Communication Commons

The writing process is a bit like hosting a dinner. There’s far more involved than just grabbing whatever’s in the fridge and serving it.

• The experience is social. You focus on someone else’s needs and preferences.  
• You plan and organize early in the process, and perhaps do some research to offer the right thing. 
• Once it’s underway, you have to see it through to the end. 
• Along the way, you make little adjustments and improvements. 
• The most important moment is when you present what you’ve made. 
• You learn from the process—insights you can use the next time around. 
• However small it may be, the experience reverberates outward. Connections form. Relationships shift. 
• The experience is ultimately about people.

Why Process Matters to Your Readers

The Writing Process Overview

Here we will take a top-level view of the writing process. In other topics, we’ll dive deeper into some of the details.

Fundamentally, the writing process is Research – Plan – Draft – Revise.

Adapting Process

There’s a logic to the eight-step writing-process sequence you’ve just learned.

But you can also reorder the steps, or leave some out.

1. Draft
2. Proofread

You can also adapt the process to suit your preferences:

1. Draft
2. Reverse-outline your draft and develop the structure
3. Do research and exploration to enrich the draft before your first major rewrite

Alternatively:

1. Plan and research
2. Draft, rewriting, and revising as you go

This approach folds step 6 (revision) into step 4 (drafting). This method is generally not as efficient. But for some people, it just works.

Process is not a set of rules. Adapt as needed.

Iterative Process

More sophisticated projects—a critical essay, a technical report—often benefit from an iterative approach.

Iteration means “repeated process.” For example:

1. Explore
2. Plan
3. Write draft 1
4. Get feedback
5. Explore new ideas
6. Revise into draft 2
7. Get more feedback
8. Plan new section
9. Revise into draft 3
10. Proofread

You can repeat any steps, in whatever order, as many times as you need.

Often, writers need to finish a first full draft before they understand what they are trying to do.

The first draft (up to step 3 in the above example) is all about discovery. It is messier and more writer-focused than the final product will be.

For more information on the difference between writer-focused and reader-focused drafts, see Acts of Writing. 

Try It!

Design means to plan and create something. Iterative designIterative design means to loop repeatedly through the design process, gradually refining the product through feedback.

Iterative design is common in the development of commercial and tech products:

Source. https://www.pcworld.com/article/3446919/pixel-4-pixel-4-xl-pixel-3-pixel-3a-versus-features-specs-comparison.html

Writers and their readers can benefit from this approach. Picture the following process:

• Draft something
• Get feedback
• Revise based on the feedback
• Get more feedback
• Revise based on that feedback
• Etc.

In the iterative design approach, you share a draft long before your project is finalized.

Iterative Design

Characteristics of iterative design:

• Focus on a user’s needs
• PrototypePrototypeA rough draft meant for getting feedback as part of the writing process (or some other process of creation). to meet those needs
• Test the prototype with users
• Refine and improve the design

Meet the Audience’s Needs: Connection First

Response 1

Response 2

Response 3

Design your communications to meet the recipient’s needs.

Prototype Rapidly

Step 1: Get it off the ground

A prototypeprototypeA rough draft meant for getting feedback as part of the writing process (or some other process of creation). is a rough draft. Its purpose is to generate feedback.

Think about a target reader’s needs, then produce the quickest draft that you think fits those needs.

“Quickest” depends on the size of the project. A research project usually involves a lot of reading, exploring, prewriting, and outlining before you’re even able to make a draft.

FOCUS ON PROCESS >

Consider showing someone your initial ideas in note or outline form. Or write the first full draft as early in the process as you can.

The point is, the first thing a reader sees doesn’t need to be polished or fully formed.

Parallel or sequential?

In technical design, prototyping may be either parallel or sequential.

• Parallel prototyping: You offer users several versions at once (Hohl, 2017).
• Sequential prototyping: You offer one version, apply the feedback, offer the next version, and so on.

In the world of writing, prototyping usually makes more sense.

But you could offer a reader different versions of one brief section of a document. For example, you could draft two separate introductions and say to your reader, “Here are two possible intros. Which works better?”

Step 2: Give it a once-over to correct the obvious errors or gaps

It’s better to get feedback on an imperfect version early on than to put off receiving feedback.

That said, aim to provide something as error-free as possible. Don’t trip readers up with little things you can solve easily. You want them to focus on your ideas and structure more than typos.

Fix the things you can, then send it to a reader.

Test Early

Get feedback early. Share a whole or partial draft. See how readers react. Find out what they understand and what they don’t.

Discover how close you are to meeting the target reader’s needs and expectations.

Let’s say you are making an argument about a contemporary issue. To know if you’re meeting readers’ needs, you require certain feedback:

• Is your thesisthesisCentral argument or main idea of an essay. clear?
• Are your reasonsreasonsStatements that explain why someone holds a particular opinion or believes a particular claim to be true. clear?
• Is your evidenceevidenceData in support of a position or argument. Can take the form of testimony, eyewitness account, analogy, statistics or quantitative data, example, and more. accurateaccurate

  Correctness. An accurate statement is factual and precise.

  and considered trustworthy?
• Do you yourself come across as crediblecredibleThe trustworthiness of a source. If a source is credible, we have reason to believe that it’s factually accurate and reliable. and trustworthy?

