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Capital letters in essays

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sample from HTML program and PDF book

1. Capital letters in essays are always placed at the beginning of a sentence, and they are used for all proper nouns:

He slowly entered the room, accompanied by his friend James Bowman.

2. They are used when a particular thing is being named. For instance

days Wednesday, Friday
places East Anglia
rivers the river Mersey
buildings the Tate Gallery
institutions the Catholic Church
firms British Aerospace
organisations the National Trust
months April, September

3. However, when such terms are used as adjectives or in a general sense, no capital is required:

the King James Bible   BUT   a biblical reference

Manchester University   BUT   a university education

4. Capitals are used when describing intellectual movements or periods of history:

Freudian      Platonism      Cartesian

The Middle Ages      the Reformation

5. They are also used in the titles of books, plays, films, newspapers, magazines, songs, and works of art in general. The normal convention is to capitalise the first word and any nouns or important terms. Smaller words such as and, of, and the are left uncapitalised:

A View from the Bridge
The Mayor of Casterbridge
North by Northwest
The Marriage of Figaro

6. The convention for presenting titles in French is to capitalise only the first or the first main word of a title:

A la recherche du temps perdu
La Force des choses

7. However, there are many exceptions to this convention:

Le Rouge et le Noir
Entre la Vie et la Mort

8. In German, all nouns are given capitals:

Reallexikon zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte

9. Works written in English which have foreign titles are normally
capitalised according to the English convention:

Fors Clavigera       Religio Medici

10. Interesting exception! Capitals are not used for the seasons of the year:

autumn      winter      spring      summer

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Case agreement in essays

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sample from HTML program and PDF book

1. Case agreement in essays requires correct grammar. It means that if the subject of a sentence is singular, then the verb form must be singular as well.

Similarly, if the subject of the statement is plural, the verb form must be expressed in the plural as well.

  • The shop [singular] opens at nine o’clock.
  • On Thursdays the shops [plural] open late.

2. Sometimes confusion occurs because a statement begins in the
singular but then drifts into the plural:

wrong
It can be argued that a person has the right to know when they are dying.

3.The easiest solution to this problem is to make the subject plural and its verb plural as well:

correct
It can be argued that people have the right to know when they are dying.

4. Sometimes a singular noun is used to denote a plural or a collective thing – such as the government or parliament. Either the singular or the plural verb form may be used – but the important thing is to be consistent.

wrong
The government prefers to let matters rest, but events may make them change their minds.

correct
The government prefers to let matters rest, but events may make it change its mind.

correct
The government prefer to let matters rest, but events may make them change their minds.

5. Indefinite pronouns such as everybody and anyone can make writing with correct subject-verb agreement tricky.

6. You should treat indefinite pronouns as singular nouns that take singular verbs. Keep in mind that every and any are singular concepts.

Every human being is responsible for his actions.

7. If you wish to avoid using the masculine pronoun his or the very clumsy construction his or her – there is a simple solution to the problem. Put the expression into the plural form:

All human beings are responsible for their own actions.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Categorizing essay topics

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sample from HTML program and PDF book

1. Categorizing takes place when you have completed a brainstorming exercise. You will need to produce a logical arrangement of the ideas and items you have written down.

2. Remember that you are doing this in order to generate a coherent plan for your arguments in response to the essay question. You are trying to put the ideas into some persuasive order.

3. Do this on a separate piece of paper so that you free yourself from the randomness of the brainstorming. It should also help you to see more clearly any shape or structure which might begin to emerge.

4. As a first step you should eliminate anything which is completely unrelated to the question topic(s). Be prepared to delete even the most attractive item if it is not relevant. It is no use trying to incorporate material just because you have written it down during the brainstorming stage.

5. When you have eliminated anything which is not relevant, your next task is to look for connections between the individual items. Try to do this as you transfer them from the brainstorming onto your second page. The process should help you analyse the ideas you have produced on the subject and begin to create some form of organisation.

6. The connections between topics might exist because the items are of the same type. For instance cars, trains, and aeroplanes are all forms of TRANSPORT. Alternatively, they might belong in the same category. Banking, taxation, and public expenditure are all FINANCIAL or FISCAL matters.

