QUICK TIP: Learn Concision From The Experts!

Having trouble with wordiness or repetitive phrases? One profession that's obsessed with word count and concision is journalism -- we academic writers could learn a lot from their attention to phrasing!

Here are a couple links from the Columbia Journalism Review on the subject of wordiness: Locution, Locution, Locution, which lists some often-used repetitive phrases, and The Frugal Writer, a piece that includes this wonderful primer chart on wordy phrases to avoid and how to correct them:

Take a closer look and try to apply some of these concision tips to your own writing, as you prepare to edit and complete your final papers!

QUICK TIP: No One-Sentence Rule for Your Thesis

by Ida Rosenthal

Crafting a good thesis statement can be the trickiest part of writing a research paper. It sets the stage for the rest of paper, so you want to make sure you get it right.

With that said, your thesis does not have to be exactly one sentence. Sometimes you need an additional sentence to convey your thesis fully. There’s no hard and fast rule when it comes to thesis writing! Just make sure it’s a clear and accurate statement of what your paper is about.

QUICK TIP: Give Me a Break!

by Ida Rosenthal

 

There’s a lot of information you have to include while writing that research paper. But, sometimes, you’ll finish writing a paragraph and realize that it takes up a full page. For the reader, it may be difficult to keep up when there’s so much information being thrown at them at once.

The solution is really simple: take a moment to identify natural pauses or sentences that talk about the same idea. Once you find that pause and cluster those sentences, you can easily split up the paragraph.

In short, don't be afraid of paragraph breaks. They’re essential for expressing clear and concise writing.

QUICK TIP: i.e. versus e.g.

by Chuck Sebian-Lander

Never quite sure what these Latin abbreviations mean when they pop in things you read (things like, say, one of our blog posts) or want to give them a try yourself?  Here's some simple definitions to help you keep them apart: i.e. (id est) means "that is" or "in other words"; e.g. (exempli grata) means "for example."

Check them out in action: these two Latin phrases (i.e., i.e. and e.g.) can be fun to use, but there are also some simple English phrases (e.g. "such as," "in other words," or "meaning that") that can do the job just as easily!

For more examples and explanation, read this detailed post from the Grammar Girl, who, as we've mentioned before, can be an invaluable writing resource.

Enjoy your Spring Break!

The Writing Center's closed this week during Spring Break -- enjoy your time away from campus, but don't forget about us!  If you have questions or concerns about any papers or writing projects you're working on this week, take a look at our Article Index for a variety of resources to help out.

We'll return at noon on Monday, March 19. Once this vacation's over, be sure to give us a call at (202) 885 2991 to schedule your appointments for the second half of the semester.

All You Need to Know About Integrating Quotations

by Griffin Moar

The following is taken from OWL at Purdue University, which is an awesome source if you’re looking for more writing help!

Always remember to ICE:

• Introduce the quote,
• Cite your source,
• and Explain how it supports your idea.

Use a comma to introduce a quotation after a standard dialogue tag, a brief introductory phrase, or a dependent clause. For example: “He asked,” “She stated,” “According to Bronson,” or “As Shakespeare wrote.”

Use a colon to introduce a quotation after an independent clause.

• As D.H. Nachus explains, “The gestures used for greeting others differ greatly from one culture to another.”
• D.H. Nachus explains cultural differences in greeting customs: “Touching is not a universal sign of greeting. While members of European cultures meet and shake hands as a gesture of greeting...”

Put commas and periods within closing quotation marks, except when a parenthetical reference follows the quotation. When using parenthetical references, remember to put all punctuation after the closing parenthesis.

• He said, “I may forget your name, but I never remember a face.”
• History is stained with blood spilled in the name of “civilization.”
• Mullen, criticizing the apparent inaction, writes, “Donahue’s policy was to do nothing” (27).

Put colons and semicolons outside closing quotation marks.

• Williams described the experiment as “a definitive step forward”; other scientists disagreed
• Benedetto emphasizes three elements of what she calls her “Olympic journey”: family support, personal commitment, and great coaching.

Put a dash, question mark, or exclamation point within closing quotation marks when the punctuation applies to the quotation itself and outside when it applies to the whole sentence.

• Philip asked, “Do you need this book?”
• Does Dr. Lim always say to her students, “You must work harder”?
• Sharon shouted enthusiastically, “We won! We won!”

Topic Sentences versus Transitions

by Chuck Sebian-Lander

Trying to improve the way your paper moves from one body paragraph to the next?  The key is to understand and use two important sentences: the transition and the topic sentence.

Remember that each body paragraph should contain only one major idea or piece of evidence in support of your thesis.  The transition (the last sentence of a body paragraph) should end the point you're making in your body paragraph in the same way that a conclusion ends an entire paper: by restating or emphasizing the point of that paragraph.

The topic sentence (the first sentence of a body paragraph) introduces the point of your new paragraph.  You can find a great article on the topic sentence right here on the blog.  For even more effective topic sentences, combine our article's advice with words or phrases that refer back to your transitional sentence to form a link between your two body paragraphs (e.g., if you mentioned the "effect" of something in your transition: "This effect can also be seen...").  You can also use words from our list of transition words that signal contrast!

An effective paper combines transitions and body paragraphs to create a logical chain of evidence that supports a strong thesis.  Whether you're writing your first draft or revisions, work on these sentences to improve the flow and clarity of your paper!