Within and between – techniques to ensure your writing flows
When your writing flows, your reader can easily absorb your ideas and understand what you’re trying to communicate.
Using accurate reporting verbs
Look through your essay and underline your reporting verbs. Then decide whether you have used the most suitable verb in each case.
The power of verbs
To raise the quality of your writing, check your verbs. Select verbs that say exactly what you mean and carry the right amount of weight.
Using ‘however’ and ‘therefore’ in your essay
‘However’ indicates a strong contrast or contradiction while ‘therefore’ indicates the direct logical conclusion of what went before.
Paraphrasing: what it is and how to do it
Swapping the author’s words for your own, even with the help of the thesaurus, won’t save you from plagiarism. Indeed, although the thesaurus is a useful writing tool, it can also be a trap. In a PhD, dissertation or essay, successful paraphrasing is taking the nub of someone else’s argument and relating it to the point you are making.
Think like a writer
Connect with your writerly self and try thinking about your writing in the way that professional writers do.
Watch your pronouns: be clear what you’re talking about
If your essay is peppered with comments such as ‘Who?’ or ‘What?’, you may have made a common grammatical error. To check, look for the pronouns.
To communicate more clearly, look to your feet
Next time you are about to throw that double-glazing brochure in the recycling bin, stop. It is worth studying how the language and look have been crafted.
When to quote rather than paraphrase
When done well, quoting can enhance your work. Here are three reasons to use direct quotes in your Arts or Humanities essay.
Thinking about the active and passive voices
Even if you feel safer with the passive voice, consider how you might use the occasional active sentence to liven up your writing.
