5 Qualities of Good Writing

Ever wonder what makes good writing? Well, here's a pretty good list.

Brevity
“Brevity is the soul of wit.” – Shakespeare

Why take 100 words to say what can be said in 50? As a revision exercise, attempt to make your essay 2/3 as long without losing any of your ideas. Be concise. Re-word sentences to make them shorter, and combine sentences in an attempt not to repeat ideas.


Focus
“In almost all classes of composition, the unity of effect or impression is a point of the greatest importance.” – Poe

Aristotelian rhetoric contends that every document has at least one specific purpose that an author wishes to impress upon his or her audience. Before you draft your essay, ask yourself what your purpose is. And once you have completed your essay, ask yourself – as objectively as possible – if you have achieved that purpose. Beware the urge to


Selection of Detail
“A skilful literary artist has constructed a tale. If wise, he has not fashioned his thoughts to accommodate his incidents; but having conceived, with deliberate care, a certain unique or single effect to be wrought out, he then invents such incidents – he then combines such events as may best aid him in establishing this preconceived effect.” – Poe

Ask the following question when considering whether or not to include a detail in your composition: What will this detail do to/for my audience? Every detail included in a composition should in some way help you in some way take one more step towards fully realizing your rhetorical purpose. You may be using the detail to establish tone or mood, create pathos, complete a logical argument, etc., but it must do something.

And remember, adjectives such as “extremely” and “very” fail to add detail. After all, what is the difference between “bald “,” very bald,” and “extremely bald”?


Authenticity
Don’t “write an English paper.” Instead, craft an argument. Avoid the temptation to make your essays sound like you think an English teacher wants them to sound. That is not to say that your writing should become conversational or informal, but try to avoid using “big words” simply because you think you should use “big words.” Granted, diction can be a slippery slope – how do your pick words to sound like you are not trying to pick words – but that is in part what makes a good writer great.


Variation
Vary your sentence length and structure. Some should be short, some long. Some should be simple, some complex. And vary your paragraph length as well. Believe it or not, a one-word paragraph can be very effective at times.

Honestly.