Writing at UChicago The Little Red Schoolhouse method

We care about good writing: You know good writing when you see it.
To describe exactly what makes it good, however, can be more of a
challenge.

Acquire LRS vocabulary to produce better writing: The LRS method

helps you develop a vocabulary to use when you evaluate writing. This
vocabulary makes it easier to articulate what a particular writer does well
and what that writer does poorly. When you are more aware of what
exactly makes for good writing, you put yourself in a position to produce
better writing yourself.

Identify who you want to persuade: In academic and professional

writing, we usually write to persuade our readers to adopt a particular
point of view. To have any chance of persuading your readers, you must
effectively communicate what you intended to communicate to them. In
order to do effectively communicate, you must know who exactly you
intend to persuade. You must know your audience.

Know your reader: When you write, you write for an audience, for a
particular set of readers. As writers, you must identify those readers. Who
are they? What do they know? What do they care about? Knowing your
readers puts you in a position to understand what they are likely to
expect from your writing, and to effectively anticipate and respond to the
kinds of questions they are likely to ask about your writing.

An example: Your readers are inhabitants of a nursing home. You want

to persuade them to stop paying for an over-priced cable service, and
instead, to subscribe to Netflix and Amazon Prime. How are you likely to
persuade them to adopt your viewpoint? First, you will need to
understand the preferences and priorities of these inhabitants. What are
their attitudes toward cost? What TV shows do they watch? Are they
familiar with Netflix and Amazon Prime, and if not, are they likely to want
to become familiar with these different service providers? Your answers to
such questions and others will help you figure out how to craft your
writing.

Questions to ask about your reader:

Who will read my writing? Experts? Well-informed non-experts?
Ill-informed non-experts?

What do they know about my subject or the problem I address in

my writing? Do they already have a special interest in it? Is the
problem I address one they recognize or one they share with me?
Will I need to convince them to take the problem seriously?

How will these readers respond to the solution/answer I offer in

response to the problem or subject I discuss? Will they have in
mind an alterative solution? What objections to my solution might
they raise?

Embrace the art of editing: While you draft a paper, you are constantly
thinking and refining your ideas. In fact, some of your ideas may only
become clear after you have drafted. All writing is provisional. When you
edit, you give yourself the opportunity to work towards clearer and more
coherent writing.

Prepared by Nicole Beckmann Tessel in 2016 for the Graham School at

the University of Chicago. Based on lector training materials received
from the Writing Program at the University of Chicago; Joseph M.
Williams and Gregory G. Colombs Style: Toward Clarity and Grace; and
Wayne C. Booth, Joseph M. Williams, and Gregory G. Colombs The Craft
of Research.
KEY TERMS: CHARACTERS and ACTIONS, NOMINALIZATIONS,
SUBJECT and VERB CORES

Make reading your writing easy: A sentence can be long or short.

Length does not matter. What matters is how easy you make it for your
reader to get from the beginning of the sentence to its end.

Think about characters and actions as essential elements of your

writing: Stories are largely composed of characters and the actions of
those characters. The same is true of academic writing.
- Grammatically, every sentence has a subject and a verb.
- Functionally, every sentence has a character and an action.
How can you make it easy to identify the character and action of a
sentence?

Locate the character in the subject: The character is the source of

action in a sentence. It may be singular (example: a dog) or collective
(example: pets). Readers tend to look for characters in the subject.

Locate the action in the verb: The action may be movement, a mental
process, a feeling, etc. Typically, action words are ones that could end in
ing. Readers tend to look for actions in verbs.

Avoid unnecessary nominalizations: Readers tend to look for

characters and actions in order to make sense of writing. And they look
for characters in the subject and actions in the verb. When you
nominalize actions, rather than put them in the verb, you may confuse
your reader.
- Nominalization It is a noun derived from a verb or an adjective.
(example: compete [verb] -> competition [nominalization])
- When a nominalization follows a verb, check whether that verb
adds valuable information to the sentence. If it doesnt, get rid of
the verb and change the nominalization into a new verb.
(example: The swimmers engaged in a competition this weekend.
---> The swimmers competed this weekend.)
- When a nominalization is the subject of a verb, check whether
that verb adds valuable information to the sentence. If it doesnt,
get rid of the verb and create a new subject.
(example: There is a need for more careful collection of this
economic data. ---> Economists must collect this data more
carefully.)
- When several nominalizations are strung together, get rid of
the first one by changing it into a verb and finding a new subject.
(example: What was done then was a presentation of the effects of
the drug. ---> Then, the researchers presented the effects of the
drug.)s

Create subject + verb cores: Sentences are easier to understand when

the subject and the verb are put close together in a sentence. So,
characters and their actions should be located close together in a
sentence.

