Many of my students made a breakthrough with the quality of their prose over Discussion Board. I asked them to read Paul Roberts’ essay “How to Say Nothing in 500 Words,” then apply the concepts to the rough drafts of their open letters. My students even admitted to liking the prompt. I might ask them to do this same prompt again with their research essays.
Prompt
Paul Roberts gives us some specific suggestions for how to improve our writing on tired old subjects. I’m interested to see you apply some of Roberts’ suggestions to your open letters. In your post, I’d like you to…
1) Identify the five most obvious arguments people make on your side of your argument. Now, identify three arguments from your side that aren’t as commonly addressed.
2) Identify an “abstraction” in your open letter. Describe a strategy or example you could use to make that abstraction or generality more specific.
3) Identify one sentence in your first draft that has “padding”. Rewrite it to be more concise and precise.
4) Identify one sentence in your rough draft that is soft in tone, or beats around the bush. Rewrite that sentence to be more direct or harsh in tone. As Roberts tells us, “call a fool a fool.”
5) Identify one sentence in your rough draft that uses a cliche or pat expression. If you’re having trouble, just look for a phrase that you see often in writing. Rewrite it so that it uses more unique wording.
6) Identify two “colorless” words in your rough draft. Replace those words (or perhaps phrases) with “colorful” words.
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