Running head: INSIPID OVERVIEW

Rise Above the Insipid Overview

William P. Wattles

The University of Texas-Permian Basin

Rise above the Insipid Overview

I believe that you will value the ability to communicate over any other skill you learn in college. Further, effective communication tells me whether you have learned anything beyond some rote facts with a half-life of three weeks. Thus, I require papers in all my classes and oral presentations in many. There are two major problems with these requirements.

First, most students (including me when I was a student) hate to write papers. Many expect it and go through the motions as if they were passive victims of a cruel system. Others groan and procrastinate as if hoping I might change my mind. Still others just fade away, their only trace a drop slip. Whatever path they take, I have rarely felt the paper to be worthwhile or meaningful to the student.

Second, I have to read the papers. Reading 80 insipid overviews has made me question the sanity of English instructors. How do they do it? The interminable pile of boring papers seems to provide a certain justice: I them write them and they make me read them. We're both unhappy but we're even.

Whenever I think about improving writing I think back to graduate school, where I learned to write. I endured a bitter experience of criticism flying at me despite my efforts and nary an encouraging or instructive word. Many students will complain as I did about studying English in a psychology course. However, students who did not learn to write in English must learn in psychology. If they don't learn in college then they will have to learn at work, if they can obtain a job.

Actually, psychology may be an appropriate place to learn to write since the issue usually seems to be one of motivation more than access to the proper tools. We psychologists know about motivation. We can teach a motivated (hungry) rat all sorts of things, but an unmotivated (well-fed) rat learns little. I believe that most students are not motivated to write when they take freshman English, therefore, they do not learn. Learning will be more likely to occur when students are hungry to learn: when they have papers due.

Thus, my well-intentioned assigning of papers to teach students communication skills fails to accomplish my goal because it assumes incorrectly that they have the requisite knowledge. Improved communication skills will only come when learning and motivation are wed.

Motivation to Write

Cognitive-behavior theory provides a useful theory for understanding human motivation. Self-efficacy theory (Bandura,1977) states that three things are essential before an action will occur:

1. People must be motivated to perform the act.

2. They must have the ability to do it

3. They must believe that they can do it.

I want to encourage the production of interesting, professional-quality reports that make a contribution to knowledge. Thus, the first goal of this handout involves motivating you to apply the effort and caring necessary to produce good work. The most obvious incentive--the grade--matters least to me (and to you in the long haul); however, it motivates. Therefore, I am raising my standards. Because I am no longer a willing part of the intellectual slide into mediocrity, I'm going to tell you before you write your paper what I want rather than marking in red what you did wrong. I’ve listed some of the most important things to keep in mind in Table 1. Obtaining an A or B on a paper requires more than meaning well or trying hard: you have to write a quality paper.

Another reason to do it right involves the learning of a valuable skill. The ability to develop, organize and communicate ideas leads to success in school, on the job and in a myriad of other important aspects of your life. People don't inherit good writing; they learn and practice a skill. Time spent learning to write pays off. Imagine what life would be like if you knew you wrote well and looked at writing assignments at school as a way to improve your grade and at work as an opportunity to stand above the crowd. Finally, your paper can be more than a monotonous classroom exercise; it can be something for you to be proud of. Imagine having a scientifically supported argument of your own on a subject that interests you. You could send copies to your family and friends. You could publish it or modify it for publication. I could put it in the library to serve as an example for future students or pass it out in class for its information value. You could have it bound and put it on your coffee table. (Well maybe not.) Indeed, you can make this paper a meaningful experience; you won't regret it if you do.

Hopefully you now see writing as a worthwhile goal--you're motivated. If so, let us focus on the skills and belief in self that Bandura discusses. I hope that the rest of this paper and the resources in the Appendix will give you precise information that will allow you to write well and provide you with the confidence to try. This information should make it simple if not easy for you to garner an A. I urgently recommend that you read Writing With Style (Trimble, 1975). Read it once before starting and read it again as you write your paper. This short, readable book artfully discusses the very problems I see in nearly every paper I grade.

Writing Basics

Trimble (1975 p. 40) lists six fundamentals of writing:

1. A sure sense of audience

2. A well-defined thesis or position

3. A clear plan of attack

4. Solid evidence

5. Strong continuity of argument

6. A persuasive closing appeal

Checking and rechecking your paper against this list will improve your effort.

1. In this class write for your peers: educated people probably not familiar with your topic. Thus, you need to explain unfamiliar terms but not write at too basic a level. It will bore them. You the writer must try to win over readers and keep them from quitting your work to read something more educational or entertaining.

2. An interesting paper has a strong thesis. The papers I received last Fall were insipid overviews. Insipid means "without distinctive, interesting or attractive qualities" (Random House, 1982) and an overview refers to a survey, a boring imitation of the text. After thoroughly researching a topic that you chose because you were interested in it you should have some opinions about it. Those ideas of yours, not a dreary rehash of the research, belong in the paper. Be bold. Unwillingness to take a risk leads to mediocrity. To write an interesting, worthwhile paper you must have something to say.

