PYRONS EASY GUIDE TO WRITING ESSAYS Darden Asbury Pyron Florida International University Miami, FL 33199 1.

Make a Thesis or Argument Every paper must make an argument. To make an argument, you must have read and analyzed the material and formed your own judgments about the facts. A thesis gives form. It functions like a blueprint does to an architect or builder. It provides the plan for your construction and allows the reader a standard by which to judge your intentions. You should be able to summarize any essay you write in a single paragraph or a sentence or two. 2. Avoid Description Descriptive papers assume the truth of the subject matter you present. A thesis-oriented paper takes a different tack. It assumes a variety of sources, often contradictory. You must weigh and evaluate the material and make the most plausible conclusion. 3. Introductory Paragraphs Avoid fluffy, flowery introductions. Make your introductions clear statements of what you intend to argue and how you intend to do so. Consider even the possibility of numbering the parts of your argument. Like this: Pericles dominated fifth century Athens. He exerted his influence in four major ways. . . . Then enumerate those ways. 4. Topic Sentences If the whole paper begins with a statement summarizing what should follow in general outline, each paragraph should begin with something comparable: a clear statement of the object of the individual paragraph. You begin with a good topic sentence and the rest of the paragraph sustains that lead with hard fact, evidence, and proofs. This defines the nature of the good paragraph. 5. Hard Evidence And Proofs You must always present evidence to support any argument or thesis you might make - whether of the whole paper or in individual paragraphs. Rely on the texts. Use quotations from the readings to prove your case. Use and cite the material upon which you base your writing. Topic sentences or generalizations not followed by supporting evidence have no place in these exercises.

6. Personal Judgments As per #5, these papers concern facts and the ordered arrangement of data. Whether you like those facts or not has little to do with good writing. In the absence of hard evidence, your personal opinion cannot advance your thesis. For this reason, never use the first person singular. By the same measure, the coupling of the first person with such verbs as feel and believe grossly compounds the error. Page 2 7. Argument by Analogy/Rhetorical Questions Beware of analogical arguments because what might seem an irrefutable reference to one person might seem false to another. At the same time, you have factual evidence enough without resorting to analogies. The same arguments discount rhetorical devices for proving a case as well. 8. One Sentence Paragraphs If the ideal paragraph presents a case (via a topic sentence) and then proves it with the data that follows, one sentence paragraphs fail by the very definition of the term. The usage possesses great popularity in contemporary newspaper writing, but it is the literary equivalent of advertising videos. Use them only, if ever, as a startling literary usage. 9. Keep Paragraphs Simple Aim for one major theme per paragraph. Dont crowd. 10. Extraneous Material In researching a topic you will find much that fascinates you that falls outside your thesis. Does the material not fit your thesis exactly? Lop it out. Either that or alter your thesis or make allowances within your topic sentences for such otherwise exceptional data. 11. Inter-Paragraph Logic Your paragraphs should flow in a natural, orderly fashion from one to another. The collection of your topic sentences together should provide a reasonable outline of your entire paper. 12. Intra-Paragraph Logic

The sentences within your paragraphs should also flow from one to another. Consider this way of connecting them in a natural flow. Sentences should imply questions like How? When? Why? or Where? During Jeffersons administration, the United States attained a new synthesis of politics and culture. This sentence implies all of the above questions except perhaps when. What follows, then, should answer these implied questions. Sometimes I write double slash marks when sentences fail to connect with each other. 13. Vary the Sentence Structure Within Your Paragraphs Try short sentences alternating with longer ones. Avoid using the same subject sentence after sentence. In some papers this might be a real test of your imagination, for example, when you chose a biographical subject, how do you avoid making Pericles or Jefferson the subject of every sentence? 14. Write Complete Sentences Each sentence must possess at least a subject and a predicate. Please!

Page 3 15. Keep Subjects and Predicates in Close Proximity This increases the force and power of your writing by making the direction of your sentences clear. Sometimes I will write numbers on your paper to indicate the degree of your sin in this matter. At present 53 words intervening between the subject and the predicate holds the record. 16. Subject-Verb Agreement The subject and verb must agree in number - plural subject demands plural verb, singular requires singular. Attention to Rule 15 helps eliminate this problem. 17. Compound Predicates This usage weakens the force of your sentence. Exercise caution. 18. Verb Tenses Follow a consistent pattern. In most historical papers, too, you generally use some version of the simple past tense, not the present.

19. Avoid would As a Part of Your Predicate Most folks use it incorrectly so generally avoid. 20. Use Strong, Active Verbs Your predicates carry the action. The stronger the verb, the more forceful your argument. If you make strong arguments, however, you must use strong evidence, remember. 21. Avoid to be Constructions A to be verb connotes no action at all but rather being. By this measure, the usage violates Rule 20. This weakness produces others. For example, this construction usually necessitates the use of additional clauses of one kind or another. This, in turn, slows the action of your sentence. Consider this, He is the man who won the foot race, versus this, The man won the foot race. 22. The Passive Voice Argh! As a general rule never allow the passive in your writing. The race was won by that man. Ugh. Why not, That man won the race. 23. There Is/There Are/It is Ugh. Such verbs and predicates possess no intrinsic meaning. They defer both subject and action. They demand a string of clauses if they are to have any meaning at all. Usually we use such constructions when we are not sure what we want to say or lack clarity about a given action. There are a great many things that bothered the wise man. In this sentence, the weak subject and verb necessitate the that clause. Lop out all three and the sentence makes sense on its own: A great many things bothered the wise man.

