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Students ' Advice for Students
Sharon Stanley ' 99 writes on..
Clarity

Many years ago , when I was just beginning high school , I believed that good writing meant
extremely complex , wordy sentence _________s . The more difficult a _________ was to
plod through , the more thoughtful and ________ it must have been . I packed my writing
with passives , run-on sentences , and extremely convoluted _________s to avoid any
possibility of an overly colloquial or simplistic tone. In my years as a Writing Assistant , I
have seen that many Dartmouth students share this concept of writing. But forcing your
readers to reread a _________ six times before they understand its implications is neither
impressive nor particularly intelligent . Above all , I find that student papers could be most
improved by making their writing more simple , direct , and active .

Avoid unnecessary passives.

Do not begin sentences with unwieldy and empty phrases like ' it is imperative. '

Sentences should get right to the point without weighty prefacing.

You should make the primary actor the subject of the sentence wherever possible .

Don ' t rely on long lists of ____s all prefaced with the same phrase.

_________ clich& eacute; s and other trite expressions from your writing.

You should also avoid opening sentences with ' it is ' or ' there are . ' These expressions rarely
add anything to the meaning of the sentence.

When writing papers , you should continually be asking yourself if you can make your writing
any clearer. Using overly complicated _________s to affect a formal or detached tone
simply makes your paper more dull and plodding. While a lively paper certainly varies
sentence structure from time to time , it should not be so convoluted as to bury the central
argument in weighty but unnecessary rhetoric. Ultimately , your readers should find your
writing clear and direct.
Ross Wilken ' 99 writes on

________ and the importance of starting early

I had always placed great emphasis on research , planning , and outlining before writing , but
I often found myself writing my papers only a night or two before they were due . When I
finally realized the importance of writing drafts in advance to allow my mind to work through
the ideas and discover new ones , and to allow feedback from professors and my peers whom
I asked to read my work , a great deal of the anxiety related to paper writing disappeared.
Because I allowed myself time to think , I became more and more confident that I was turning
in pieces of quality work.

Ashley Brown ' 00 writes on

Writing as a process

Its hard to give advice on writing when I still don ' t feel proficient myself , but I think maybe
that ' s the most important advice to give . Writing is a process ; . . you will never ' master '
writing. .

There ' s no point when you stop improving . I think this idea is important to remember when
writing an ______ment for class . People often get stuck into trying to write a perfect paper
, and agonize over things such as word choice and style. They also try to write it perfectly the
first time around . In my experience I ' ve found it easier to go through a process . The most
important parts of the process for me are brainstorming and organization.

Brainstorming is important because it frees you to write down all the ideas you have and not
worry about them being stupid. I think that a key problem with the way that I personally used
to write was that I never would brainstorm. I would try to write a paper from intro through
conclusion . This would make more work for myself often in the end because I wouldn ' t
realize what I really wanted to write about until I was almost done . Its important to put all the
brainstorming ideas down on paper; once I visualize , I can organize better.

The second part of the process which I find most helpful is organization. Creativity has never
been a personal strong point , probably because I never took the time to develop it . I think
many people are in the same position , and worry because their _____ isn ' t creative
enough. One thing I ' ve realized is that while creativity is wonderful , if it isn ' t working for
you on a particular ______ment it is much more important to get your point across clearly .
Making outlines is the easiest way to make sure your thoughts are organized and ________ .
What works best for each individual differs , but as a writer with little confidence in my
__________ I find brainstorming and organizing two of the best _________s to ___ me
in writing.

Louisa Gilder ' 00 writes on

The importance of being personally invested in your writing

My freshman year , I never asked myself why I spent so much more time working on my
studio art projects than on my English papers. I would spend countless hours late at night and
into the morning laboring over a drawing , my hands and face covered with charcoal in the
basement of my dorm , listening to the rolling stones. I would agonize over them until I was
sure they were perfect , not being able to bear submitting something that was less than I knew
how to do .

My papers , on the other hand , I would write as quickly as possible , checking ' word count '
every _________ in case by some miracle I had extended the paper to three pages in the
last five sentences. I viewed them as irritating assignments and only put enough energy into
them to get by .