7. Your task at this point is to identify these general categories. You should then assign to them the individual items from your brainstorming.

8. There may be some items which do not fit easily into any category. Put these to one side. Be prepared to incorporate them at a later stage. Alternatively, if they will not fit logically into the essay plan you are creating, leave them out.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Checking drafts of essays

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sample from HTML program and PDF book

1. Checking drafts takes place when you have produced the first version of an essay. You should be prepared to check through it carefully. Make any changes necessary to improve the clarity and effectiveness of what you have written.

2. Do not be tempted to hand in the essay just because you have written the last word.

3. You should eliminate any weaknesses. Check your punctuation and grammar.

4. Correct any mistakes, and even rearrange the order of your paragraphs if it will improve the quality and coherence of your argument.

5. Eliminate anything which is not strictly relevant to the question topic(s) you have been asked to deal with.

6. Use the list of suggestions which follow to check that you have covered what is required.

7. Try to avoid thinking of the first draft as the finished essay, no matter how much effort you have put into its production.

8. Regard it instead as the raw material from which a more considered and well-crafted second draft will be produced. You should be prepared for extensive re-writing.

9. When word-processing your work, edit the final draft on screen.

10. Eliminate all errors and add all your corrections before printing out the final draft.

Checklist

  • Write out the question accurately and fully at the head of your draft
  • Answer its specific directions and follow any instructions in the rubric
  • Cover all the main aspects of the question topic(s) concerned
  • Answer in a concise, clear, and logical manner
  • Remain strictly relevant to the question throughout
  • Stay within any given word limit required
  • Move smoothly from one point of argument to the next
  • Provide good illustrative examples and evidence to support your claims
  • Acknowledge your sources and supply either endnotes or footnotes
  • Provide a bibliography

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Children’s Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook

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best-selling guide to publishers, agents, and outlets

This is the ‘writing for children’ version of the best-selling writer’s yearbook and manual, which has come up with a winning formula. It lists all the resources any serious writer could need – the names, addresses, and contact details for publishers and agents, outlets for freelancers, and institutions which offer help to writers. Woven between these listings (which are updated every year) there are specially commissioned essays and articles by famous authors and illustrators – such as Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo and JK Rowling; top editors and best-selling publishers; leading TV and radio producers, and other experts in the field of children’s media.

Childrens Writers and Artists YearbookThese give invaluable first-hand accounts of how the world of professional writing actually operates. Anyone aspiring to write for children will find these invaluable. The latest edition includes chapters entitled: How to Get an Agent; Learning to Write for Children; Writing Humour for Young Children; Do I Have to Have an Agent to Succeed?; What Does an Editor Do?; Eight Great Tips to Get Your Picture Book Published; UK Copyright Law; Writing Comedy for Children’s Television; Children’s Evergreens & Best Sellers; Out of the Slush Pile; Teenage Fiction; Marketing, Publicising and Selling Children’s Books; Illustrating for Children’s Books;

Like many other reference books, this guide represents very good value for money in terms of bulk information – but more importantly it’s information which is reliable, up-to-date, and difficult to locate elsewhere.

If you have any serious intention of entering the commercial market as a children’s writer or someone working in one of the associated creative arts – then this is a book which you will need sooner or later.

© Roy Johnson 2014

Children's Writers' and Artists' Yearbook   Buy the book at Amazon UK

Children's Writers' and Artists' Yearbook   Buy the book at Amazon US

Children’s Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook, London: A & C Black, 7th revised edition 2014, pp.480, ISBN: 1408195127

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Clear thinking

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analysis, logic, reasoning, and clear expression

What is clear thinking?

Clear Thinking
Clear thinking is the ability to express ideas in a simple and straightforward manner. It also involves the ability to analyse statements and follow logical arguments. Some people imagine it means being super-clever or having a high IQ. Others think it’s the ability to solve really difficult puzzles or unravel complex statements. But in fact it’s none of these things.

Clear thinking means that you have the ability to

  • express your own ideas simply
  • produce valid arguments
  • think in a logical manner
  • inspect and analyse ideas critically
Why is clear thinking important?

Clear thinking is a vital part of effective communication – in business, education, and all forms of intellectual life. It’s what’s called a ‘core skill’ which will enable you to think, speak, and write in an effective manner.

