Week Two: Writing Mechanics
Common mistakes you must avoid making.
Spelling
* Check with computer spell-check;
* Read your document, and make sure you have not used the wrong words, even if these are
correctly spelled. Examples:
Deer instead of dear; Here instead of hear; π instead of pie;
* Have access to a dictionary in case you need to check spelling of words the computer spell
checker cannot handle.
Incomplete sentences
Recall that every complete sentence must have a subject and verb, with most having at least one
object and subject. Examples:
Incomplete: “Elizabeth, a vivacious, red-haired, 19 year old at university”
This sentence has no verb;
Incomplete: “Running fast toward the gymnasium”
This sentence has no noun;
Incomplete: “Brown-haired and blue-eyed, the instructor”
Where is the verb? What is this sentence- this incomplete sentence- attempting to say?
Unsubstantiated assertions
Example:
“The argument in the text that Christian groups believe in a theocracy is completely wrong. My
own church, in Eau Claire, and the churches of everyone I knew growing up in Eau Claire teach
nothing like this. Therefore, the text is wrong.”
What are the points about this argument that need improving?
(1) As a child, and even after becoming a member of your church, you would not know the views
of every single person in your church;
(2) Since you did not attend every church and other religious groups in the Eau Claire area, you
cannot confirm that every religious groups in Eau Claire abjures establishing a theocracy;
(3) The text was not written about you, or your church group, or even Eau Claire, WI. It suffices
to confirm the text that there are Christian groups in the U.S.A.- look up “Christian Identity”
movement or “Dominionists”- who advocate establishing a Christian theocracy. Not merely any
theocracy, either, but one that imposes their religious views on everyone;
(4) The writer of the example text failed to cite anyone. You- I emphasize this- are not viewed as
an authority. You may know a great deal, but your written views have not been peer-reviewed by
other experts on the topic in question. The lack of peer-review is critical, since this is one of the
few ways we have to separate accurate information from misstatements (or worse).
Poorly organized writing
While there is no one way to write well, there are better and worse ways to organize your
writing. I suggest one approach that you can choose whether to follow, but whichever approach
you take, make sure to think through how to organize your argument. My suggestion includes:
Paragraph One: State the issue. This means state the point(s) in the text with which you disagree,
or, for the science papers, the science topic(s) you will discuss. If you are disagreeing with the
text, cite the page and the point- not necessarily verbatim, but state what the point is;
Paragraph Two: Explain the main reason(s) why you disagree with this textual point. For
instance:
“
I disagree with the example in chapter one of Mohammed’s ascent to Heaven and return
during one night. The authors list this example in a series of examples of religious beliefs
incompatible with known physics. In this paper, as a devout Muslim, I will correct this mistaken
view.
My argument starts from the premise that the Koran is the literal, inerrant, word of Allah
(God) as dictated by the archangel Gabriel to the Prophet Mohammed [PBUH]. As such, the
Koran is the ultimate authority on all issues, not least the historical actions of the Prophet
Mohammed [PBUH]. So I argue that it suffices to cite the relevant passages of the Koran, and
widely accepted interpretations of these passages, to make my argument….”
Notice that the author has identified the issue in the first paragraph. In the second paragraph, the
author explains the basis from which the text will be rebutted. Is using the Koran- or the Bible, or
the Torah- as the “ultimate” authority on all issues acceptable in this class? Notice, I am not
asking if using these books in this fashion is agreeable to everyone, merely if doing so is
acceptable in this class. The answer is yes, provided you cite authorities who have made this
argument- that the book in question is to be treated with this degree of deference. In this case of
the Koran- and, actually, the Bible and Torah as well- finding authorities who view the Koran in
this way is easy. Does this mean that your instructor views the Koran in this way? No, but I am
teaching you how to present an argument, not to subscribe to my views.
Paragraphs Three and Four (or more): Here is where you present the details of your argument,
with citations as needed and where you pay attention to the logical flow of your argument. You
want your arguments to flow in a logical fashion, not jumping back and forth from earlier to later
arguments. This is also where you may raise counterarguments- such as those who do not view
the Koran in this fashion- and then present a rebuttal of any such counterarguments.
Last paragraph: Present a summary of your arguments, touching on the main points. The ideal
last paragraph would be so good that a reader could go directly to the last paragraph and
understand the issue and the main thrust of your argument from the last paragraph alone.