HOW TO WRITE A BETTER ESSAY
Anthropology -- all classes
Prof. Varisco
 
 
Writing is an essential skill that must be learned through practice and by paying attention to details that can help you improve your writing abilities, no matter what your comfort level. Although you are signed up for a course in Anthropology rather than English, your written presentation will influence your success in this and most other courses in the social sciences and humanities. Here are some suggestions to help you improve your writing of essays for this course.
 
1. If you do not yet own a small and user-friendly book with the rules of English grammar, it is worth investing in one. There are many out there. A cheap and friendly guide through our often contorted English usage can be found in: Margaret D. Shertzer, The Elements of Grammar, N.Y.: Collier, 1986. Also, have access to a dictionary; most word processing programs have dictionaries built in.
 
2. Before you actually "write" your essay, try the following. Take a blank sheet of paper (pretend it is the tabula rasa of your own mind) and map out the following in outline form:
 
PURPOSE:
[What is the main point I am supposed to write about?]
[What are the main points I wish to communicate?]
TEASER:
[Is there a quote, amusing or interesting example, or provocative statement that will immediately grab the attention of the reader? Try to entice the reader to want to go on.]
ARGUMENT:
[What is the most basic background information I need to know in order to develop my specific argument?]
[What is the flow of my argument? How can I build on each point (like building a lego castle) so that the argument fits together rather than simply mixing a bunch of points like a Chef's salad from a diner salad bar?]
[What specific examples are relevant to illustrate or prove points in my argument?]
[What kind of information would argue against my argument and how should I counter this?]
CLIMAX:
[Having put together an argument with sufficient detail to get the idea across, how can I briefly summarize the main points of my argument?]
[What is the main point or idea I want the reader to have when he/she finishes reading my essay?]

 

Now, you can either use this as a reference guide as you begin to write, develop it more fully into a detailed outline, or put it aside and let your mind decide what to do as your write.
 
3. Each paragraph should try to cover a specific point or hold together in a logical way. Use short and concise paragraphs in your essay. The longer a paragraph is, the more difficult it is to communicate simple points. If you write a paragraph which extends for a full page, you are not being clear for the assignments in this class. Save the Guinness paragraph records for your next philosophy course.
 
4. Analyze rather then repeat or regurgitate what your read or hear. The best way to do this is to use information from more than one or two sources. You have the ability to make all kinds of mental connections, because you are a primate. Give your opinions and back them up with the reasons you have them. It is important to communicate how you came to an opinion or conclusion. Any idiot can have opinion, not everyone can explain why she/he holds that opinion.
 
5. Avoid long quotes. Only use a quote if it is provocative (to entice the reader) or if the wording in the quote is absolutely essential to your point. In your essays for this class, do not use quotes for descriptive information. The idea is for you to synthesize information in your own words.
 
6. If you take information from a source, that source should be listed in the bibliography at the end of your essay. There are a number of standard formats for bibliographic citations. I prefer that you use a basic format from Anthropology. Use the following as a guide:
 
BOOK:
Dork, Ima
1990 The Book of Dorks. New York: New Dork Press.
JOURNAL/MAGAZINE ARTICLE:
Dork, Ima
1991 Why I Like Dorks: A Reason to Buy My New Book. Journal of Dorks 32:69-79.
ARTICLE IN EDITED BOOK:
Dork, Ima
1992 I Still Like Dorks. In All About Dorks. M.I. Madd, editor. Pp. 34-45.
New York: New Dork Press.
 
If you wish to refer to a text in your essay, all you have to do is cite the author/date reference in parentheses. Thus you might write:
"In his influential study of our society, Dork (1991:71) said "I never met a Dork I didn't like." This is a vast improvement over his previous study (Dork 1990)."
 
7. When you finish your essay, always proofread it before you hand it in. If you are using a word processing program, try the spelling check. If you have someone else type it for you, make any needed corrections by hand.
 
8. Some of the more common grammatical and spelling problems in past essays include the following. Look over these for pitfalls to avoid.
 
SPELLING CONFUSION:
accept (to receive) vs. except (to exclude)
affect (to influence, to change) vs. effect (result [noun], to accomplish)
allusion (indirect reference) vs. illusion (error of vision)
among (use for more than two things) vs. between (use for reference to two things)
cite (to refer to) vs. site (a place) vs. sight (a view)
counsel (advice, advisor) vs. council (group or assembly)
leave (to depart from) vs. let (to allow, to permit)
lose (to mislay) vs. loose (free [adjective])
personal (individual, private) vs. personnel (staff of an organization)
precede (to go before) vs. proceed (to begin)
separate (not seperate)
their (this is for the possessive) vs. there (this is for place)
 
AGREEMENT BETWEEN SUBJECT AND VERB:
WRONG: "The points I have raised justifies my higher grade.
RIGHT: "The points I have raised justify my higher grade.
 
COMPLETE SENTENCES:
Unless you need to use the colloquial (how we speak) or you need to on rare occasion emphasize a point, all your sentences should be complete with subject and verb.
ALL THESE EXAMPLES ARE WRONG!!!
• "The big red tomato with green leaves and a long stem that looks like a cigar."

• "Across the road from the restaurant people never eat in on Fridays because pork is not kosher"

• "Another student who thinks you don't need to write in complete sentences to have well grammar."
 
 
WHEN TO CAPITALIZE:
There are lots of detailed rules, but try to remember to capitalize all proper nouns such as personal names, countries[New Guinea] , places [Middle East or Big Apple]. Also, in biological classification capitalize the genus but not the species name and place both in italics[Homo erectus].