Clear thinking is required when you wish to –

  • persuade other people
  • develop powerful arguments
  • become more discerning and precise
  • reveal the flaws in someone else’s argument
What is required for clear thinking?

Clear thinking is a search for precision, clarity, and truthfulness. You can develop the skills required by breaking down what you say and write into small and simple units. Simplicity usually leads to greater clarity. You also need to analyse arguments and recognise their underlying logic.

Clear thinking requires –

  • mental effort and discipline
  • analysing, reasoning, and understanding
  • recognising logical arguments
  • patience and diligence
How to do it?

You need to pay very close attention to the small details of what you say, read, and write. The claims you make must be expressed in a clear and logical manner, and should be based on facts or evidence. The claims other people make should be inspected very closely and examined for their truthfulness, their logic, and their validity as arguments.

Clear thinking requires –

  • precision and clarity of language
  • using only valid forms of argument
  • avoiding over-simplifying and generalising
  • analysing everything in close detail
An example of clear thinking

What follows is an extract from a letter to a newspaper. It’s from a reader protesting about the reorganisation of secondary schools. And it is very typical of the sort of everyday argument you might hear in a pub or on a radio or TV discussion.

Read each paragraph carefully, and give some thought to every one of the separate statements made. Ask yourself – Is this really true? Is this a valid argument? And then compare your conclusions with the comments that follow.

Recently you said that our schools are failing, something that many parents have felt for years. Let this be the start of a campaign to restore educational standards in our schools.

We once had an educational system which was the envy of the world. Now our schools have been ‘kidnapped’ by theorists, reformers, and the political pirates of the far Left.

The first battle of this campaign is already being fought. Parents in Manchester are engaged in a fight against the Labour council’s plans to reorganise secondary schooling, involving the closure of ten of the best schools in the city. These are ones with excellent academic records and traditions which go back beyond the beginning of the last century.

schools are failing
Failing to do what, exactly? This is the sort of expression of complaint you will hear in any saloon bar conversation or read in a tabloid newspaper. Presumably the writer means a failure to educate children properly. But is there any hard evidence that schools in general are worse than they were in the past? After all, exam results seem to improve almost every year. And if you think about it for a moment, most people a hundred years ago were not educated at all, so the general level of education is likely to have risen rather than to have fallen.

restore educational standards
This is part of the same unsupported claim that the quality of education is falling. But it is just as difficult to obtain an ‘A’ level in maths today as it was twenty or fifty years ago – so that is one standard which has not fallen. And the total number of children achieving these qualifications is greater, not less than before – so that is another.

We once had an educational system which was the envy of the world
This is another claim made without any evidence to support it. It is a supposition, or a commonly held opinion which may or may not be true. After all, if it were true, why have so many countries created educational systems organised on lines completely different to ours? Moreover, the ‘system’ the writer refers to was one which only dealt with an extremely small proportion of children, all of whom came from the middle and upper classes.

theorists, reformers, and the political pirates of the far Left
This is what’s called very emotive language. The suggestion being made here is that people who theorise about something lack practical experience and only deal in opinion (though the writer is doing just the same thing). The term ‘reformers’ is being used to suggest making things worse. that politicians of the far Left are going to steal something (which is what pirates do).

traditions which go back beyond the beginning of the last century
The implication here is that anything which has lasted so long must be good and should be left unchanged. It’s true that the traditions may well exist, but that is not necessarily a reason for resisting educational reforms. Nor does it mean that they are necessarily good – just because they have lasted so long.

There are three general points to be made about this example, and which are closely bound up with the discipline of clear thinking.

One
Your first reaction might be that these are nit-picking objections to the arguments in the letter. After all, we don’t expect people who write to newspapers to be professional philosophers, do we? But this is an example of how we should challenge assumptions and arguments (even our own) if we are to develop the habit of clear thinking. The challenge of thinking clearly is to ask of everything Is this really true?. This might seem at first to be a negative attitude to take, and it will probably slow down the enquiry. But it is a necessary first step.