Page 4 24. Pronouns Make sure the pronoun reference is absolutely clear. Consider the following a violation of this rule: In Byrds History of the Dividing Line, he envisioned nature as the perfect state of order. No go, rather try: In History of the Dividing Line, Byrd envisioned nature. . . . The following doesnt work either: The next day Athens changed their mind. Instead try, The next day, the Athenians changed their mind.

25. Use As Few Words As Possible to Convey Any Idea Be direct. Strive for irrefutable data presented without folderole and fluff. The walls of Athens gave her all the protection she needed. The Athenian walls protected the city well. Here you exchange 7 words for 11. Whenever you see figures such as 7:11 I am indicating that you might cut your words by that ratio. This same rule applies in the case of Rules 22 and 23. Omitting there are. . .who constructions eliminates 3 unnecessary words off the top; avoiding the passive voice saves two words. 26. Tag-on Clauses and Run-on Sentences Your subjects and predicates should carry the weight of your logic and argument. Tag-on clauses dilute that force. Consider the following tangle: Orestes won the Olympic foot race that was run in the 47th Olympiad that featured the most notable win of all time when Alcibiades entered seven chariots winning first, second, and fourth places. Argh. This student writer crowds too much into one sentence. Simplify. Break it up. 27. Beware Even Of Prepositional Clauses See Rules 25 and 26. 28. Concessive Clauses Beware of clauses beginning with although, however, while, even but. These tend to throw the main line of your sentence off course. Use them, but too many compromise your thesis and make your writing jerky and insecure. Even if you use these terms, never open sentences with them. 29. Negatives and Negative Clauses Try to find a positive expression of an idea. He did not succeed in winning the race finds much more forceful expression in He failed to win the race or, better still, He lost the race. Note, too, as per Rule 25, you reduce the number of words without changing the meaning. Consider the greater clarity of the following change: Fear of revolts forced the Spartans into an entire reconstruction not only of their political system but of their culture as well versus Fear of revolts forced changes in the Spartan political system and altered Spartan culture as well. 30. Colloquialisms, Cliches, and Contractions Avoid all. Sometimes I might write talky on your papers; this constitutes a common error. Aim for concision and austerity in your prose. Write formally, avoid informality. Colloquialisms, cliches, and contractions all suggest informality.

Page 5 31. Possessives Get this right. The possessive of Pericles is Pericles not Pericles. Dont confuse its and its. Gods will is the will of one god; Gods will equals the possessive of more than one divinity. 32. On the other hand. . . . An especially overworked phrase. Conversely serves better. If you use it, make sure you include the first hand before you have another. 33. The fact that. . . . Another filler expression you should never use. 34. Parallelism in Sequences If you use a sequence, make sure its parts compare. He ran the race, fished the stream, and herded cattle provides a good example of parallelism. The parts must agree. 35. Exact Usage Find the exact word to carry the full weight of your meaning. If you doubt the proper meaning, use the dictionary or thesaurus. If you see the figure WW, you have used the WRONG WORD. 36. Idiot Words Please avoid such dopey, pop usages as lifestyle, feel, factor, finalize, and their ilk. To repeat, you aim for formal presentations in your writing exercises, not blurbs on MTV. 37. Spelling Is it necessary to elaborate this rule? 38. Repetition Check your prose. Make sure you vary your usage. Avoid using the same words or expressions to excess. 39. Adjectives and Adverbs Steer clear of both. Make your subjects and predicates carry the load of your sentences action, not the modifiers. They clutter your prose. The poor man ran very fast to answer the door lacks strength beside The wretch raced to the door.

Also adverbs especially prejudice your writing. Beginning a sentence with such horrors as Unfortunately, or Surprisingly, for example, attempts to influence the reader without offering a real argument. They raise more problems than they answer: Surprising to whom, the reader might ask; how unfortunate, the reader grumbles. Page 7 40. Titles, Books, Articles Underline book titles; put article titles in quotation marks. 41. Block Quotations Block indent quotations and use no quote marks only if the reference includes 50+ words. Otherwise, include the quotation within the body of the paragraph. Page 6 42. Quoting the Text Quotation to integrate into the text: Life is endlessly exciting. (Margaret Mitchell, Letters, p. 10) Option A: Margaret Mitchell said: Life is endlessly exciting. (Margaret Mitchell, Letters, p. 10) [Colon] Option B: Mitchell insisted that life is endlessly exciting. (Margaret Mitchell, Letters, p. 10) [Integrate into sentence.] Option C: According to Margaret Mitchell, life was endlessly exciting. [Paraphrase part and integrate into the sentence.] Option D: Margaret Mitchell always insisted that life was exciting. [Paraphrase entirely.] Watch your verbs especially in introducing quotations. Aim for strong, descriptive, but above all, accurate language; mentioned, believed, or felt, for example, hardly work in any circumstance, but they prove especially inept leads in introducing most quotations. Think instead, declared or other such aggressive words.