The caption above is enough to indicate why proofreading is indispensable! Let me share an interesting piece of information with you. You will notice that though a paragraph is full of errors, you catch the essence of the paragraph, and can still understand it. In order to understand what I am saying more clearly, have a look at the following sentence – “Proofraeding is extreemly essnetial.” Well, I am sure you understood what the sentence said, despite the order of the letters being wrong. This is possible as the first and last letters are in the right place, and that’s all our brain needs to process the letters correctly!
Non-Fiction Writing: The Sins You Cannot Commit
One of the first mistakes that you have to look out for is the organization of your entire material. What is important here is that you are taking your readers on a trip through “the structure” – the beginning, middle and the end, if the reader cannot follow your reasoning and content, they will eventually give up. No one is going to have the patience to read something that doesn’t make a lot of sense or interest them. We can’t go on rambling now, can we?
To keep the attention of readers your use of the vocabulary is very important. A book is a two-dimensional medium, so it is up to the writer to deliver the words and to paint a picture that becomes three-dimensional in the reader’s mind; this is true even for a non-fictional book. Uninteresting words make you lose focus whilst reading the book, so your writing has to be cohesive and structured. The two most important better writing skills are the ability to begin your writing well, and to conclude it even better – lucidity of thought and expression is also very important.
Poor sentence structure and grammar, misspellings, incorrect abbreviations and capitalization all need to be reviewed, and if you make mistakes here, the reader may assume that your idea has errors too. The best way of making your writing an interesting read is by editing them over and over again until you are entirely satisfied with your work. Spending as much time as possible revising your work is a good idea. Once the first draft is complete, you’ll come to the most dreaded part many writers dislike in their writing, proofreading and revising your work.
With the advent of word processors, proofreading and editing your manuscript has become an important matter. Using cut and paste techniques, you can fine tune your writing in little time. It also pays to brush up your written language when you are writing, as what may sound right might not mean the same when written.
As a writer you cannot become over emotional with your own work, though you should allow readers to become emotional and attached. The more emotional the reader gets, the more effective the story will be in making your point. What is very important is that you cannot tell the reader how to feel about the events they are reading; rather, tell them how you feel.
One thing that has to be kept in mind is in the overuse of words and punctuation, in trying to communicate to the reader and tell them what you feel. If a chapter has more than two exclamation points then I think you are trying to over emphasise something that you feel. Another amateurish mistake is using capitals for all your written words, as this is the written equivalent of shouting. It is much more effective to talk softly.
The most important thing about writing a book is to understand it needs to be modular and unfolded over time. It is surprising how quickly you can create a book if you spend an hour each day working on it. At the end of the day, if your structure is basically sound, then you are left with simply writing one good sentence at a time, one good paragraph at a time, one good section at a time, until you are complete.
BOOK REVIEW: The Questions That One Needs To Answer
An analytical or critical review of a book is not essentially its summary. It is a description and an evaluation on the quality and significance of the book, in light of specific issues and theoretical concerns. It should focus on the book’s purpose, content, and authority. It is a work where the strengths and weaknesses of the book are analysed. When writing a review, some questions have to be kept in mind.
Main Questions to Ask
These are as follows:
- Is there a specific topic that the book deals with?
- Does it seem to have any overall purpose?
- For what readership is it written?
The preface, acknowledgements, bibliography and index is generally helpful in answering these questions. Do not overlook facts about the author’s background and the circumstances in which the book was created and published.
Also, think about asking:
- Does the author state an explicit thesis or a theme?
- What are the theoretical assumptions? Are they discussed explicitly?
- From what point of view is the work written?
- Why did the author write on this subject rather than on some other subject?
Again, look for statements in the preface, etc. and follow them up in the rest of the work.
The Genre and Material
- Is there a genre that the book can be categorised into?
- How does the book fit into it?
What types of material does the work present itself as (e.g. primary documents, literary analysis, personal observation, biographical or historical accounts).
The Author’s Style
- What is the style of the author?
- Does he/she have a formal or an informal approach?
Evaluate the quality of the writing style and tone by using some of the following standards: clarity, originality, correct use of technical words, conciseness, fullness of development, fluidity.