Two
Despite all the observations made above, it is still possible that the letter writer could be correct. It’s possible that the quality of educational provision in the Manchester area is falling. The problem is that the arguments used in the latter are badly flawed and not persuasive. This feature of clear thinking comes under the heading of valid and invalid arguments.

Three
You might notice that the weakness of these arguments are closely connected to a sloppy and imprecise use of language. Terms such as failing, standards, and traditions are too casual, vague, and ambiguous in this context. It’s for this reason that if we wish to develop the skills of clear thinking, we must pay close attention to the way we use words.

© Roy Johnson 2011

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Colons in essays

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sample from HTML program and PDF book

1. Colons in essays are marks of punctuation used to introduce a strong pause within a sentence. They separates two clauses which could stand alone as separate sentences but which are linked by some relationship in their meaning.

2. A colon is used to introduce a list:

The car has a number of optional extras: sun roof, tinted windows, rear seat belts, and electrically operated wing mirrors.

3. It normally precedes a long quotation or a speech:

Speaking at Caesar’s funeral, Anthony addresses the crowd: “Friends, Romans, countrymen …”

4. It is used before a clause which explains (often by way of illustration) the previous statement. It suggests the sense of ‘That is to say’ or ‘Namely’:

The school is highly regarded: academic standards are high, the staff are pleasant, and the students enjoy going there.

5. It is used to indicate a sharp contrast:

My brother likes oranges: my sister hates them.

6. Note that the colon followed by a dash (:—) is never necessary. Some people put these before a list, but the colon alone is sufficient.

7. The colon is also used between the title and the sub-title of a book:

Magical Realism: Latin-American fiction today.

8. Notice that the items which follow a list are punctuated with commas if they are a succession of individual words.

You will need four ingredients: flour, butter, milk, and sugar.

9. If the items in the list contain clauses or phrases these may be punctuated with semicolons:

You will need the following materials: some scrap paper; a pen, preferably blue or black; some envelopes; and some good, white, unlined writing paper.

10. The colon requires careful handling. If you are in any doubt, use separate sentences.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Commas in essays

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sample from HTML program and PDF book

1. Commas in essays are the least emphatic pause in normal punctuation. They mark a light hesitation or interruption in the sentence. The comma is used in a number of different grammatical instances.

2. To separate two clauses when the first is not closely associated with the second:

Cars should turn left here, whilst foot passengers should continue towards the exit.

3. To introduce a pause where the eye might otherwise continue and momentarily mistake the sense of what was written:

In the beautiful valley below, the villages looked very small.

4. To separate a sequence of adjectives which qualify a noun in the same manner:

He was an arrogant, loquacious man.

5. However, when the adjectives are of a different order or type, no comma is necessary:

He was a distinguished foreign visitor.

6. To separate items in a long list:

The box contained an old leather-bound book, a bottle, some pencils, and a gun.

7. Opinions vary on the necessity of the final comma in such examples. If the items are all of the same kind, there is probably little chance of ambiguity. If they are not, it is usually safer to retain the comma.

8. To mark the beginning and end of a parenthetical phrase within a sentence:

I am quite sure, despite all my reservations on the matter, that he is doing the right thing.

9. Confusion is sometimes sown by the insertion of commas where they are not really necessary. This is an example of bad usage:

The strangest of all these new sensations, was the onset of profound happiness.

10. Commas should not be used to connect separate sentences as a casual substitute for the full stop:

A party has been arranged, it will not take place until next week.

11. This is weak writing. The statement should be made either as two separate sentences, or if they are brought together because of their natural connection, a conjunction is required:

A party has been arranged, but it will not take place until next week.

12. Even though in some cases a comma may not be absolutely necessary for retaining grammatical coherence (as in the previous example), it may still be useful in order to clarify the meaning for a reader. Here’s another bad example.

Each night you stay at a Roberts-Plaza Moat Houses UK hotel at the fully published or corporate rate you are entitled to a special discount voucher.

13. This poorly phrased statement would be improved by the insertion of a comma after the word ‘rate’.

14. What follows is an example of an entire paragraph which has been punctuated using only the comma and the full stop. [It also illustrates, rather deftly, the function of the ‘topic sentence’.]

