Back to Basics, the Basics of Writing

When you build a home, you need a good foundation. The building blocks and boards are place on the framework, then some modern conveniences are integrated such as plumbing, electricity, and gas, then a nice finish is applied to make it pretty on the outside.

When you write a paper you need a good foundation too, good spelling and grammar skills are essential, too many errors in this department distract from the message that you are trying to convey. A strong vocabulary is required to do the necessary research, to understand what the ‘experts’ are saying, and to be able to express exactly what you want to say fluently.

Your building blocks and boards are your sentences, then paragraphs. The sentences should vary in length, so as not to become mundane, thus keeping the reader’s attention and cognitive thought process flowing. They can be fast, short, and exciting. They can be long, thorough and in great detail. According to VanDam (2008), “It is important to think of your reader and structure your paragraphs accordingly. Look at how they appear on the page. Paragraph lengths should invite the readers in, neither seeming too daunting to read through nor appearing incomplete (p.45).” Each paragraph adds tone to your writer’s voice and should have rhythm appropriate with the topic.

A paragraph helps organize your thoughts and each point that you would like to bring out is the topic sentence for that paragraph, supported by the other sentences in the paragraph offering details, emphasizing certain aspects or points of view. There should be a purpose and relationship to the topic sentence, it can be an introduction to the topic sentence, offer subtopic explanations, wrap up the thought as a conclusion, or a transition to the next paragraph. Paragraphs break up massive amounts of information into easy to follow logical thought patterns, allow stopping points for the reader to ponder your message, and cascade or buildup the thesis statement in some way

Your paper’s framework is the outline and notes you made during your research. You mount your paragraphs on the framework and fill it with supplemental information using citing from those with authority you found during your research. . The plumbing, electricity, and gas of the paragraph are the quotes that you use, interlaced into the framework. This establishes reader trust that you know what you are talking about , that you have done your research, and may help to convince them, if that is the purpose of your paper, of the truth of the message that you are writing about

Finally the finish is the layout of the paper, does it look good? In APA format specific guidelines must be followed in order for your paper to be accepted and to receive a good grade if it is a requirement of the course. The writer must do research to insure that they are following those guidelines and use the writing center as peer review and criticism about their papers. Getting back to basics with each paper that you write should be part of your own proofreading technique, details down to each sentence should be considered during the rough draft stages, and detailed paragraph analysis during the final drafts should be implemented.

Reference


VanDame, K. PhD. Kaplan Handbook for Writers 2nd Editon. 2008. United States. Cengage Learning.