Dont Thesaurusize. The second trap into which many students fall is thinking that big words make good essays. Advanced vocabulary is fine if it comes naturally to you, and when used correctly in an appropriate context. After reading thousands of essays, admissions officers know which students have come up with difficult words by themselves and which have looked them up in a thesaurus. Show, dont tell . Too often, an essay with an interesting story will fizzle into a series of statements that tell rather than show the qualities of the writer.
Students wrongfully assume that the reader will not get it if they do not beat to death their main arguments. Thus, the essay succumbs to the usual clichs: the value of hard work and perseverance or learning to make a difference or not taking loved ones for granted or dreams coming true or learning from mistakes. Such statements are acceptable if used minimally, as in topic sentences, but the best essays do not use them at all. Instead, allow the details of your story to make the statement for you. An example helps elucidate the difference: In a mediocre essay: I developed a new compassion for the disabled. In a better essay: Whenever I had the chance to help the disabled, I did so happily.
In an excellent essay: The next time Mrs. Cooper asked me to help her across the street, I smiled and immediately took her arm. The first example provides no detail, the second example is still only hypothetical, but the final example evokes a vivid image of something that actually happened, thus placing the reader in the experience of the applicant. Dont Get Too Conversational . Slang terms, clichs, contractions, and an excessively casual tone should be eliminated from all but the most informal essays. The following excerpt gives examples of all four offenses: You are probably wondering, what are the political issues that make this kid really mad? Well, I get steamed when I hear about my friends throwing away their right to vote.
The Essay on What makes these thesis statements good or un-good?
2007 SYNTHESIS PROMPT: Develop a position on the effects of advertising and synthesize at least three of the six sources for support. THESIS: Advertising certainly has positive and negative effects, such as informing the public or manipulating consumers, but the most important effect of advertising is that it fosters democratic dissemination of information and allows any institution or individual ...
Voting is part of what makes this country great. Some kids believe that their vote doesnt count. Well, I think theyre wrong. In an essay like this one, in which you must show that you take things seriously, your language should also take itself seriously. Only non-traditional essays, such as ones in the form of narrative or dialogue, should rely on conversational elements. Write informally only when you are consciously trying to achieve an effect that conveys your meaning. Dont repeatedly start sentences with I. It is typical for the first draft of an essay to have many of the following type of sentence: I + verb + object, for example, I play soccer.
If this kind of simple structure is used too many times in an essay, it will have two effects: your language will sound stunted and unsophisticated; you will appear extremely conceited — imagine a conversation with someone who always talks about herself. The trick is to change around the words without changing the meaning. Here is an example: Before: I started playing piano when I was eight years old. I worked hard to learn difficult pieces. I learned about the effort needed to improve myself. I began to love music.
After: I started playing piano at the age of eight. From the beginning, I worked hard to learn difficult pieces, and this struggle taught me the effort needed for self-improvement. My work with the piano nourished my love for music. Dont repeat the same subject nouns . When writing an essay about soccer (or leadership), do not repeatedly use the word soccer (or leadership).
The Term Paper on The Word “good” Has No Real Meaning
Critically assess the view that the word “good” has no real meaning (35 marks) Meta ethics looks at ethical language and helps us to identify whether the word good is meaningful. Analytical statements are sentences that are true because of the relationship between the subject and the predicate. Analytical statements are usually self-explanatory, e.g. all carnivores eat meat; we know what a ...
The repetition of nouns has much the same stunting effect as the repetition of I (see above).
Look for alternative phrases for your subject nouns. For soccer, you might use vague synonyms (the sport, the game) or specific terms (going to practice, completing a pass).
In the case of leadership, you could use phrases such as setting an example, or coordinating a group effort. Continue to Verb Tense EssayEdge Extra: Trimming the Fat The following words and phrases can usually be deleted from your essay without any loss of meaning. Just as an athlete needs to work off the fat in order to perform well, your writing needs to stay lean in order to pack more meaning into every sentence. Extra words rob your prose of energy by making your language convoluted and just plain fluffy (also known in some circles as bull or a stronger variant).
The following phrases are especially fattening because they invite passive constructions, those that employ the verb, to be. I believe that, I feel that, I hope that, I think that, I realized that, I learned that, in other words, in order to, in fact, it is essential that, it is important to see that, the reason why, the thing that is most important is, this is important because, this means that, the point is that, really, very, somewhat, absolutely, definitely, surely, truly, probably, practically, hopefully, in conclusion, in summary.
Also look for subtle redundancies of the X and Y variety. Only a few examples of the many are provided below. In each pair, the two words mean nearly the same thing — so why write both? Such redundancies show the reader that you are not thinking about what you are saying. And, the more clichd phrases make your essay sound like all of the others. Instead of resorting to these sinister twins, think of more precise language, words that really pin down your unique experience. Hard work and effort, teamwork and cooperation, dreams and aspirations, personal growth and development, determination and diligence, challenges and difficulties, objectives and goals, worries and concerns, love and caring..
The Essay on The Goal Focus Important Order
"THE GOAL A PROCESS OF ongoing IMPROVEMENT" The Goal is a book that focuses on the theory of constraints in order to improve production. Eliyahu Goldratt brings us a pleasant story that shows the important strategies that any manager or CEO should follow to be successfully productive, and capable of reaching their goals. The book easily explains and demonstrates many attainable ways for any human ...