But when I thought seriously about this situation , I realized how ludicrous it was that I
viewed a drawing as a part of myself , but that I saw a paper as no more personal than a
multiple choice test. I have learned that it is important to view a paper as a work of art that
you are creating , and not the answer to a question your professor asked or a ___ that you
must complete . I found that when I ________ed my paper with this in mind , I became so
much more wrapped up in the outcome of the paper and how I put it together . It is worth it to
get excited about what you are writing about , to find an angle that you truly identify with or
want to think about in more detail. You will find that you are left with an essay or research
paper that you will be glad that you have written and that you will look back on it long after
you have forgotten what the ______ment was or the name of the class .

Leda Eizenberg ' 00 writes on

The value of outlining after you write

My favorite way to improve structure and ensure that my paper supports its thesis is to make
an outline AFTER the paper is written , based on the draft itself . I state the ______ , and
put this idea at the top of the outline. Then I go through the paper , pulling out the main ideas
and _____ examples from each _________ and use them to form the body of the outline.
From there , I get a general idea of the paper ' s movement , and each idea ' s _________
becomes clear . I then leave what is good , move what is out of place , and scrap what does
not fit. I find this process to be the best way to really improve a paper; it enables a writer to
step back from her work , which makes for a more objective , and thus better , critic.

Rita Mitchell ' 00 writes on

Clarity

My best piece of advice for students writing essays is to say what you mean. One of the most
difficult aspects of writing is getting what is in your head onto the page. So often , what we
imagine ourselves saying is not actually what comes across to our reader. One frequent result
is that we write long , tangly , confused sentences , like this one , trying to include as much
information as we can , saying it in as many different ways as we can , so that our reader will
somehow be illuminated with the understanding and logic that exists in our own minds. This
rarely happens in practice. Instead , the reader faces a confused and tangly argument with no
_______ point. While beautiful prose is certainly a wonderful stylistic ____ to any paper ,
it is useless if the organization and argument of the paper is lost in beautiful , but
meaningless , phrasing. SO , try to be concise . Use topic sentences. Try to stick to the
practice of 1 Idea 1 _________ . Read your paper aloud to see if you yourself get lost in
your prose. And read your paper to someone else if you can , to see if your argument
________s him or her in the way that it should .

Christina Krettecos ' 00 writes on

The writing process

Tutoring for the Composition Center , I ' ve seen many students struggle with similar types of
writing problems . When a student is stuck without an idea for a paper topic , I advise him/her
to take a piece of paper or sit down at a ________ and free write on the topic . Often , after
writing for awhile without a specific direction , a student finds an interesting idea or a general
direction for the paper. When a student has a paper jumbled with too many ideas , I suggest
outlining the main idea of each paragraph. By doing so , a student can see whether the ideas
follow a general pattern and how to better organize them . The most important piece of advice
I give to tutees is to ________ly revise , because writing is a continual process .

Kinohi Nishikawa ' 01 writes on

The importance of getting personally involved with your writing

Let ' s get this straight once and for all : creative , __________ , and enthusiastic writing
never travels down a one-way street . Too many of us think writing is an action that
necessarily isolates the subject of our criticism; that is , a lot of us tend to place our subject on
a pedestal and write about it from afar or , in many cases , from below. And while maintaining
a critical distance is essential for all types of writing , stepping back too far can be alienating
and frustrating for any writer , even the experienced one .

My best advice is to _________ a ' dialogue ' with your subject . Ask questions ; relate the
subject ' s ' life ' to your own ; argue , agree , laugh , and play with it ; exercise _________
and be sensitive to its ' feelings; ' and most important , understand where your subject is
coming from so that you know where to position yourself in relation to it .

Don ' t be afraid to ________ a conversation between you and your subject . This , in my
opinion , is the stuff good writing is made out of . Just because your subject doesn ' t ' respond
' doesn ' t mean that your reading audience isn ' t listening.

Nils Arvold ' 00 writes on

Things that work for him

If you ' re careful in your approach , you can do the majority of your ________ AS you
write. Which means you want to spend the time on your ideas and sentences as you work , not
after you ' ve thrown a big mess of tangled and inarticulate ideas all over the page.

Most people in college tell you to throw the 5-paragraph essay format out the window when
you arrive , but I think it has some value as a guide. The introduction should introduce a
specific aspect of a work of literature very generally , with a quotation perhaps , and narrow to
a specific thesis statement that addresses not only thematics , but structure ( words , etc. . All
of the paragraphs should support the thesis , as well as almost all of the sentences , and each
paragraph should argue a specific point of the thesis. The conclusion does a little bit of
_______ and makes more general _______s that reflect on what has been argued.

