Style and Concise Writing Lesson 20 Freewriting Activity

Style and Concise Writing Lesson #20

Freewriting Activity 1. Write your main claim/thesis of your essay on a loose sheet of paper. Make it complex (counterargument, stance, roadmap, etc. ) and arguable. 2. Move two seats to your left. 3. Read through and comment on that person’s thesis, challenging it with a thoughtful (but civil) counterargument 4. Repeat Step #3 three times.

(Quick) Reading Discussion 1. How is thesis prevalent or reiterated throughout the paper that you chose? 2. Would you say that this paper is cohesive? Why or why not? 3. How does the student integrate a source into his or her paper? Is it used for summary or analysis? Support of an argument or addressing a counterargument? 4. How does the conclusion of the paper reemphasize the author's main idea? How does it tie the whole essay together?

More Tips on Organization Keeping your argument in the foreground of the entire paper can involve: • Having a clear thesis statement at the beginning • Including topic sentences that refer back to thesis • Using key words and phrases that link sub-claims back to thesis • Repeating thesis in the conclusion

• Avoid repetition of the same words and phrases (i. e. don’t copy and paste parts of your thesis over and over again). • To give yourself various terms and phrases to choose from, list several different ways of expressing your main point (keywords). This will give you more words to choose from and add variety to your writing.

Separate Claims and Develop Each Argument • Expose the whole argument for the reader to review. • Don’t just state the argument and main claims; ALSO provide evidence for those claims, reasons why the argument matters, and explain its implications. • Address as many sides of the issue as possible.

• Avoid clumping arguments together or passing over key elements so quickly that one claim hides behind another. • Each idea needs to be fully developed and articulated. Give it its due diligence. • After giving the reader a sense of its main parts, shift your focus by focusing on each component (road map).

Returning to Counterarguments • Address and counter any counterarguments that you raise sooner that later (almost immediately more often than not). • Counter them at the beginning of the paper or throughout in each body paragraph or appropriate section. • Refute them by explaining why the opposing side is short- sighted, misinformed, or acting against the reader’s interest. • Don’t stack them up near the end of the paper; you’ll risk undermining your entire argument.

Establish Common Ground with the Reader • Don’t alienate your reader by using the wrong tone, using jargon they won’t understand, or making obvious claims (know thy audience). • You’re trying to persuade your audience, not win a debate against your opponent. • Make concessions by reminding your readers of points on which they’ll agree (but briefly)

Group Activity • Six groups: Using the source that you’ve been given, create the bibliography and endnote citation (cite the second page) for it using Chicago • Write both on a loose sheet of paper • Have one person write the bibliography citation on the whiteboard • Use your handouts or Purdue OWL for help

Freewriting Activity • Listen to each song • Take notes on the song’s style, tone, musical composition, etc. • Think about the effect that the song would have on its audience (e. g. what it makes the listener want to do) • Think about how they’re similar and/or different

• What is “style”? • How would you make your writing stylistic? • What kinds of effect would writing with style have on your audience?

The Secret to Style in Writing • There is none. • It all depends on the genre, rhetorical situation, the topic, the writer’s purpose, and the writer’s voice. • If anything, style is about content and clarity.

“Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret of style. ” - Matthew Arnold

• Say what they need to say, in as few words as possible. • Take out any extraneous words and information. • Don’t “mask” your writing with poetics; just say it like it is.

Concise Writing • Eliminates redundancy and improves clarity • To write concisely, ask yourself if certain phrases or words are necessary. If not, cut them.

Unnecessary Relative Clauses The smoke that comes from factories that are situated in the valley pollutes the air.

The smoke from factories in the valley pollutes the air. • While “that comes” and “that are” are relative clauses (phrases starting with “that” or “which”) describing the smoke and factories, they do not clarify the sentence.

Overuse of Prepositional Phrases University students are required by the university to make payments of their tuition fees before the time of their registration.

University students are required to pay tuition before registering. • “University, ” “tuition, ” and “registration” are necessary to the sentence’s meaning, but those nouns can be included without prepositional phrases (for example, “of their tuition fees, ” “into the building, ” or “under the computer”), which unnecessarily lengthen the sentence.

Extra Sentences The dog had spots all along its back. The dog showed its teeth and growled.

The dog with spots along its back showed its teeth and growled. • Since “the dog” is the subject of both sentences, you can combine the sentences with “and. ” Combine sentences to eliminate redundancy.

Lengthy Modifiers The accident occurred due to the fact that there was nothing to prevent it.

The accident occurred because there was nothing to prevent it. • Due to the fact that is an unnecessarily long modifier (descriptive phrase) that can be easily replaced with the word because.

Ineffective Repetition Before leaving on our trip, our family stopped at the store for some basic essentials, including a bag of apples. The apples our family bought for our trip were all small in size and tart in taste, though, so our family ended up not eating many of them on our trip.

Before leaving on our trip, our family stopped at the store for some essentials, including a bag of apples. They were so small and tart that we ultimately did not eat many. • The first sentence states that the apples were bought for the trip, so you don’t need to restate “apples” or mention their size and taste in prepositional phrases. “Our family” was replaced by “we” because the pronoun “we” clearly refers to our family in this example, reducing the repetition of “our family. ”

Unnecessary Nouns The nature of the crisis situation was such that it called for our immediate attention.

The crisis called for our immediate attention. • Neither nature nor situation adds any additional meaning to the sentence.

Avoid Using: Replace With: the reason is because due to the fact that despite the fact that in spite of the fact that regardless of the fact that it is important that has the opportunity to in order to for all intents and purposes because even though should can to for all purposes

“When a sentence is made stronger, it usually becomes shorter. Thus, brevity is a by-product of vigor. ” ― William Strunk Jr. , The Elements of Style