The Essentials of Writing a College Essay:
A Summary of Paul McHenry Robert’s How To Say Nothing in Five Hundred Words
Paul Mc Henry Robert, English professor and author of many semantic books in the 1950’s, shares his theories on how to best write the dreaded 500 word essay for college in his article How To Say Nothing in Five Hundred Words. He leads with techniques on deciding the best topic for a thesis and addresses the use of more unique viewpoints. Then, the author pushes the writer to stay away from generalities and dig deeper to the concrete facts to support the view chosen in a direct manner. Lastly, he talks about not using cliché expressions of speech and stresses the value of using the writer’s own vivid descriptions and emotion invoking words to capture the reader’s imagination. His article lays out the essentials of writing of college essay.
The author starts by challenging the writer to think the popular views on a topic and completely dispose of them in their mind. He insists that in order to find the best topic for a thesis one must look for a unique viewpoint and even consider taking the side of what is nearly taboo in contrast to the norm. However, the author states the writer must not go against his own belief system or his work will not come across as genuine. In addition to this, deliberate efforts to insult or belittle the beliefs of the professor who will be grading the work is rude.
Next, the author asks the writer to look at his topic and dig deeper than general statements. Hunt for concrete facts and avoid sentence-extenders used to stretch the paper to its minimum required word count while saying little. He states the facts and speaking in a direct manner will strengthen the angle of the argument. He claims if the writer fears judgment and therefore tries to remove himself personally from the topic of the essay that the heart of the essay is lost.
Capturing the reader’s imagination with good descriptive use of words is discussed in the end of the paper. The author wants the writer to first stay away from the jargon of common phrases often heard when people paraphrase a story. Phrases such as, “Having a chip on your shoulder” or ,“ It cost an arm and a leg” are popular but sound much like a cliché. He challenges the writer to substitute his or her own descriptions in the anecdotes, using dynamic words to depict a picturesque scene for the reader. The author points out that some simple non-descript words however, invoke predictable emotions and so they too hold power. The author, in one example states, “(the word)fireside suggests leisure, grace, quiet tradition, congenial company and stove does not.”
Paul McHenry Robert’s goal in his article is to enhance the writer’s understanding of what is a direct, factual essay that also provides an interesting read. His suggestions aim for the writer to pursue a unique viewpoint in the thesis and develop it with facts and descriptive anecdotes, while avoiding general statements and digging deeper to the heart of the subject matter. Paul McHenry Robert’s article lays out the essentials of writing a college essay from start to finish.
A Summary of Paul McHenry Robert’s How To Say Nothing in Five Hundred Words
Paul Mc Henry Robert, English professor and author of many semantic books in the 1950’s, shares his theories on how to best write the dreaded 500 word essay for college in his article How To Say Nothing in Five Hundred Words. He leads with techniques on deciding the best topic for a thesis and addresses the use of more unique viewpoints. Then, the author pushes the writer to stay away from generalities and dig deeper to the concrete facts to support the view chosen in a direct manner. Lastly, he talks about not using cliché expressions of speech and stresses the value of using the writer’s own vivid descriptions and emotion invoking words to capture the reader’s imagination. His article lays out the essentials of writing of college essay.
The author starts by challenging the writer to think the popular views on a topic and completely dispose of them in their mind. He insists that in order to find the best topic for a thesis one must look for a unique viewpoint and even consider taking the side of what is nearly taboo in contrast to the norm. However, the author states the writer must not go against his own belief system or his work will not come across as genuine. In addition to this, deliberate efforts to insult or belittle the beliefs of the professor who will be grading the work is rude.
Next, the author asks the writer to look at his topic and dig deeper than general statements. Hunt for concrete facts and avoid sentence-extenders used to stretch the paper to its minimum required word count while saying little. He states the facts and speaking in a direct manner will strengthen the angle of the argument. He claims if the writer fears judgment and therefore tries to remove himself personally from the topic of the essay that the heart of the essay is lost.
Capturing the reader’s imagination with good descriptive use of words is discussed in the end of the paper. The author wants the writer to first stay away from the jargon of common phrases often heard when people paraphrase a story. Phrases such as, “Having a chip on your shoulder” or ,“ It cost an arm and a leg” are popular but sound much like a cliché. He challenges the writer to substitute his or her own descriptions in the anecdotes, using dynamic words to depict a picturesque scene for the reader. The author points out that some simple non-descript words however, invoke predictable emotions and so they too hold power. The author, in one example states, “(the word)fireside suggests leisure, grace, quiet tradition, congenial company and stove does not.”
Paul McHenry Robert’s goal in his article is to enhance the writer’s understanding of what is a direct, factual essay that also provides an interesting read. His suggestions aim for the writer to pursue a unique viewpoint in the thesis and develop it with facts and descriptive anecdotes, while avoiding general statements and digging deeper to the heart of the subject matter. Paul McHenry Robert’s article lays out the essentials of writing a college essay from start to finish.