Writing Basics: The Internet - good news, bad news

As you develop your writing skills, you will go beyond writing about what you know and start writing about topics that require research. The good news: the Internet has become an excellent source of information and research. The bad news: It seems that you can find anything on the Internet. But keep n mind that just because you have found something on the Internet, doesn't mean that is true, or even that it is accurate. Always check the source of information that you find on the Internet and make sure that it is not just someone's opinion before using that information in your paper.

Also, be sure to follow the correct style for citing the source of information you find on the Internet. This basically involves giving the reader the URL where you found the information and the date that you retrieved the information. Style guides, such as APA, MLA, Chicago Manual, will vary slightly on the format of the citation. Just stay consistent with the style guide you are following when you write the essay. Consistency and accuracy are the important things about references and citations.

Writing Basics: Comparison-Contrast Essays

One common type of essay is the comparison-contrast essay. You can always find similarities and differences when comparing any two things, countries, people, and so on. Comparison-contrast writing lends itself to a six-paragraph essay with the following paragraphs; introduction, first difference, second difference, transition sentence introducing the similarities, first similarity, second similarity, conclusion. An outline for an essay comparing and contrasting the U.S. with another country might look like this.

I. Introduction
Thesis Statement about differences

II. Body
A. Differences
1. Culture
2. Language

II.i Transition statement about similarities

B. Similarities
1. Political Structure
2. Economies

III. Conclusion

Writing Basics: Cause and effect writing

Cause and effect writing is used to express the cause(s) of something, the effect(s)of something, or the cause(s) and effect(s) of something. For example, you could talk about the causes and effects of smoking. The causes could be: nervousness, anxiety, needing to do something with your hands, the feeling you get when you smoke. The effects could be: smoker's breath, yellow teeth, coughing, respiration problems, high blood pressure, enphysema, and cancer of the mouth, throat and lungs.

When you do cause and effect writing you will use certain words: because, due to, since, as a result of, and so on. You can organize your writing in different ways, to focus on the cause(s), effect(s), or both cause(s) and effect(s).

Writing Basics: From paragraph to essay

If you have been writing paragraphs, and your writing instructor asks you to write an essay, you might try the following method. Think of an essay as an expanded paragraph. Like a paragraph, an essay has an introduction, body and conclusion. In a paragraph those parts are sentences. In an essay those parts are paragraphs; an introductory paragraph, two or more body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. In an essay, the introductory paragraph usually begins by "setting the stage" about your topic, provides interesting information to grab the reader's attention, and ends with a Thesis Statement, which tells the reader what your essay is about and your perspective on the topic. Essays usually range from four to six or seven paragraphs, depending on how many body paragraphs your essay will have.

Essays can be fun to write if you take the time to think about what topic you want to write about and what you want to write about that topic. Many colleges require students to write a five or six paragrph as part of the application processs. They want to find out how well you write since writing is such an important skill for academic wrrcess.

Writing Basics: Process writing

Process writing is an important type of writing used for different purposes: how-to manuals, describing how to do or make something, processes and procedures. In process writing, you write about steps in chronological (time) order. Many things you might purchase that require assemmbly will come with assembly instructions; this is process writing. When you buy a new car, it will come with a User's Manual, which describes how to operate the car and how to fix little things that don't work.

Whether it is a paragraph, recipe, essay or manual that you are writing, you will use process writing. As always, you will begin with an introduction, then describe the things (ingredients, utensils, tools, parts, etc.) needed, and then describe the steps to the reader or user. You fill use signal words, like first, second, third, before, then, after that, finally, to help the reader follow the steps of the proces you are describing.

This is an important type a academic writing and many types of professional writing. Imagine writing a report on the steps and results of a chemistry experiement, or of how to operate a new machine in a work shop. Process writing.

Writing Basics: KISS

KISS is an acronym that means "Keep it short and simple." This is a good thing to remember when you are beginning to write. Keep your words short. Try to stick to vocabulary that you already know and not use a lot of big fancy words to impress the reader. You might use the big words incorrectly and confuse your reader. Keep your sentences short, simple, and to the point. If you use long sentences with a lot of commas, the reader might forget the beginning of the sentence by the time he reaches the end! Keep your paragraphs short and on the same topic. Paragraphs should be only a few sentences long, probably not more than ten sentences (like this paragraph!). If you follow the KISS principle in your writing, your readers will be more likely to understand and enjoy what you have written. And that's what it's all about, right?

Writing Basics: Journal Writing

Here is an easy way to improve your writing on a daily basis. Keep a journal. Every day write for 10-15 minutes about whatever you want: what you are doing, thinking about, planning for the future, thinking about the past...whatever crosses your mind. Don't worry about making mistakes, grammar, spelling, etc. Just write. If you want to share your journal with someone,or your instructor, go ahead and do that. That's up to you. If you do it every day, your writing will improve. It takes discipline, but how much do you want to improve your writing in English?