That doesn ' t seem to be too formulaic it leaves a lot of room for ' personal _____ ' and
__________ to making an argument and yet it doesn ' t seem too far off the standard guide.
Even if you are only writing about an ______ ' s themes , always pay strict attention to
detail , namely individual word/phrase choices . This means quoting apt phrases frequently in
your paper , if the particular words in that phrase are important in themselves. Writing a great
paper means READING very closely.

Julia Henneberry ' 99 writes on

Voice and tone , and the importance of reading other people ' s papers

I think the biggest problem I have had with my writing is ' voice. ' I would get into this
strange ' paper-writing mode ' where I ' d forget that the point of a paper is just to clearly
___________ a set of ideas. Long sentences. Complicated _________s . I ' d read the paper
out loud ( which by the way is always a good idea) , and it would sound awkward. Writing in
a _______ has really helped me to develop a voice. I know everyone doesn ' t have time for
a journal ( let ' s be honest , I don ' t have time for a journal ! ) , so maybe if we think about
what that writing does , we ' ll be able to benefit from it .

I think the casual tone of personal writing is what really helped me. I ' ve learned that this can
be applied to formal papers. While it is important to maintain a sophisticated and mature style
when composing for classes , it ' s also important to ' speak ' to your readers. I think that
keeping this in mind when writing and ________ can significantly improve a paper.

I ' ve also _______ed ___________ly from reading and critiquing other people ' s papers.
I ' ve become much more _____ of the overall structure of a paper , how to support a
______ , how to write introductions and __________s , and everything really ! I think
exchanging papers with classmates for a ' peer review ' is a fabulous way to learn about
writing and the writing process .

Lauren Allan-Vail ' 99 shares

A few thoughts on writing

I like to develop an outline and write my thesis sentence before I start writing the body of a
paper. This always helps me organize my ideas before I start writing , and helps me make sure
I know where my arguments are going .

I try to write about things that really interest me , that I ' m passionate about my enthusiasm
comes across in the language and keeps me inspired to write.

I try to remember that although the development of whatever argument I am making may be
perfectly clear in my own mind , it may not always be clear to the reader. I try to be as
specific as possible in my language so the reader doesn ' t have to guess about where I ' m
going as she reads.

And I come to the Composition Center as often as I can , even though I work there ! There ' s
nothing like getting someone else ' s ___________ on a paper that you ' __ so absorbed
in or sick of that you can ' t see where you need to work on things.

Andrew Berglund ' 00 writes on

The importance of clear logic

I like to think of a paper like a mathematical proof ( just think of high school geometry) . A
good paper proves its point because the reader never has an opportunity to question the writer
' s logic . First , the introduction makes a clear and reasonable claim. Then each sentence
follows _______ly from the one before , always with the goal of bringing the reader nearer
to the writer ' s conclusion . The same goes for _________s , chapters , sections , and
volumes. If each one follows from the one before , and logically flows into the next , then the
reader never has a chance to disagree. By making sure the reader is there for every step , then
the reader must be there at the end of the race !

Usually , the paper ' s point is obvious to the writer , so the hard part of writing is finding
every little logical step that will lead the reader to the same conclusion . I like to use an
outline to find those connections. Once I ' ve established the bare minimum the points that
must be made then I worry about how to present those ideas smoothly and eloquently.

Karen Meteyer ' 99 writes on

The importance of starting early

The best strategy for writing college papers is to start them EARLY . Even if I just create a
document on my computer desktop a ______ of weeks or ten days ahead , it gets me
thinking about the assignment that I will be writing. At this time , I try to jot down a few
sentences or even the first paragraph , and a rough outline of ideas. Then , as the days go by
before the paper is due , I fill in the blanks , writing a _________ or two at a time . I find
this gradual process lets me write a more well-thought and clear paper. I am continually
writing some , setting it aside , and then returning later to ______ and write more . Best of
all , I avoid last minute panic and those painful all-nighters.

In my revising stages I always print out a hard copy of what I ' ve written so that I can read it
out loud to myself. This helps tremendously in both finding errors and in assuring a clear and
__________ _____ throughout the paper. If at all possible , I get someone else to look over
the paper as well .

Last ________ : Tuesday , 12-Jul-2005 11 : 27 : 36 EDT

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