Know that it’s hard to see your own work through a reader’s eyes. There is no substitute for getting feedback. Strive hard to overcome the fears we all have about sharing our written work. Feedback is one of the most valuable parts of the writing process! 

Consider the following exchange, in the comments thread below an op-ed.

Don’t write in a vacuum. Find out what readers think and have to offer.

Refine Continuously

Develop your ideas based on feedback.

Let’s go back to the last example. Imagine you’re critiquing Mark Kingwell’s criticism of online teaching and learning. You’re making the point that online teaching will save money:

Now imagine that you receive the feedback that you’ve made a factual error. You do a little bit of research and verify the feedback. How might you revise?

One option is to delete the statement entirely. But you don’t have to.

You’ll need to question your own claim that online learning will bring significant savings to postsecondary institutions. But that doesn’t mean you have to abandon your line of thinking. You just need to refine it:

The process is

• collect feedback;
• refine your work; and
• repeat the process.

Let’s end with one more example of what iterative design can look like in the writing process.

Let’s say you’re writing a critique essay evaluating Bruce Pardy’s claim that Mental disabilities shouldn’t be accommodated with extra time on exams,” and you’re getting input from readers on various drafts. What might these iterations look like?

Iterative writing is a great way to rapidly improve your work with the input of readers!

Try It!

Begin your journey with iterative design by putting users first.

Writing is social. For it to work, there needs to be some personality on display:

Voice Matters

It’s normal for writing to come out a bit flat in the early drafting stage. At that stage, it’s often hard enough just to get ideas down!

This is probably especially true for academic writing and projects we don’t choose for ourselves.

The idea matters.

Yet the eyes glaze over. There’s no colour, emotion, or spark.

It’s a bit like the writer is sitting expressionless at a party. We don’t know who they are, and we’re going to lose interest fast.

Without voice, writing can’t be social—or interesting!

When revising, transform a flat-sounding draft into something with character.

Context Matters

The fact that good writing has a voice doesn’t mean all your writing has to be full of huge gestures and humour.

A thoughtful, eloquent voice may suit who you are or may fit the situation, as in this meditation on the act of writing by author Jhumpa Lahiri:

Maybe your purpose and subject matter demand a factual, serious, scholarly tone:

In short, writing situations limit and define the possibilities of voice.

Who are you writing for? Why? Where are you sharing or publishing?

American comedian and actor Mindy Kaling can post a tweet like this:

That tone would be disastrous in a bank’s annual report, which has to sound like the voice of corporate marketing:

Context shapes voice.

Be aware of who you’re writing to, and why.

Voice Is Attitude and Connection

Think of voice as attitude. Besides context, attitude depends on lots of things, such as:

• Your feelings
• Your personality
• The subject

In sum, voice is personality, the sense of an authentic person behind the written or spoken word.

With those points in mind, how can we cultivate voice?

We’ll look at three key strategies:

• Perspective
• Tone
• Style

Tip

Craft a voice that connects you to the people you want to reach, that shows them who you are and what you value, and that suits what you’re writing about.

Have a Perspective

Commitment to your topic or subject matter shows.

Some writing tasks are given to us. We don’t ask for them.

In those cases, find something about the topic that interests you. A fresh angle. A new idea to offer. Something all yours and just for your readers.

If the topic doesn’t interest you, maybe your own process of analysis does.

For instance, if you’re writing a critique essay or report, your focus may be your own evaluationevaluationA judgment on an issue or argument, made after consideration of evidence and opposing viewpoints. of the source, event, or whatever you are analyzing.

Let’s say you’re asked to write a critique of Bill Keller’s “The Twitter Trap,” where he argues that social media is dumbing us down.

In your argument, you will engage with the subject of social media and its effect on us. But whether or not that subject matter interests you, your real focus is the way Keller builds his claimsclaimsArgument or evaluation based on evidence and a process of reasoning. The main claim of an essay is its thesis. .

In this case, you’ll have a viewpoint on Keller’s own rhetoricrhetoricBroadly speaking, related to use of language, especially (but not exclusively) for persuasion. and method of argumentation, not just the topic of social media.

Let the process of exploring Keller’s method of argumentation be what interests you.

There’s a lesson in Keller’s work itself. Bill Keller is passionate about his viewpoint, which comes through in many places in his essay through his original language and clear, ethically committed position:

A critique of Keller can be just as committed, just as rooted in a perspective.

Let’s demonstrate this idea through a comparison. Here are two examples of a critique, both of them less committed than they could be. One supports Keller, one disagrees with him. Both are definitely starting to stake a position. But both could do more to create an authentic voice:

Notice that while these critiques sound more committed, they are also more rounded and qualifiedqualifiedA restriction or limitation on the meaning of a statement. When you qualify your argument, you acknowledge limits or opposing viewpoints. . Both statements hedgehedgeAllowing for the possibility of being wrong. You “hedge” your argument by acknowledging the possible legitimacy of an opposing view. See also qualification. a little bit and point to other viewpoints than their own.

