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Improve Your Writing in Eight Simple Steps
Improve Your Writing in Eight Simple Steps
1. Don't bore the reader
Write the term paper for your audience, not for you. Obviously, you know, understand, and probably enjoy the subject matter on which you are writing, but readers may not. Don't be overly formal. Term paper readers appreciate candor and humor because such style is much less monotonous than a constant influx of bland facts, opinions, and statistics.
2. Vary the length of your sentences
Don't be robotic, don't be bland, and--most importantly--don't be predictable. You should never write all short sentences or all long sentences. Write in an unpredictable pattern of short, medium, and not overly long sentences.
3. Use active verbs
Using active verbs requires fewer words, and improves the general flow of term paper writing.
Correct: Mike plays baseball.
Incorrect: Baseball is played by Mike.
4. Keep your writing simple
Most major newspapers and magazines publish their material at eighth grade reading level. Readers are not interested in things they do not understand. Use as few words as possible to convey your message when writing term papers. Never use a certain word simply because you believe it to be more "academic" or intellectual. Students often use big words incorrectly, which downgrades the reader's interest in the topic and respect for the writer.
5. Be descriptive and use examples
We comprehend by creating mental images of things that we read. Be as descriptive as possible in your term paper. Show the reader--don't tell the reader. If you want a reader to truly understand the unique qualities of a person, place, or thing, describe in detail its color, smell, size, posture, age, intricacies, similarities/differences to other things, etc. Use examples by comparing the object to something that is undoubtedly familiar to the vast majority of readers.
6. Use bullet points
Use bullet points to list items. Many readers skim over a document before beginning to read the first page. Bullet points call attention to the main points that will follow the bulleted list.
7. Limit paragraphs to 1/3 of a page
Short paragraphs make a paper easier to read. The white space between paragraphs also breaks up the solid blackness of lengthy text, making the term paper appear less bulky to the reader.
8. Do not use capital letters for emphasis
Capital letters are very difficult to read, especially for those with visual impairment. Upper case words also make a writer seem juvenile and/or amateur.
About the Author: Erica Howard is a freelance writer of example term papers for EssayTown.com. She has written dozens of how-to articles for EssayTown in the area of term paper writing.
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