The Audience/ Readers
- Does it suit the intended audience?
- What do you like or dislike about the book’s writing style?
- Is the book readable as well as technically accurate? Is the language stilted, or natural?
- Are the examples easy to follow?
- How well is the book organized?
Materials and Sources
- Are there other ways to argue from the same material?
- Does the author show awareness of them?
- In what respects does the author agree or disagree?
- What theoretical issues and topics for further discussion does the work raise?
The Affect of the Book on You
- Did the book affect you at all?
- If it did, then how did you cope with it?
- Did you have any preconceived notions of the topic?
- Did it change after you read this book?
- How is the book related to your own personal agenda?
- What are your own reactions and considered opinions regarding the work?
- How well has the book achieved its goal?
- Would you recommend this book to others, and why?
The above mentioned questions will help in structuring the way you want your review to take shape. What it can also do is to open a new insight into the book that you are writing on. So keep them in mind and go ahead writing reviews on your favourite books.
Having Fun in Your Life? Bring it Out in Your Writing!
Just a few days ago, I was watching a standup comedy show and I couldn’t stop laughing for a long time. It made me wonder what was so exceptionally funny with the show. While the standup comedian was mostly cracking one-liner jokes, his strength laid in the real life comic stories that he narrated and enacted. He narrated many funny stories about his family, friends, people on the street, and even his neighbor’s dog! If real life stories sound funny in comedy shows, they sound even funnier when written, especially if they’re written with a sense of humor.
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Write Like You Have Never Written Before…
One of the most important aspects of writing is in the background research. No matter how well you know a subject there is always room for more knowledge. There are always going to be opinionated differences on the subject you are writing about, so acknowledge the opinion of others as well. After research has been done, it is essential for the writer to make a structure of what he or she wants to write. This helps you write with linear thought and allows you to experiment writing whenever you want. When you sit down to write, write what you know as this will give you confidence and your writing will become interesting (hopefully anyway).
Select your subject carefully
Choosing the right subject to write about is very important. We also have to know where to limit ourselves when we are writing about something we are passionate about. We cannot become carried away when writing for a topic that captures our interest. At the same time, do not tread into territories that you are unsure of, because this will be reflected in your writing even if you want to hide it in a mesh of a glorious profusion of words.
Analyse your writing
Be very critical of what you write. The more critical you are, the better you will be. If you are your worst critique, you will end up writing your best.
Original is always good
Being original is also very important. You might have a preference of your favourite writer, but you should not let that get reflect in your writing. One of the easiest ways of being original is cropping up new ideas and not writing about something that your favorite writer has already written about. Let your ideas speak volumes and provide evidence for your point of view; don’t allow yourself to fall in love with specific words, as this will lead to you over using them. Read what you’ve written, leaving out parts you question. If the piece still makes sense, leave out the excess.
Be funny and readers will like it
Use a bit of humor in your writing, but be careful of not making it a comic strip (unless you are writing one). Let your humor be kind and tasteful, as a light tone from time to time lowers a reader’s guard and opens them upto your ideas. Choose a title which can attract the attention of your readers. Depending on your topic, you may want to steer clear of a “cute” or “witty” title in favor of one that makes a clear promise of what is inside. Like the beginning, you must “end with a bang” because a strong ending leaves a reader with a lasting impression. A weak ending often ruins the hard labour that you have put behind the entire writing, so make sure your ending has i-m-p-a-c-t.
Don’t forget about those errors
Be very careful of grammatical errors, typos, punctuation and spelling mistakes and edit your writing to its best. Allowing no stone to be unturned when you make the final edit. Remember that “no one notices when a job is done well, but they see your mistakes clearly.” Keep this in mind and adhere to it and you will “write like you have never written before.”
Experience Makes You Perfect
Experience is a bad teacher; it takes your test first and teaches you the lesson later. Rightly said, isn’t it? Who said people are born great writers? Just like other things that you do, getting better at writing requires regular practice. After all, practice makes you perfect and experience certainly counts! By practice, I do not mean reading some writing tips, listening to lectures on writing, or attending readings. I mean actual writing, daily, on meaningful topics or maybe writing about something that interests you.