3. Once you have settled on your thesis you have to develop a plan of attack. Trimble (1975, p. 49) provides an example emphasizing the importance of signposting the argument and a progression in persuasiveness. Signposting refers to clueing the reader that you are beginning another argument. I've done that here by using one of Trimble's six points to begin each paragraph. Progressiveness in persuasion simply means that you save your best argument for last.

4. Solid evidence utilizes your painstaking research. To support your argument or thesis you need data, facts and opinions of experts. Of course, you must cite your sources. Anything you obtained from another source must be credited to that source. While inexperienced writers often overuse quotes (Irmscher, 1976), judicious use strengthens an argument. Use quotes only if justified, and do not use them as a substitute for your own words. Choose data that best support your argument. Generally, a few good examples have more impact than a plethora of weak ones. Be kind to your reader--stress quality over quantity. Finally, be specific; instead of making trite generalizations seek concrete evidence to support your clearly defined argument.

5. Trimble also stresses the need for continuity. Each sentence and each paragraph must logically belong in relation to those before and after it. If the reader cannot follow your plan then it will not be effective. Transitions demonstrate a caring for the reader. It's like giving a friend a map to your house because you truly want them to find it. Don't miss the great list of conjunctive adverbs (Trimble, p. 52). Whether you want to convert the reader or simply garner a high grade, continuity builds good will with readers and keeps them from losing contact with your argument.

6. Your work needs a strong closing. You wouldn't expect a lawyer to forgo the closing summary, yet many of the papers that I grade have no conclusions or summary at all! They just stop. I find myself looking for a lost page. I theorize that people lack a clear thesis and the courage to support it, thus no closing. If you do not believe in your argument, why should the reader? Many readers will look at the closing before deciding whether to read the paper. Make the closing, your last chance at the reader, more than a rehash. Tell the reader what you believe and why you see it that way, erasing any lingering doubts. Without a strong closing your paper fails.

Other suggestions

This section consists of eight tips, from the recommended reading, that have been especially helpful to me. Use them to improve your writing.

1. Read books on writing. I have listed some recommendations at the end. If you find yourself reading a boring book, get a different one.

2. Read any good writing. Pay attention to the structure. When you read a passage you like examine it and determine why it works. Articles in Psychological Review provide excellent examples.

3. Write. Like any learned skill, writing requires practice. Writing letters to family and friends provides low-pressure training and an audience, and it makes you popular.

4. Use active verbs. Lanham (1981) calls "is" in all its forms "the weakest verb in the language" (p. 2), and suggests circling each one when you read your draft and then ousting as many as possible. If you write on a computer you can utilize the search command to root out all those effete verbs. Similarly, passive verbs also make for a boring paper. Williams (1989) suggests that you use action verbs, not those that merely describe that action exists. Active verbs have the additional advantage of making your prose flow while passive verbs force the reader to paddle back upstream to the subject to understand the sentence.

5. Make every single word count. Hemingway wrote to a friend: "It wasn't by accident that the Gettysburg address was so short" (Phillips, 1984, p. 77). People write verbosely to camouflage weak ideas. It amazes me how many words I can eliminate if I will spend the time and effort.

6. Revise, revise, revise. Elbow (1981) believes that writing consists of two incompatible processes: creating and revising. He describes a system that separates the two tasks, thus minimizing the struggle to get started while ensuring a good piece of work.

7. Write in the first person. The APA Publication Manual (1983) gives you permission to use this readable style and, while I don't require it, I recommend it.

8. Finally, have at least one other person read your paper. You cannot catch all your own errors, and listening to a critical second opinion will enable you to find errors as glaring to the reader as they are hidden from you by familiarity. Five people read this paper and each one made a unique contribution.

Conclusion

In summary, I believe you can transform your insipid overviews into readable works that you'll be proud of, I'll enjoy reading, and others can learn from. With some effort you can change the experience of writing from a loathsome task to a rewarding activity that you are good at. Hemingway described his craft as follows:

...writing is something that you can never do as well as it can be done. It is a perpetual challenge and it is more difficult than anything else that I have ever done--so I do it. And it makes me happy when I do it well. (Phillips, 1984, p. 15)

Whatever your goals in life, you will be hindered by an inability and reluctance to write. Educated people cannot avoid writing, and since you cannot escape it why not embrace it? Why not start this semester with your best paper ever?

References

American Psychological Association. (1983). Publication Manual of the American Psychological

Association (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-213.

Elbow, P. (1981). Writing with power. New York: Oxford.

Irmscher, W. F. (1976). The Holt guide to English. (2nd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Lanham, R. A. (1981). Revising business prose. New York: Scribner's.

Phillips, W. W. (Ed.). (1984). Ernest Hemingway on writing. New York: Scribner's.

Trimble, J. R. (1975). Writing with style. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Williams, J. M. (1989). Style. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company.

Appendix