It’s just a matter of how the author feels about that subject.

Children learn to use the passive and active voices naturally.  Listen to the next three-year-old that comes by, and you’ll hear an entirely active voice (”No, I don’t want that!”).  Listen to a 6-year-old trying to blame something on her little brother, and you’ll hear a lot of the passive voice (”The window got broken.  I think he was playing with a baseball.”)

You’ll find you naturally use the active and passive voices, too.  If you’re really interested in your subject - passionate about it, even - you’ll write in the active voice.  You’re determined to convince your reader to think the way you do, and so you slip into persuasive mode.

I think what the anti-passive rule is trying to do is to make the writer appear animated.  They’re docking marks from people who aren’t thrilled about their subject.  In this case, I can see their point.

What?

Yep.  If you’re gonna do something, you should do it well.  Admittedly, if you asked me to write about something scientific or mathematical, I’d have a hard time mustering the enthusiasm… but I’d try.  I wouldn’t write a paper about a new medical technique that might, possibly, one day, save a life or two; I’d write about a new medical technique that would save a life.  If you asked me to write a paper comparing Austen and the Bronte sisters, the Austen section would be written entirely in the passive voice, and the Brontes would be in the active (’cause the Brontes are awesome!)

So, no, passive voice isn’t bad.  In fact, it’s great.  When one is trying to explain something gently, softly, the passive voice is invaluable.  The trick lies in knowing when your reader needs to be lulled, and when the active voice needs to whack them into action.

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Adios, Strunk and White

Monday, March 15th, 2010

Adios, Strunk and White, by Gary and Glynis Hoffman

There are three chapters in this marvellous book: Style, Form, and Critical Thought and Research. After the first column of the Table of Contents, it gets interesting. The sub-chapters for Style are Flow, Pause, Fusion, Opt and Scrub. Form contains Time Warping, Encircling, Layering and Bursting. Critical Thought and Research involves Peel, Filter and Press.

I suppose if the titles don’t amuse you, you’re not likely to be interested in the rest of the book. This book is about writing well, and it doesn’t deal with the basics. These are the things you might consider after you’ve finished writing your paper, when you’re ready to polish it into something beautiful and gleaming.

My favourite sub-chapter is Scrub. Within Scrub, you can choose Facial Pack, Metal Mask or War Paint. Scrub is about purging your writing of euphemism, offensive language, and weak or indirect writing; you can choose your preferred level of attack. (There are papers when a Facial Pack will be sufficient, but other occasions warrant full-on War Paint. Being of obsessive personality, I do like the idea of War Paint.)

Are you ready to give up on formulaic writing, ready to branch out into brilliant thought and communication? This book is likely to be on every library shelf, waiting for you to pick it up. You might even find it in a second-hand store. Personally, I believe it’s worth every penny, even if you have to buy it new.

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Awesome Vocabulary

Monday, March 1st, 2010

When my children were small, I didn’t think I’d ever use a multi-syllabic word again.  All those years of education were a complete waste of time, effort and money, I thought.  When my infant son was given a toy tiger, I named it “Robespierre” because I figured it would be the only time I’d ever get to say such a big word, much less contemplate French politics.

I was visiting with my parents this past weekend, and my father and I were talking about writing.  He said he used to look forward to writing reports for lawyers and judges - rather than for his co-workers - because he was not limited to readers with a Grade 8 comprehension level.  I concur: while I absolutely enjoy all of my students, reading the work of certain students is always more pleasurable than reading the work of others.  It has something to do with subject matter, of course, and sentence structure, but mainly I like their vocabulary.  Not the vocabulary to required to discuss their particular topic, but the vocabulary which is used to explain it all to me.  I like to be kept thinking.

As a student who is making an effort to improve their writing (I know you are or you wouldn’t be reading this), it behooves you to constantly increase your vocabulary.  You will never know every word there is in the English language.  At some point, it may be a word like apologia or progenitor (used properly, of course) which makes or breaks your reader’s opinion of your writing.

So, how does one go about increasing one’s vocabulary?  A dictionary, obviously; choose one scintillating word per week and incorporate it into your writing whenever possible.  A thesaurus is also a good thing; stop using nice and use genial instead.  You can also waste hour after hour on addictive games like Free Rice.  SAT preparation quizzes like this or this are also good.

This doesn’t mean you have to start sounding like a walking reference book.  The point would be to have a wide vocabulary at your disposal so that you are able to communicate with your reader at their level, whatever that level may be.

Have fun on Free Rice. :)

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Roget’s Thesaurus

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

rogetsthesaurus

I’ve gone on about this before, but I was writing something a couple of weeks ago and realised exactly how fiercely I cling to this book while writing.  I did a few little experiments with my students, and have come to an absolute: one simply cannot write without a copy of Roget’s Thesaurus by one’s side.

Roget’s Thesaurus is not difficult to use.  Look  up the desired word at the back of the book (the back is arranged in alphabetical order, like a dictionary), and choose the appropriate meaning of the word.  You will be directed to the front of the book - by numbers - to a list of synonyms.