The central thought or main controlling idea of a paragraph is usually conveyed in what is called a topic sentence. This important sentence which states, summarises or clearly expresses the main theme, is the keystone of a well-built paragraph. The topic sentence may come anywhere in the paragraph, though most logically and in most cases it is the first sentence. This immediately tells readers what is coming, and leaves them in no doubt about the overall controlling idea. In a very long paragraph, the initial topic sentence may even be restated or given a more significant emphasis in its conclusion.

© Roy Johnson 2003

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Common essay problems

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sample from downloadable HTML program or PDF book

Essay problems – Relevance

1. Straying off the subject in question is a common problem. There are several simple solutions.

2. Always write out the question accurately and in full on both your notes and your essay script.

3. Plan your essays carefully, consult the wording, and relate each part of your argument to the topic(s) in question.

4. At each stage of the argument, you should keep asking yourself ‘Is this relevant?’, ‘Am I answering the question?’, ‘Does this relate directly to the subject I have been asked to discuss?’

5. Each paragraph should contain just one idea or topic which is announced in its first sentence. This idea or topic should be directly related to the question or the subject you have been asked to discuss.

6. If you introduce a separate issue in order to illustrate some part of your argument, make sure that you return to the original subject as soon as possible. Part of your discussion should explain why and how this secondary issue is relevant.

Essay problems – Signposting

1. Unless you have been asked to do so, there is no need to signpost your argument.

2. That is, you do not need to use expressions such as:

‘Later in this essay I will be discussing…’
‘Let us now go on to consider…’
‘As I demonstrated earlier…’
‘We will now turn to evaluate another example…’

3. Just state clearly the point of your arguments and leave them to speak for themselves.

4. In a well-planned essay, this progression should be self-evident from the arrangement of your work.

5. A sound essay plan and a coherent structure will reveal the logic of your argument and the relationship of its parts.

6. Each new topic should be clearly identified or defined as soon as you begin dealing with it. This statement will provide all the indication needed of your intentions.

7. If you wish to some light indication of structure, it is perfectly acceptable to use formulations such as:

‘The first reason … The second…’
‘On one hand … on the other…’
‘However, the main argument against this is…’

8. The conventions on signposting may vary slightly from one subject to another. In some of the sciences it is necessary to announce in advance what you will be writing about.

Essay problems – Commenting on the process

1. Your essay represents the results of your efforts. There is no need to comment on the manner in which you have worked.

2. Your tutor doesn’t need to know in what order you assembled your evidence, or what difficulties you encountered during its composition.

3. You might wish to argue that the question raises a certain number of difficulties or crucial issues. This is acceptable – so long as you say what they are.

4. You should then go on to discuss their relevance to the subject in question, and maybe even suggest some answers to them.

Essay problems – Posing questions

1. Do not present your argument in the form of questions.

2. Remember – you are supposed to be answering a question.

3. Avoid formulations such as:

Was she so overwhelmed at the thought of a ‘new brave’ husband that she shot him? In considering his cowardice, had Macomber removed his weapon – his weakness?

Essay problems – Your own argument

1. Do not use quotation from the text as a substitute for your own argument.

2. That is, don’t present your answer to the question as a mixture of your own remarks, woven together with quotations.

3. Here is an example:

The poem describes a journey ‘from rich industrial shadows’ through crowded urban environments to a place of ‘loneliness’ where ‘silence stands/like heat’.

Referencing

1. Quotations from a text should be followed by page references – as in the following example:

These literary devices include simile, such as the description of the lion as ‘like some super-rhino’ (p.94) and the…

2. You should not include the reference as part of your text, as in the following example:

These literary devices include simile, such as the description of the lion on page ninety-four when it is described as ‘like some super-rhino’ and the other instance on page fifty-six when it is…

Essay problems – Creating structure

1. Essays should have a clear structure. This should be created in a firm essay plan.

2. Good structure is a persuasive or logical sequence of the parts in an essay.

3. The order of parts is often determined by the nature of the subject. This order might be created by:

  • logical progression
  • increasing significance
  • equal significance
  • chronological order
  • narrative sequence
  • category groupings

4. You can generate the parts of your essay by deciding which topics you will cover in your answer.

5. Each of these topics should be discussed separately – usually in at least one paragraph on its own.

6. If there is no natural order for your topics, you could deal with the smaller, less important items first. This leaves the larger, more important issues until the end of the essay.