Committed does not mean uncompromising. It means conveying passion for, and interest in, your own argument or purpose, within the boundaries of your writing context.

If the writer’s not visibly invested, why should anyone else be?

Communicate with Tone

Tone is the mood of your writing.

It’s a powerful, efficient way of communicating. It indirectly yet relentlessly shows readers the author’s view of the subject.

In any given project, the mood of your writing might be funny, sad, serious, measured…. Anything is possible.

As always, it depends on your purpose and the situation. Are you writing an opinion piece? An academic paper? A business or technical report? A post? A speech? Are you writing out of anger? Joy? Curiosity?

But even within related contexts, there are many possibilities of tone.

These three examples all come from articles written in response to the early part of the COVID-19 crisis, specifically around April–May 2020. The first is Canadian, the second American, the third Indian.

For example, the following three passages all relate to the same topic (vulnerable populations affected by the COVID-19 crisis) and appear as articles for a general readership in newspapers and magazines. Similar contexts. Similar topics. Different tones.

In the first, the personality of the writing is casual and clever, even though the topic is serious:

Considering the topic—chronic illness—another fitting voice might be compassionate:

The writer never says, “I have compassion for the plight of the chronically ill.” In fact, a direct statement like this would probably sound insincere. The writer’s tone communicates her compassion.

The voice could also be formal and serious:

Even short extracts from each piece are enough to see the distinct tones and personalities in the writing.

Write with Style

Like tone, style is about the way you communicate something, as opposed to the literal content. But where tone is synonymoussynonymousTwo different words having the same meaning. with mood, style is more about the arrangement and patterns of words and sentences.

For our purposes, style is the shapes and sounds of your sentences, and the special, original choices you make (such as using fresh figures of speechfigures of speechA rhetorical, non-literal use of language, such as metaphor or simile. ).

Consider these three passages, and notice how characteristics of style do a lot to shape the voice that comes through:

Don’t feel you have to learn a lot of grammargrammarThe accepted rules for how parts of a language fit together. The system of a language taken as a whole. and prosodyprosodyThe sound or musical and rhythmic quality of language. to write with style! It’s not about the rules and the labels. It’s about listening to your own style, experimenting with it, and actively shaping your sentences.

That said, here are a couple of quick sentence patterns and other tools it’s good to be aware of:

1. Vary Sentence Length

2. Place Your Main Clause Deliberately

Do you know where your main clause is?

Ok, that is one piece of grammar terminology you should make sure you know.

Understand the difference between an independent clause (often called main clause when it’s the only independent type in the sentence) and subordinate clause.

• An independent clause has a subject and verb and can stand alone as grammatically complete, although it’s often embedded in longer sentences.
• A dependent clause also has a subject and verb but cannot stand alone, except as a fragmentfragmentIn grammar, a fragment is a word or group of words that cannot stand on its own grammatically. . It is grammatically dependent on some other part of the sentence. It’s marked by something called a subordinating conjunction (as long as, because, since, though, which, etc.):
  • subordinating because it marks the clause as dependent; and
  • conjunction because it joins the clause to some other part of the sentence.

Let’s look at some examples. Pay attention to where the main or independent clauses are (underlined in each example):

For more information, see this resource.

And while we’re at it:

Want to solidify your knowledge of this pattern? Look up participial phraseparticipial phrase here.

3. Use Figures of Speech

Common figures of speech include simile and metaphor, which are both types of comparison.

A simile compares two things with “like” or “as”:

A metaphor compares two things as if they are identical, as if one thing is not merely like another but is that thing:

Voice Changes

Nobody has one single “writing voice” or “speaking voice.” Our sound—our personality—changes according to context. There may be a common thread or a dominant voice in your output, but it’s ok if your voice changes.

As you go forward, think about how you can do more to bring your communications to life by cultivating different voices for your different writing situations.

Each time, use the power of voice to connect with others!

Your Right to a Voice

A parting thought: When you craft voices to connect with others, you also create space for your voice(s) to be heard. If your culture has historically silenced people from the groups you identify with, this act may be especially significant.

As Rebecca Solnit says, “Having the right to show up and speak are basic to survival, to dignity, and to liberty. I’m grateful that, after an early life of being silenced, sometimes violently, I grew up to have a voice, circumstances that will always bind me to the rights of the voiceless” (2012).

https://www.guernicamag.com/rebecca-solnit-men-explain-things-to-me/

At one level, developing “voice” is technical. At another, it becomes the same as striving to “show up and speak” and “have a voice,” sometimes in the name of those who remain voiceless.

Instructions:

Click on the buttons below for some writing prompts that help you practise crafting different voices. In the panel that opens for each, you can click on further suggestions as needed.

Try the exercises in your favourite software. Feel free to use the text editors provided, but remember that your responses will not be saved.

