How to write an essay with clarity

[jazza97]

When i look at many of the essays posted on this forum, there is a major problem with clarity and, for want of a better word, 'crispness'.  Essentially, there are so many study guides and resources that what will separate the 8s, 9s and 10s is the quality of your writing.  Examiners want something that stands out, but they want to be able read through the essay in one go, not continually double back to figure out what you mean.

A couple of simple tweaks that will make your essay more awesome:

1. get rid of -ing words.  Instead of 'Hector is driving', say 'Hector drives'-the use of the present tense is much crisper and engaging

2. cut out unnecessary words.  Instead of 'not only....but also', say 'both'

3. Don't over-quote.  Examiners don't care that you can say Priam is 'the ruler of Troy'...they know this already.  You have to use a quote to explain something. e.g.  Priam's role as 'the ruler of Troy' illustrates his immense symbolic and literal burden....

4. Don't use big words when you don't know what they mean.  Build up a vocabulary that suits you and use these words in every essay.

Writing a clear, informative essay that satisfies the criteria (remember the one about linguistic and stylistic features) will always score higher that a pseudo-intellectual one.
             

[Popcorn]

+ keep your sentences short. Long sentences are not cool AT ALL!

[Limista]

4. Don't use big words when you don't know what they mean.  Build up a vocabulary that suits you and use these words in every essay.

At the start though, or during practice essays, isn't it ok to experiment with the occasional big word? Isn't that how you learn what works and what doesn't? If someone restricts their vocabulary from now, then how can they improve by the end of the year? I donno... 

[EvangelionZeta]

^I would suggest people experiment perhaps, but only under two conditions:

1. They have someone to mark their work in detail, to ensure that the word is used correctly.

2. They make sure they look the word's meaning in the dictionary up first.

[brenden]

At the start though, or during practice essays, isn't it ok to experiment with the occasional big word? Isn't that how you learn what works and what doesn't? If someone restricts their vocabulary from now, then how can they improve by the end of the year? I donno... 

He doesn't mean avoid big words as a general principle. He just means don't use big words when you have no idea what your doing, just because you want to use big words. It makes you look like an imbecile.
For example - I just googled "unusual words" and picked one I don't know. I'll try fit it in a sentence... I don't know the meaning yet...
"Despite the 3rd and 8th Jurors being the antithesis of each other, towards the play's denouement they are able to clithridiate their relationship."
http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/unuwords.htm
Ctrl + F for 'clithridiate'. Apparently it means "Key-hole shaped". So let's read this again...
 "Despite the 3rd and 8th Jurors being the antithesis of each other, towards the play's denouement they are able to key-hhole shaped their relationship."
I'd suppose you'd call denouement a big word. That doesn't mean you avoid it. If you know what it means it's great metalanguage. You'd call clithridiate a big word, too, but you wouldn't put it in your friggen essay before you check that it means 'key-hole shaped'
Experiment with the occasional big word all you like, but,

4. Don't use big words when you don't know what they mean.

[Limista]

He doesn't mean avoid big words as a general principle. He just means don't use big words when you have no idea what your doing, just because you want to use big words. It makes you look like an imbecile.
For example - I just googled "unusual words" and picked one I don't know. I'll try fit it in a sentence... I don't know the meaning yet...
"Despite the 3rd and 8th Jurors being the antithesis of each other, towards the play's denouement they are able to clithridiate their relationship."
http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/unuwords.htm
Ctrl + F for 'clithridiate'. Apparently it means "Key-hole shaped". So let's read this again...
 "Despite the 3rd and 8th Jurors being the antithesis of each other, towards the play's denouement they are able to key-hhole shaped their relationship."
I'd suppose you'd call denouement a big word. That doesn't mean you avoid it. If you know what it means it's great metalanguage. You'd call clithridiate a big word, too, but you wouldn't put it in your friggen essay before you check that it means 'key-hole shaped'
Experiment with the occasional big word all you like, but,

^I would suggest people experiment perhaps, but only under two conditions:

1. They have someone to mark their work in detail, to ensure that the word is used correctly.

2. They make sure they look the word's meaning in the dictionary up first.

Okay thanks  I got the notion that we should avoid using big words. But now I see that big words are acceptable, provided that they are used in the right context, and also, one'd probably look like an "imbecile" if they used too many!

[Planck's constant]

This may sound stupid, but when writing essays, particularly under timed conditions, try not to picture that your essay will be assessed by a teacher or a VCAA examiner. This can be distracting. Instead, argue your point as if you are talking to a friend. Use the same emotions and conviction as you would if you were trying to convince a friend in a relaxed setting. Your ideas will come out more naturally this way and I personally think that it makes for a more readable essay.

[Lolly]

Upvoting!

Just to echo what other people have been saying, for Lit I actually spent quite a bit of time thumbing through dictionaries and thesauruses and building up glossaries of useful lexicon, ( especially in relation to particular SAC tasks), including words that I didn't know. Of course, don't be verbose for the sake of being verbose, but the more words and phrases that you are able to use eloquently, the more power you have to express yourself. 

[charmanderp]

Upvoting!

Just to echo what other people have been saying, for Lit I actually spent quite a bit of time thumbing through dictionaries and thesauruses and building up glossaries of useful lexicon, ( especially in relation to particular SAC tasks), including words that I didn't know. Of course, don't be verbose for the sake of being verbose, but the more words and phrases that you are able to use eloquently, the more power you have to express yourself. 

Yep, exactly. At the start of Year 11 my writing was incredibly verbose and ornate, and unsurprisingly my marks increased as I simplified the way that I wrote over the next two years. Try to choose a more simple alternative for words/sentences which have ambiguous or unclear meaning, and never deliberately strive to sound complex through your expression - your complexity should come from your interpretation and explanation of ideas.

[Shenz0r]

Orwell's Six Rules:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

[FlorianK]

Always Avoid Alliterations