Roget’s is the best thesaurus, perhaps because it is the oldest.  Perhaps it is also better because it categorises the words by meaning, not just by synonyms.  For instance, Roget’s classification for the word letter comes under Correspondence (#592).  In The Mirriam-Webster Thesaurus, the synonyms for letter do not include the word correspondence, and vice versa.  As well, Mirriam-Webster’s definition of correspondence only refers to similarity, not written communication.  I have found all other thesauri to have similar problems.  They are not thorough, and they are not well-organised.

Now, Roget’s Thesaurus should - as should any thesaurus - come with a bright red warning on the cover: USE YOUR BRAIN.  One word cannot be haphazardly replaced by another.  Each word in the English language has a different meaning, even though some meanings may be similar.  For instance, if I said my student was upset by his low grade, you might feel sympathetic and give him a comforting pat on the back.  If I said my student was devastated by his low grade, you might feel the need to call in some professional support.  If you’re in doubt, double check the meaning of the word in a good dictionary.

What Roget’s can help you do is find the appropriate word to precisely express your meaning.   It will also, through consistent use, increase your vocabulary.  If you have a copy, I recommend taking it from your shelf and dusting it off.  If you don’t have a copy, hie yourself over to the nearest second-hand store and buy one.  Keep it close to you, and consult it whenever possible.

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How Do You Know It’s Good?

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Yesterday a student handed me a thesis to check (it was version 3 of the thesis).  It was good, so I handed it back and told him to go ahead with the introductory paragraph.  He stared at the paper for a minute and then asked, “How do you know it’s good?”

Hmm.  Well, there are the obvious requirements:

  • it answers the question and explains what will be proven
  • it is clearly worded and uses appropriate vocabulary
  • it has proper punctuation and grammar
  • it interests the reader

That last point is a fairly vague one.  Even after that, what makes it “good”?

Most of you who are reading this blog are in high school, college or university.  You’ve been reading since you were about 7 years old, and have read everything from the backs of cereal boxes to 500 year-old poetry.  You know when you like reading something, and you know when you don’t like reading something.  How do you know when you think something is good?

Many people who don’t enjoy formal writing try to reduce the process to a simple formula (e.g. introductory paragraph, point/proof/analysis, concluding paragraph).  While the communication of information may be achieved, does that make it “good”?  No, there is something less tangible which makes it “good”.

Try looking at two different but similar pieces of writing: the descriptions of two types of coffee, an Archie comic and Batman comic, two bottles of shampoo, whatever.  Compare the writing; which do you prefer?  Why do you prefer that one?  What is making one more appealing than the other?  Make a list of what you learn from this comparison.

Consider this list when writing academic papers.  Once you have fulfilled the requirements (i.e. followed the formula), what can you do to make the writing better?  If you prefered the vocabulary on the back of one box of cereal, try to improve the vocabulary in your own writing.  If you liked one journalist’s sentence structure more than another’s, try to improve your sentence structure.

While formal writing can be viewed as more… scientific than creative writing, it is still an art.  Above all, art is enjoyable.  You’ll know when your writing is “good”.

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Fresh Take On An Old Subject

Monday, September 21st, 2009

Some of the critics of academia complain there is nothing new to be found under the sun. They may be right but that doesn’t seem to stop us academic types.  :)

Actually, I don’t agree with the cynics. I think the human brain is so complex, both in its understanding and its ability to learn new things, that we can examine Earth and its inhabitants for eternity and never get bored. My opinion is that there may, indeed, be nothing new under the sun but there is always a new way of looking at the old stuff.

In Blackadder Back and Forth, Blackadder punches William Shakespeare, saying “That is for every school boy and school girl for the next 400 years!” One would think we’d get rather tired of studying Hamlet for 4 centuries; why aren’t we tired of it? Why do we still make students write paper after paper on it? Why did Kenneth Branagh make a 4 hour movie of it? No, it’s not a matter of sadism; when I ask my students to write a paper on it, it’s an attempt to make them look at it from a new perspective.

So, how are you going to make your paper stand out from the other 40 in your professor’s hand? How are you going to make your paper stand out from the other 6 000 000 which have been written before you were even born? Try some of these ideas:

· Use a different style. Use different words, a more exciting punctuation style, utterly brilliant sentence structure (all within the regulations of formal writing, of course). Someone has to read all 40 of these essays, and the one which does not read like robotic regurgitation will be refreshing.
· Choose a unique subject matter. If you have to select an Elizabethan play, don’t go for Shakespeare (for Blackadder’s sake, if nothing else); try Marlow or Kyd.
· Choose a unique perspective, a.k.a. “think outside the box”. When writing about WWII, most people write about what the Holocaust was and how it came about; one of my high school students wrote about how the economy of the previous 80 years had fuelled anti-Semitism and his thesis involved financial stress being the main cause of the Holocaust, not religious beliefs. Whether or not he was right is up for debate; the thesis was well-supported and his paper certainly stood out from everyone else’s “Hitler hated Jews” papers.
· Play Devil’s Advocate. If you have been assigned an opinion piece, take the point-of-view which will be least popular even if you don’t agree with it. Just be careful to consider the opinion of your audience, and make sure you won’t cause offence.

All of these ideas will involve reading. Know your subject well. You are not writing about anything which has never been written about before, so head off to the library and find the academic papers from 10 years ago, from 100 years ago, from 500 years ago. The old will not become new, but it may become more interesting.

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