1. Description of Space

2. Opinion and Critique

First drafts are for free. Use all the words you need to generate your ideas:

But then go back and trim unnecessary words:

Go further. When relevant, focus on solutions. Propose actions. These lend themselves to concise, razor-sharp points:

Why Concision Matters

Imagine you’re critiquing an argument.

Consider the following passage:

Trim

Let’s trim, or cut unnecessary words. 

Consider:

Let’s take a closer look at these cuts:

First, use “The author’s” instead of “made by the author”:

Now, replace a three-word phrase with one word:

The result?

Cut Redundancy

Redundancy is unnecessary repetition. It comes in at least two forms:

1. Piling up synonymssynonymsTwo different words having the same meaning.
2. Stating info the reader does not need, because
   • it’s a given (like telling a chessmaster the rules of the game); or
   • you’ve already impliedimpliedConveyed indirectly, not stated directly. it; or
   • it’s beside the point.

Look again at the original passage. (The main idea is in boldface):

Do we need both “strong” and “reliable”? No! They’re close enough in meaning.

Don’t pile up synonyms.

Don’t stop at single words. Cut whole clauses, sentences and ideas:

Do we need “which makes the author’s points valid”? 

Maybe. It depends on how important the idea of validity is here. 

If it’s not central, cut it. 

Putting It All Together

The revisions below mean the same thing as the original passage. But they’re concise. 

Revision 1

Revision 2

Revision 3

While concise, revisions 1 and 2 above could sound more natural:

Going Further

We have a concise, natural-sounding version of the original. Next, let’s build it back into a longer statement. Not by padding out the same idea, but by adding new ideas.

By revising for concision, we’ve freed up space. Now we can push further and build the argument. 

Recall the original: 

Here’s a sample revision. Notice it’s three words shorter, but says far more: 

In the first half of the revision, which is fewer than 20 words (up to the word “sound”), we say what took twice as many words before. 

In the remaining 20 words (the second half of the revised version), we push into new territory, explore implications, and create more interest and anticipation. 

We say more with less. 

Try it!

Test Your Knowledge

Try It Out!

Clarity and Completeness Defined

Strategies for Clarity and Completeness

Fix Sentence Structure and Ambiguous Words

Ambiguity refers to “inexact meaning.” It happens in at least two ways:

1. Grammar, syntax, and word choice make the meaning unclear.
2. A word, phrase, or sentence is unintentionally open to two or more equally possible interpretations.

Here are some questions a reader might have: 

1. Which of the two “people” nouns does the pronoun “their” refer to? 
2. Does the writer intend the meaning “People … could create biases”?
3. What does the writer mean by the phrase “a certain gender identity”?

Solutions may include the following: 

1. Be clearer and more specific than the term “gender identity.” 
2. Clarify who or what “creates” biases—here, it’s stereotypical media portrayals. 
3. Make the clause “People who don’t know specific people of a certain gender identity” more natural and concrete: “those who have no direct personal experience of transgender identity.”

Consider this revision:

Be Precise and Concrete

Consider this statement: 

What does this mean? How is plastic bad? What does the writer mean by the term “bad,” anyway? 

Considering that plastics are light, tough, cheap, and highly useful in construction and electronics, they can’t be uniformly bad. 

In short, the statement is unclear. 

The following alternatives are clearer because they are more precise (specific): 

The unclear statement (“Plastic is bad”) might come from a writer who is picturing environmental effects or assuming readers are doing the same. 

That’s dangerous. When writing, get your assumptions out of your head and onto the page. 

The following statement is even clearer and more precise: 

Why is this statement an improvement? Because it’s even more precise, and it’s concrete. 

Concrete means things you can sense—see, touch, hear, taste, smell. 

The terms “environment” and “environmentally” are abstract. It’s hard to picture “environment,” and if you try, there are dozens of things you could think of—birds, trees, a forest, a waterfall, a climate protest, a nature show complete with narration, soundtrack and high-definition images…. It’s different for everyone. 

An “ocean” everyone can visualize right away and agree on. It’s concrete. 

Add Context

Context means the bigger picture. Context positions your idea in relation to the world around it: 

Now we have more context for the statement that plastic is harmful: It’s everywhere, and its use is seemingly unavoidable. 

With context, we better understand why the writer is drawing our attention to the harm of plastic on ocean life. We see that the problem is urgent because it doesn’t have an easy fix. 

Provide Examples

Consider this improved version, which comes directly from the original article: 

In paragraph 1, the writers use concrete examples to illustrate the concept of how hard it is to avoid plastic:

• Bags
• Take-out containers
• Other single-use plastic items found in recycling bins and forming litter on the streets

At the end of paragraph 1, the writers make a precise, forceful claim about the effect of plastic on oceans: “Now we have more data than ever on how plastics are killing our oceans.” 

Immediately following, in paragraph 2, the writers illustrate this claim with more vivid examples.

