2015-08-18 College Prep: 7 C's of good writing

Greg Malivuk
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http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk
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p. 148 (280) - the seven C’s of good writing
concise: short and clear writing, not longer or with more words than necessary (don’t use longer expressions or add words just to meet the required wordcount)

jargon = specific or technical vocabulary for a particular field, especially words that may have a different meaning outside that field (in mathematics, words like “closed”, “open”, “compact”, “cover”, and “size” might have very precise definitions that are not the same as in conversation)
“legalese” = the type of language and jargon used in legal documents
With some papers, assume your audience is smart but not necessarily trained in the same area you’re writing about. Other times, your audience will be people in the same field as you, in which case it’s okay to use technical language.
To be “clear”, make sure to explain what your audience needs explained, which isn’t always the same.

Short sentences slow readers down, which can be good for explaining complex ideas.
Long sentences let readers go through more quickly, which can add “energy” to your writing.
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“Smoking among teenagers is increasing due to peer pressure and advertising that glamorizes smoking.”
- I expect to see three main things in this essay, or else it won’t be complete:
1 Evidence that smoking is increasing.
2 Evidence that peer pressure can increase behaviors like smoking.
3 Evidence that advertising glamorizes smoking and that it affects teenagers’ behavior.
- I do NOT expect superfluous (unnecessary) information about the health effects of smoking or the chemicals found in tobacco, for example. (Adding this information would make the writing less concise and less coherent.)
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“Muslim” is considered better than “Moslem”. (Generally, people who spell it “Moslem” have very anti-Muslim ideas.)