Introduction to Liberal Arts

Some suggestions for informal writing (and all writing assignments)

1. Keep in mind that written English is different from spoken English. Students frequently fall into “colloquial” or spoken English. While this is appropriate in some kinds of writing assignments (dialogue, or a creative piece), you should work on developing your skills in formal, written English. This can be done by either going back and editing a piece after you have written it, or by pausing and thinking as you write about word choice and sentence construction.
2. Pay attention to verb tense and make sure to keep consistent throughout the essay. Make sure that your subject and verb also agree – e.g. I am, you are, she is.
3. Proofread in order to catch missing words, awkward construction of sentences or ambiguous meaning. Editing – small revisions – can go a long way towards making your writing more elegant.
4. Choose your words or phrases carefully - write what you mean and mean what you write. Students often rely on clichés rather than stopping and finding a way to express themselves with precision. Try to vary your words to make the writing more interesting.
5. Watch run-on sentences. Students often string together ideas (again, because it sounds right in their head but isn’t correct, written English). Proofread and look for run-on sentences. Usually it is very easy to break them up into two or three sentences.
6. Pay attention to the transition between sentences and between paragraphs. The ideas should flow and one idea should follow meaningfully or straightforwardly from the previous.
7. Make sure the meaning is clear. If you use “it,” make sure the reader knows what “it” is.
8. Strive to begin, and conclude, an essay meaningfully. Often it can take a few sentences to get to the point – in that case, in your editing, cut the first couple of sentences. Try to avoid ending abruptly or with some unnecessary generalization – better to keep the conclusion sharp and to the point, while still taking care to have an actual concluding idea.
9. Watch unnecessary capitalization –  students often capitalize as a way of emphasizing a word or an idea; this is almost always ungrammatical and should be used sparingly.
10. Writing experts suggest that bad writing usually stems from a lack of ideas. Take the time before you begin writing to figure out what you think and what it is that you want to say.