Clarity and Completeness in More Abstract Writing

It’s relatively easy to solve issues of clarity and completeness when you’re writing about concrete subjects. You can reach for concrete examples more easily. 

What do you do if you’re writing about abstract things, such as concepts and arguments? 

The techniques are pretty well the same:

• Be as precise and concrete as possible.
• Contextualize your ideas.
• Define terms.
• Provide examples. 

Suppose you’re writing a critique of Bruce Pardy’s argument against accommodations for difference and disability. 

Here’s a clearer version:

Additional Strategies

Here are a few final pointers for making your writing clear and complete: 

• Use strong, active verbs, not passive ones: “The study showed that…” instead of “It was shown in the study that…” 
• Use common words: “This idea emerges grows out of…”
• Use headings, subheadings, and ordered (numbered) or unordered (bullet point) lists.
• Use graphics and graphic organizers wherever possible or appropriate (images, tables, etc.).

Examine the following “unclear stems” (vague and/or confusing statements). Choose one or several of these stems, and write clearer, more complete statements about the topic in the text editor below. Use research, as needed, to develop and define your ideas. Some sources have been provided, but you can use your own research as well. You are welcome to switch position on the topic or keep it the same as in the original.

“Millennials are coddled and selfish, which can be extrapolated from the issue.”

RESEARCH

• Lincoln Anthony Blades, “Millennials Are Not Entitled” (3-min video). https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/892319299873

• Goali Saedi Bocci, “Are Millennials More Than an Entitled Generation?” https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/millennial-media/201909/are-millennials-more-entitled-generation

“Genetic technologies are dangerous and need to be banned at all levels.”

RESEARCH:

• John Oliver, “Gene Editing” (20-min video). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJm8PeWkiEU&t=267s
• “The Basics of Genetic Engineering” https://sites.psu.edu/english202geneticengineering/pros-and-cons/

We communicate differently in different situations.

What counts as “correct” depends on that situation, and depends on whether we’re speaking or writing, writing a tweet or an essay, presenting at a conference or chatting with a friend.

For instance, in many types of writing, it’s considered incorrect to use:

• Sentence fragments (grammatically incomplete sentences, such as “Arranging the ideas,” or a one-word sentence like “Right.”)
• Contractions (“won’t”)
• Interjections (“yeah,” “oh”)

But in many spoken English contexts, it would be incorrect to avoid these, and a series of grammatically complete sentences would be wrong. 

Being correct according to context is an important communication tool. 

We’re going to use the word correct in another sense, meaning factually correct. Here, “correctness” is or should be less dependent on context, more absolute or universal. It’s never ok to willingly distort facts, and we must always check facts for mistakes and hold others to the same high standard. 

Correctness in Context

When we say “be correct in context,” we mean pay attention to the rules and conventions of the context you’re in. 

Dealing with Rules

You can follow the rules. You can break rules, too, but you should always be aware of the possible effects on readers and consequences to you as a writer. 

For example, if you’re an engineering technician student in Ontario, Canada, you’ll need to prepare a report according to the rules set by the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT).

Here are four of the style and language guidelines for that report: 

You’re always free to submit a report that is single-spaced, uses serif font, and switches verb tenses frequently. But there are consequences. 

Rules in Context: Becoming a “Polyglot”

Items 1 and 2 from the OACETT guidelines above are objective: 

• You can measure whether a document is typed and double-spaced using sans serif 12-point font, left justification, and numbered pages. 
• The size of 12-point font is standardized and is unlikely to change from one place to another, or to change over time.
• Any two or more people will be able to reach unanimous agreement on whether a given document follows those first two guidelines. 

Items 3 and 4 are less objective because the rules of orthography (spelling, punctuation) and grammar do change from place to place, and over time.

There are so many types of written and spoken English, and so many kinds of English speaker and English language learner, that it’s probably better to be able to adapt to many contexts and learn the conventions of different contexts than to “learn the rules,” as if there’s only one set. 

Like a programmer who knows many computer programming languages and can pull out the right one for the job, you should become familiar with many different kinds of English (and other languages, if possible) and learn how to adapt to the situation you’re in.

There is no one “standard” or “correct” English. 

Correctness and Power

It’s important not to privilege one rhetoric, or form of language, over another. 

For example, the English classroom in a North American postsecondary institution can easily feel like a place of judgment, where you sense you’re either “correct” or “incorrect” in your use of language. 

But if you’re a student in that setting, remember that the conventions and rules taught there don’t replace other rhetorics you possess and shouldn’t be privileged over them, such as the way you speak and write with friends. 

Academic and so-called “mainstream” English are only correct in certain contexts. In other contexts, their rules don’t apply and are sometimes incorrect. 

Linguistic Accuracy

Finding Out the Rules

To “follow the rules” of grammar and usage in a particular context, you should look at relevant and reputable examples of the genre, and at relevant style guides.

For example, if you’re learning how to write journalism, read a lot of journalism from around the world, especially from your region and in the specific genres you’re interested in. 

