Advice from Students on Good Writing

Recently, I asked my students: what barriers stand between good and bad writing? What prevents them from handing in quality work?

They had a lot of good insight.  Here are four problems that they identified: 

      

      Don’t overthink sentences:

Students think writing needs to be academic, ornate, and formal.  I have no idea where they got these ideas from.  As a result, their essays can appear like a well-meaning party guest in an ill-fitting tuxedo.  They flex the binder of their virtual thesaurus (AKA Google) and pose as a sesquipedalian.  They bury the subject and the verb in the back of the sentence.  Because, well, if they wrote it like they’d say it, it’d be too causal.   That may be true.  But balance is the key.

Don’t procrastinate:

Another group of students complained that they couldn’t write unless they had an intrinsic drive, so they would just wait until the last moment.  And it’s true.  When an assignment piqued their imagination, they shined.  When they were bored, they dulled.  Many of these students confessed that they loved to write, just not the assignments and tests they receive in school.  Well, that’s understandable. But, truth be told, most people have to work for a living.  If part of your job entails writing, well, it’s contingent on other people.   Just be grateful you’re not a technical writer for a lumber company…unless of course, you work as a technical writer for a lumber company.   

What’s the solution?  Set a specific time and space to write every day.  Or, as one student noted thoughtfully – do the least savory work first. 

Revise:

Many college classes overemphasize the final draft of a paper.  In my experience, many professors will agree to read early drafts if requested, but few require multiple drafts.  And this goes for both grad school and undergrad.  As a result, students never learn the steps or strategies to good revision.  My advice – ok, ok, it’s really Roy Peter Clark’s advice – start big, then go small. In other words, focus first on structure and organization and then edit for style and grammar.  On the first point, I always advise students to re-outline their paper AFTER they have completed a first draft.  This helps capture a big picture overview of their argument and content. It helps to determine a few key factors: order of thoughts, key elements, and superfluous content.  On the second point, I advise – again, not original to me – for students to read their work aloud – emphasis on loud -- and pay attention to the moments when they stumble or sound awkward.

Don't sweat page requirements:

When some students run out of stuff to say…they just talk till they fill the required space.  So, how can you expand your ideas without producing fluff?  Use examples to help provide context to difficult ideas or elaborate on the significance of your argument.  Use conjunctions to link and expand ideas: for, and, nor, but, etc.  Use subordinate clauses to add contrast.  These are sentences that start with although, nevertheless, unless, if.  

Are you a TA or a student?  Comment and share a note about your experience as a grader…or someone being graded.