© Roy Johnson 2004

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Common essay problems

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… and how to overcome them

Essay problems – Relevance

1. Straying off the subject in question is one of the most common essay problem. There are several simple solutions.

2. Always write out the question accurately and in full on both your notes and your essay script.

3. Plan your essays carefully, consult the wording, and relate each part of your argument to the topic(s) in question.

4. At each stage of the argument, you should keep asking yourself ‘Is this relevant?’, ‘Am I answering the question?’, ‘Does this relate directly to the subject I have been asked to discuss?’

5. Each paragraph should contain just one idea or topic which is announced in its first sentence. This idea or topic should be directly related to the question or the subject you have been asked to discuss.

6. If you introduce a separate issue in order to illustrate some part of your argument, make sure that you return to the original subject as soon as possible. Part of your discussion should explain why and how this secondary issue is relevant.

Essay problems – Signposting

1. Unless you have been asked to do so, there is no need to signpost your argument.

2. That is, you do not need to use expressions such as:

‘Later in this essay I will be discussing…’

‘Let us now go on to consider…’

‘As I demonstrated earlier…’

‘We will now turn to evaluate another example…’

3. Just state clearly the point of your arguments and leave them to speak for themselves.

4. In a well-planned essay, this progression should be self-evident from the arrangement of your work.

5. A sound essay plan and a coherent structure will reveal the logic of your argument and the relationship of its parts.

6. Each new topic should be clearly identified or defined as soon as you begin dealing with it. This statement will provide all the indication needed of your intentions.

7. If you wish to some light indication of structure, it is perfectly acceptable to use formulations such as

‘The first reason … The second…’

‘On one hand … on the other…’

‘However, the main argument against this is…’

8. The conventions on signposting may vary slightly from one subject to another. In some of the sciences it is necessary to announce in advance what you will be writing about.

Essay problems – Commenting on the process

1. Your essay represents the results of your efforts. There is no need to comment on the manner in which you have worked.

2. Your tutor doesn’t need to know in what order you assembled your evidence, or what difficulties you encountered during its composition.

3. You might wish to argue that the question raises a certain number of difficulties or crucial issues. This is acceptable – so long as you say what they are.

4. You should then go on to discuss their relevance to the subject in question, and maybe even suggest some answers to them.

Essay problems – Posing questions

1. Do not present your argument in the form of questions.

2. Remember – you are supposed to be answering a question.

3. Avoid formulations such as:

Was she so overwhelmed at the thought of a ‘new brave’ husband that she shot him? In considering his cowardice, had Macomber removed his weapon – his weakness?

4. A common rule on this issue is as follows: “Never raise a question in an essay – unless you are going to answer it.”

Essay problems – Your own argument

1. Do not use quotation from the text as a substitute for your own argument.

2. That is, don’t present your answer to the question as a mixture of your own remarks, woven together with quotations.

3. Here is an example:

The poem describes a journey ‘from rich industrial shadows’ through crowded urban environments to a place of ‘loneliness’ where ‘silence stands/like heat’.

Essay problems – Referencing

1. Quotations from a text should be followed by page references – as in the following example:

These literary devices include simile, such as the description of the lion as ‘like some super-rhino’ (p.94) and the…

2. You should not include the reference as part of your text, as in the following example:

These literary devices include simile, such as the description of the lion on page ninety-four when it is described as ‘like some super-rhino’ and the other instance on page fifty-six when it is…

Essay problems – Creating structure

1. Essays should have a clear structure. This should be created in a firm essay plan.

2. Good structure is a persuasive or logical sequence of the parts in an essay.

3. The order of parts is often determined by the nature of the subject. This order might be created by:

  • logical progression
  • increasing significance
  • equal significance
  • chronological order
  • narrative sequence
  • category groupings

4. You can generate the parts of your essay by deciding which topics you will cover in your answer.

5. Each of these topics should be discussed separately – usually in at least one paragraph on its own.

6. If there is no natural order for your topics, you could deal with the smaller, less important items first. This leaves the larger, more important issues until the end of the essay.

See – How to structure an essay.

© Roy Johnson 2009

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