In many North American postsecondary institutions, when writing academic essays, you can follow the guidelines for style, layout, grammar, and more set out in one of these manuals: 

• APA https://apastyle.apa.org/products/publication-manual-7th-edition/
• MLA https://style.mla.org/works-cited-a-quick-guide/
• Chicago Manual of Style https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html

There are also popular, classic texts on grammar and style you can consult: 

• Strunk and White’s Elements of Style
• Messenger’s Canadian Writer’s Handbook

If you are writing for a particular publication, you can ask if they have a house style manual. 

Flexibility

In some writing situations, there’s a lot of room to experiment, bend rules, or blend rules from different contexts. In others, the rules are more rigid. You can still always bend or break rules, but the stakes and consequences change. 

If you’re asked to prepare a paper according to APA style, then there are specific rules of grammar, layout, citation, and more.

If you’re writing a personal blog, social media post, or piece of creative writing, there are conventions and reader expectations, but you can theoretically do anything you want. 

Factual Accuracy

We’ve looked at linguistic correctness and said that guidelines depend on context. 

We’re going to look at another form of correctness—factual accuracy—and lay down a more universal principle. 

Especially in the era of fake news, mass mobile communications, and information overwhelm, it’s more important than ever to uphold the standards of factual accuracy and to be able to distinguish between fact and opinion. 

Is It Fact or Opinion?

A fact is a piece of information that can be proven with evidence. It may be accurate or inaccurate.  

An opinion is a judgment shaped by personal beliefs, values, and assumptions. It may be informed or uninformed. 

An informed opinion is generally an interpretation of available facts, whereas an uninformed opinion may be based on nothing but personal feeling or even prejudices. 

See this source for further information. 

For example, the following is a fact:

This happens to be an inaccurate fact. The accurate fact is the following (notice the correction of the statistic): 

You can see how easy it is to intentionally or unintentionally distort a fact. The consequences can be significant. Two percent and 8% may seem close, but in statistical terms they are very different. The consequences of getting the fact wrong is serious.  

Put simply: Facts matter. 

Is the following fact or opinion? 

It’s an opinion, not a fact. It’s a judgment based on 

• the statistical data (the fact of fewer students reporting good mental health); and on 
• assumptions about how to interpret that data. 

Just because the opinion is fact-based does not necessarily make it true or valid. 

As this source points out, the statistical decline in students reporting good mental health may not mean that more students are suffering. It may mean that more students are willing to admit to having poor mental health or that more students are able to recognize and label it—in short that there’s more space for expressing mental health problems (Chiose, 2016).

We don’t know for a fact what’s at the root of the decline. 

Here, then, is an alternative opinion—that is, an alternative interpretation of the facts: 

One of these statements may eventually become a fact, if enough convincing evidence can prove it beyond a doubt. 

Be a Fact-Checker

Always check your own facts before communicating them. Ensure that you are reproducing data accurately, and also that your sources are reliable. 

Likewise, check the facts that others present, or at least check how reliable the sources in question are. 

Sometimes you have to go through more than one layer of fact-checking. 

For instance, the fact in the previous example, that 8% fewer students reported good mental health in 2016 compared to 2013, comes from a Globe and Mail newspaper article. 

The Globe and Mail is a mainstream Canadian newspaper-of-record, meaning that it’s held to a high standard of accuracy and impartiality in its reporting. 

That doesn’t mean it never publishes factual errors. But it’s a reputable source, and it publicly corrects errors it makes when these are drawn to the editors’ attention.  

In turn, the Globe article was citing a statistic from the National College Health Assessment. So the next step would be to look at that source and determine its credibility.

As of this writing, the web page the Globe article linked to is no longer available. We might not be able to check it directly. 

The process, though, remains: 

• Check the sources of any facts you cite. How reliable is the given source? Why?
• What sources is that source relying on?
• Remember that methods for collecting data are not always reliable. 
• Remember that facts can be distorted, invented, and made to appear credible when they aren’t accurate. 
• Remember that all facts can be interpreted in multiple different, sometimes contradictory, ways. 

Try it!

Flow in writing is the sense of connection between ideas. 

Writers should:

• Group similar ideas together
• Order (sequence) ideas logically
• Connect each sentence to the next 

Group, Sequence, and Connect

A first draft is exploratory. Even if you’ve planned and outlined your project, ideas might pour out at random. It’s not easy to write a first draft. Give yourself permission to write prose that doesn’t yet flow:  

Statements 1, 2, and 4 relate to the pressures and problems postsecondary students face. But nothing focuses these statements or pulls them together. Meanwhile, point 3 probably doesn’t belong. 

Strategy 1: Group and Sequence Ideas

To solve this problem, separate out ideas into larger topics, put them in logical order, and directly identify the topics for your reader: 

Here we’ve 

• created two separate topics; 
• put them in a logical order (problem → solution); and 
• identified each with a topic sentence (1, 2).  

