Luckily, when Core is well taught--and Drs. Hilliard and Leary are talented teachers--taking the course and writing about the texts can be a transformative event in a student's intellectual development. Below we have included several excellent pieces of advice from these two professors. Dr. Leary also credits Dr. Joan Bak and Dr. Hugh West for their guidance and good advice as he crafted his guidelines.
Though every faculty member has slightly different expectations for what makes a paper effective, even excellent, following the advice here will help you avoid common mistakes in Core and other writing-intensive courses.
Joe Essid, Writing Center Director, November 2006
Dr. David Leary on Understanding Assignments:
1) Be sure you understand the question; then focus on it and only it. Review your first draft very carefully to be sure you have stuck to the topic and answered the question. If you haven’t, you should revise and tighten your essay.
2) Don’t be determined to say all that you know. Answer the question. Leave out anything that is extraneous. You should re-read the question after you have written your first draft, just to be sure that you have stayed on target.
Dr. Raymond Hilliard on Writing Introductions:
1) It’s a “thesis paragraph” that lays out the argument of the essay as a whole. Notice that the argument of the essay could not be adequately stated in a single sentence. Students coming from high school often believe that the main argument in a paper must be articulated in a single sentence. I get students to think in terms of thesis paragraphs, which allow them to articulate complex arguments.
2) The writer “hits the ground running” in the first sentence, orienting the reader by indicating the authors and the books she is going to focus on and “attacking” the assigned topic directly. Students coming from high school usually don’t know how to begin a paper based on argumentation and analysis. An uninformed student would be likely to begin a paper on this topic by writing a set of trite generalizations about mothers in the abstract (“Many a successful human being has been guided by a strong and loving mother.”). . . . Moreover, students who begin a paper with such statements usually end up stating a very thin or superficial argument at the end of the first paragraph, and this usually goes hand in hand with a superficial overall paper. And the writer fails to provide a detailed conceptual map to the paper as a whole—which is one important function of an introductory paragraph. 3) The first paragraph should not simply re-state the assigned topic. . . . The thesis paragraph should develop an argument about (an understanding of the significance of) the topic—it should, in effect, present the conclusions that the writer has drawn as a result of his or her analysis of the two texts in relation to the assigned topic.
4) The introductory paragraph lays out all of the main points to be developed (explained in detail) in the rest of the paper. I urge students to be self-conscious in thinking about the main concepts or ideas that the paper is built around. These ideas—and the relationships between them—should be clearly specified in the introduction. 5) Dr. Hilliard adds that with a strong introduction that accomplishes these goals, writing the rest of the paper can be very easy. He warns that after completing the paper, however, the writer should reflect on what the introduction says. New ideas arise during the writing process, and the introduction may require revision to reflect these changes.
Writing the Body of an Essay:
1) Dr. Leary advises, "Be sure the body of your essay lays out the argument and evidence for your thesis or main point in a logical manner, paragraph by paragraph. Note that I emphasize argument and evidence: An essay shouldn’t simply describe or narrate (e.g., it shouldn’t give a plot summary or an overview). It should analyze, back up its claims, and end up persuading your reader."
2) He also notes, "Be sure to provide sufficient evidence for your claims. Evidence can take two forms. You can actually quote passages or you can simply refer to them. (In the Core Course, you will be expected to provide apt quotations to back up central points, but you can occasionally refer the reader to particular passages without actually quoting them.) In either case you should indicate page numbers in the manner stipulated below."
The Structure of Paragraphs:
1) Dr. Hilliard states that "The first sentence in each paragraph states the main point to be developed (explained in detail) in that paragraph. This sentence almost always presents a new step in the overall argument."
2) He also advises his students that:
The last sentence in each paragraph is a “clincher” sentence that drives home the point that has just been developed and that, ideally, points toward the main point or idea in the next paragraph. In other words, tell students that they need to create explicit links or bridges between the various steps in their argument. These bridges typically appear in the first and/or last sentences in each paragraph. A bridge should be “conceptual”—that is, it should link an idea or point just explained to the idea or point that’s coming. A bridge should not be purely mechanical or list-like (“Another important quality of Pilate’s is her . . . “). When a student establishes convincing conceptual links between all the parts of a paper, he or she demonstrates that s/he has understood how the various concepts that make up the topic, or that are part of the two texts, fit together.
Writing Conclusions:
1) Dr. Leary writes, "Be sure the concluding paragraph brings your essay to a fitting close – it shouldn’t simply stop. If possible, your conclusion should end with a nice 'twist' or 'punch' that goes beyond what the reader expects but is consistent with all that goes before."
Advice for Revising:
1) In addition to the traditional advice to catch small errors by reading slowly and aloud, Dr. Leary recommends that you "Be sure you take the time to change a decent draft into an excellent essay by re-reading and revising earlier drafts, over and over, until the language of the essay flows naturally and says exactly what you want it to say."