Does Your Paper Say Anything?

The Difference Between
a Grammatically Correct Paper and a Well Written Paper
By Meredith Hubbard

     In this paragraph, it will be seen why writing is so important. It is the most important thing you can ever do. In addition, the ability to write is very important to all people. People think that writing is seminal for many reasons. Writing can serve several different purposes, all of which are important. Furthermore, these purposes prove that writing is, indeed, extremely necessitous to our society and to other societies on Earth. In conclusion, it is a skill that is very important.

     The paragraph above is grammatically perfect, but is it well written? The paragraph is redundant, though its focus shifts from a specific topic--writing--and ends up making a huge generalization about not only one society, but all societies. Oftentimes, too much focus is put on the grammatical elements of a paper without consideration to what the writer is actually claiming. Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing:

• Think about ways in which you can make a particular assignment interesting for you. The easiest way to write a bad paper is to not care about your topic.

• Allow yourself plenty of time to organize, research, and write; many students feel that the work they turn in is inferior simply because they did not devote enough time to the assignment.

• Start with a thesis that can be well developed within the page limit of the assignment. Short papers will need to support a very specific idea; longer papers may have a broader thesis.

• When reading over your paper, make sure that each paragraph supports your thesis. If there are places in which you seem to stray from your main idea, consider rewriting them.

• The most important tip to remember is that grammar is important mainly because incorrect grammar can distract the reader from the actual ideas in the paper. Language is complex; if every writer were to make up his or her own rules, reading comprehension would be a virtual impossibility. Grammar provides us with a uniform system of reading. Keep this in mind, but do not let it take precedence over the actual ideas in your work.

     The following are teachers' pet peeves, handy to know, though not actual rules. They are intended to keep students' writing free from distractions:

• Use of the "ambiguous it". (Ex: It is interesting to learn that writing can be fun.) Use words such as it, this, and that sparingly. Ask yourself what you are referring to when using these words.

• Too many transition words: therefore, however, nonetheless, in addition, etc. These words are necessary at times, but are often overused.

• General statements such as "there are many..." "it can be said..." should be avoided.

• Superlatives: always, never, best, worst, most, least (Ex: "Sonnet 30" is the best poem Shakespeare ever wrote.)

• Repetition of words, phrases, or even ideas. Develop your ideas with details and examples instead of restating the same idea, the same idea, the same idea...

• Obvious use of a thesaurus. As a general rule, if you are not comfortable with the meaning of a word, you shouldn't use it. Occasionally, a student will use a thesaurus to find a word that sounds impressive or "scholarly." If the word is used incorrectly, your point may not come across as you intended.

     So, how might the paragraph at the beginning of this page be rewritten in order to "say something" about writing? Evaluate your own thought and opinions about whatever your topic may be. If you try to convey these points honestly, as opposed to writing simply what you think is expected, you will be better enabled to state your ideas in a clear and cohesive manner. Here is how I would explain why I think writing is important:

     Writing is a way in which we can connect with others and with ourselves. With language, we can communicate as necessary for our daily activities, tell entertaining and compelling stories, and communicate our unique feelings and ideas. The written word makes all of these objectives possible even when no one is around to immediately receive our communication. The ability to write fulfills one of our fundamental needs as humans--the need to express ourselves. We must further develop our writing skills if we wish this need to be aptly met.