By default, topic sentences should go at or near the start of a given paragraph. It’s also possible to put a topic sentence at the end: 

Strategy 2: Connect Ideas

Grouping and sequencing help, but the ideas still feel disjointed. We need to link them more with connectives. Connectives are those little words that link, or connect, ideas together: 

• Also
• Moreover
• For example, for instance
• Yet
• But 
• However
• More importantly/most importantly
• In short

These connectives help you add ideas, contrast two or more ideas by showing difference, summarize, and so on. By using them, you show your readers these same logical connections. Your writing feels more cohesive as a result. 

Sometimes punctuation can help in the same way. For example:

• A colon (:) often shows that an example follows.
• An em-dash (—) can be used to emphasize or add an idea—just as this one does.

The words and phrases “for example,” “also,” and “worse,” and the colon (“stretched thin:”) all link ideas together and show the relationships between them. Let’s look at what each connective is doing:  

• “For example” connects the subsequent idea to the previous one as an instance or illustration. 
• “Also” adds a new, equal idea onto the previous one. (In fact, the entire clause “They’re also stretched thin” is one big connective, showing the relationship between student debt and student overwhelm.) 
• The colon (:) after the word “thin” shows that an example or piece of evidence is coming.
• The word “worse” comparatively weights the following idea as more important than the previous one(s), in a negative sense (i.e., one example worse than the other two).  

Note you can still put the topic sentence of the first paragraph at the end: 

A Closer Look at Grouping and Sequencing

The first strategy we explored separated out and grouped together similar ideas. In the case of that example, the pattern was:

• Problems postsecondary students face
• Attempts to address the issue

This sequence is logical. 

One thing you might do as a writer is expand on the “problems” section. For instance, you might decide to pay special attention to the problems students face getting jobs. Now you have two parts looking at “problems” and one at “solutions.” You need to decide on the order of the two parts on problems.

One possibility is to go from most important to least important. Another is from least important to most important. (These choices assume one idea is more important than the other. Usually we can rank our ideas like this.)

Let’s say you want to zero in on job prospects as the most serious issue. Here is the topic outline, going from more important to less important: 

You can reverse 1 and 2, and go from less important to more important: 

You can also build out each larger topic in more than one paragraph, each with its own topic sentence, or central point. 

You’ll often notice that in skillful, cohesive writing, when you extract and join together the first sentence of each paragraph, you get a logical summary of the whole piece. 

For example, look at the following breakdown of eight paragraphs in a row from Anthonella Alvarez’s “Barriers in the Classroom.” 

Notice the following: 

• The ideas fall into three main topics (language barriers, cultural exclusion, positive signs). These are labelled with roman numerals (I, II, and III) and headings. (These roman numerals and headings do not appear in the original.)
• The first sentence of each paragraph (recorded below) is the main idea for that paragraph. 
• Paragraph 4 transitions between the first two categories, showing similarity between them.
• Paragraph 8 transitions into the third topic, showing contrast (“However”). 
• The ideas flow logically from one to the next. Alvarez has carefully sequenced them. Reading just these opening sentences of each paragraph, you can follow almost the entire argument.  

Read the original article to see how these ideas are fleshed out in each paragraph. 

A Closer Look at Connection

We saw above how you can use connectives—linking words and phrases—to show relationships between ideas. 

There are two more useful techniques called “consistent subjects” and “old-new flow.”

Consistent Subjects

“Consistent subjects” means starting each sentence (or main clause) from the same perspective. For a given chunk of text (a paragraph or other group of sentences), start each main clausemain clause on the same subject or its equivalent (e.g. a pronoun). These are sometimes also called “topics.” They are what each sentence is about.

You can picture it like this:

If you remember, one of the solutions we looked at before involved adding connective words. Well, the first part of that solution also uses this technique of consistent openers:  

Each sentence is about “students.” The word “students” or the equivalent pronoun “they” appears at or near the start of each sentence. 

Notice how the consistent subject technique can be combined with the connectives technique (the use of “for example” in sentence 2). 

You can see the same technique in one of the paragraphs in Alvarez’s “Barriers in the Classroom,” where “educators” (replaced in most sentences by “they”) is the consistent subject:

Old-New Flow

Another technique is “old-new flow.” 

In your sentences, try to move from old information (what you’ve already told the reader) to new information (the point you are adding). 

Repeat this process in an ongoing chain link of ideas. 

Typically, each new sentence picks up where the last one left off, although there’s no hard and fast rule about this. It’s just a general pattern. 

Old information is information the reader already has, typically because you’ve just given it to them:

Let’s rewrite one of the solutions above using this new technique: 

Here’s another, more complex example.  

The strategies we’ve looked at can be adapted and combined in various ways. The following passage uses a mix of consistent subjects and old-new flow (see if you can also spot the connectives and use of topic sentences!): 

Combined, these techniques create prose that feels coherent and connected. We can see how the various ideas relate, how they build one to the next, and how they’re grouped together. 

Try It! 

1. Write with Flow

2. Analyze Flow

Compare these two passages. Each is about 100 words long: 

These sources cover the same topic—police sting operations in the United States. 

Which is easier to follow? Which one sticks better in your mind?

You probably picked the second one. 

That’s because story sticks. 

This might seem like an unfair comparison. The first example is from an academic essay. The second is from a piece of investigative journalism that allows author Sarah Stillman to tell stories. 

The journalist can use narrative here. How is the academic supposed to do that? 

But we’re not saying “always write a story.” We’re saying, “Think like a storyteller”—yes, even if you’re writing an essay, email, or report.

Context Matters

Depending on your writing context, you may be more or less free to use the techniques we will discuss. 

For example, the first technique we cover is, “Make it about people doing things.” That means, write sentences showing people doing actions (“Rachel Hoffman got into her silver Volvo sedan…”). 

If you’re writing a formal technical report, you can’t generally write about people doing things.

As another example, we’ll discuss how to cut abstract nounsabstract nounsNouns that refer to concepts (“truth,” “beauty”) rather than specific, concrete things (“car”). and modifiersmodifiersWords or groups of words that modify our understanding of a noun. For example, in the phrase “The red car,” “red” is an adjective modifying the noun “car.” .

But what if your subject matter really is abstract? 

Or what if you want to use a formal, academic tone to meet your readers’ expectations? Maybe you need to keep some of the abstract words after all. 

These are probably some of the factors that influenced John Kleinig’s choices in the first example. He’s a professional academic writing to others in his field. There are ways of writing that his circle of readers expects and understands.  

But within these limits, we’ll encourage you to think about how you can nudge all your writing in the direction of story technique. 

In short: Maximize “storyteller thinking” wherever possible.

How Does Story Work?

People love story. We’re not here to talk about why. For the possible reasons, check out Lisa Cron’s Wired for Story. 

But how does story work its magic? 

There are many techniques to consider.

First, we’re not talking about writing novels, short fiction, or drama, or even narrative non-fiction. Story is a given in these genres. 

We’re talking about bringing non-narrative writing to life with the secrets of good storytelling. 

So, what are the story techniques you can easily apply to non-story (essay, report, blog, email, etc.)?

Here are some:

• Make it about people doing things
• Make it concrete
• Cut abstract nouns and modifiers
• Create questions and suspense

Let’s see these in action in the passage from Sarah Stillman (the second example provided earlier), comparing it against the more abstract writing in the first passage. Then we’ll look at how story technique can work in non-narrative types of writing and speaking. 

People Doing Things

A person taking action:

• What’s the sentence about? Rachel Hoffman, a twenty-three-year-old woman. 
• What are the main verbs? Getting in a car, putting on music, heading north. 

You can picture this easily. 

By contrast, here’s the first sentence of the first example: 

Make It Concrete

Use concrete details. 

Back to Sarah Stillman’s picture of Rachel Hoffman: 

It’s made up of concrete things: “bluejeans,” “green-and-white patterned T-shirt,” “black Reef flip-flops,” “passenger seat,” “handbag,” “thirteen thousand dollars in marked bills.”

From the academic passage: 

It’s made up of abstractions: “deceptive practices,” “intrusions into matters ordinarily considered private,” “enthusiasm for ‘information,’” “moral boundaries.”

Cut Abstract Nouns and Modifiers

1. Cut Abstract Nouns

Abstract nouns are concepts, things you can’t picture easily: “decision,” “information,” “capitalism,” “judgment,” “prominence.” They often end in -ion, -ism, -ment, -ence. 

If you look at Sarah Stillman’s story of Rachel Hoffman, there are no abstract nouns:

The other passage is built out of abstract nouns. Here are a few:

2. Cut Abstract Modifiers

The difference between “discretionary decision making” and a “green-and-white patterned T-shirt” is that you can picture a green and white T-shirt; you can’t picture “discretionary decision making.” 

Modifiers in Sarah Stillman’s piece help you to see what’s happening: 

Abstract modifiers don’t help you to visualize:

Create Questions and Suspense

The passage from Sarah Stillman makes us want to know more about who Rachel is and what’s going on. As soon as we’re shown a situation (rather than told information), we hunger to know what it’s about. 

Of course, you don’t want to confuse people. 

But you do want to spark their curiosity. 

When you tell people things, they tune out. 

When you offer a puzzle, a hint, a question, they want to know more. 

An Aside: Inject Story

Sometimes you can tell a small story to open a longer non-narrative piece, or you can insert a story somewhere in your non-narrative. 

Watch the first minute and a half of this speech by Michael Pollan, where he tells a really short, descriptive story to explain how he discovered the main question of his talk: 

Thinking Like a Storyteller

If you’re not writing a story, don’t write a story!

Don’t even inject a brief story, if it’s not appropriate. 

Instead, the point is to think like a storyteller. 

What if we do this with our first example?

Compare the original with a more “story-like” version. We’ve reinterpreted the first part (everything labelled section 1), and left the second part (section 2) for you as an exercise below. 

Here we applied the strategies of “people doing things” and “cutting abstract nouns and modifiers.”

Try It!

Edit an Abstract Passage to “Think Like a Storyteller”

Inject Story