(example:
1. Overworked and underpaid, the worker (subject) described in the
case addressed at length in the journal article assigned last week, may
find (verb) that he is too tied up to visit us in class tomorrow.
2. The journal article assigned last week addressed the case of a
particular overworked and underpaid worker. That worker may find
(subject + verb core) that he is too tied up to visit us in class tomorrow.
The second example is clearer than the first, because the subject and
verb were placed close together.)
KEY TERMS: NEW INFORMATION and OLD INFORMATION

Informing your readers is a central objective: In your writing, you

seek to tell your readers something they did not already know.

You inform your readers when:

You provide details and specifics, rather than general and vague
statements.
Your readers do not already know those details and specifics you
provide. In other words, you inform when you provide NEW
INFORMATION that is detailed and specific.
Your readers are able to UNDERSTAND that NEW
INFORMATION.
You provide familiar details and specifics, so that your readers can
understand any NEW INFORMATION provided. In other words,
you provide OLD INFORMATION, too.

You help your readers understand NEW INFORMATION when:

You put OLD INFORMATION at the beginning of every sentence,
before NEW INFORMATION.
Your OLD INFORMATION is simple, so that the NEW
INFORMATION can be complex.
(example: In the pages that follow, I will offer a brief account of the
late Krusty the Clowns illustrious career. The famous clown is best
known for his show, The Krusty the Clown Show, which aired in
Springfield on Channel 6 for roughly two decades. During that time,
the show sustained tremendous popularity with children across
Springfield. Krusty dedicated most of his time to performances on
the nightly show, but amassed a fortune licensing his name and
image to a number of companies.

In the sentences above, you will notice that new information from
one sentence is repeated at the beginning of the subsequent
sentence.)

OLD INFORMATION is:

Relatively familiar to your reader. It may be information that the
reader knew before reading your text. It may also be new
information that they read earlier in your text, which has now
become familiar to them.
Old information is shorter in length than new information.
(example: Can you make sense of this sentence? Maiden voyage.
41.726931 deg. N, -49.948253 deg. W. Atlantic. Theres a good
chance that you couldnt. The information is unfamiliar and
presented without any context. Can you understand the edited
sentence? On its Maiden voyage, the Titanic sunk in the Atlantic
Ocean at 41.726931 degrees North and -49.948253 degrees West.)

KEY TERMS: CONJUNCTIONS, ORIENTORS, TOPIC and STRESS

You may write a series of clear sentences, but find that when read
together they confuse your reader. To make sure that a series of clear
sentences is easy to follow, you need to manage the flow of information
both within and across those sentences. Each sentence in a series should
reflect the a consistent message, one that fits within the broader context
of your paper.

Tips

Types of orientors:
Ones that help readers evaluate subsequent information.
(examples: unfortunately, it is important to note, perhaps,
apparently, remarkably, etc.)

to manage the flow of information:

Put old information at the beginning of the sentence.
Put new information at the end of the sentence.
Use conjunctions to connect one sentence to another.
(examples: though, ifthen, that, yet, etc.)
Use orientors to orient readers.
Announce the topic at the beginning of the sentence.
Put information that you want to stress at the end of the sentence.

Ones that point to a time or place.

(examples: earlier, On September 20th, in China, etc.)

Ones that announce the concept we intend to write about.

(examples: I will talk about A; the subsequent discussion, which is
focused on B)

About topics:
They are the ideas and concepts located toward the beginning of a
sentence, which define for your readers what that sentence is
about.
A topic is not always located in the grammatical subject. But the
topic is clearest when it is located in the grammatical subject.
A topic is often a noun phrase.
(example: Regarding the proposed regulations (topic), it
(grammatical subject) is hardly evident how the administration
will respond.
In the example above, you will note that the topic is different from
the grammatical subject. The sentence is not about it; the
sentence is about proposed regulations.)

Create coherence through topic strings: When a series of sentences

articulate the same few topics, those topics form a topic string. A topic
string is relatively easy for a reader to follow, because it feels focused and
cohesive.

The beginning of each sentence is key: It should present old

information or information familiar to your reader. This old information
should be in the topic position. The topic should have a character, which is
usually located in the grammatical subject.

The end of each sentence is also important: More complex, new

information should be put toward the end of a sentence. The end is also
where the stress is located.

Managing the end of a sentence:

Trim unnecessary words from the end, so that only important
information remains.
Move less important information toward the beginning of the
sentence. Move more important information to the end.
Avoid putting the most important information in the middle of the
sentence.

REVIEW: By now, we begin to appreciate the extraordinary complexity

of an ordinary English sentence. A sentence is more than its subject,
verb, and object. It is more than the sum of its words and parts. It is a
system of systems whose parts we can fit together in very delicate ways
to achieve very delicate ends if we know how. (Williams, Style: Toward
Clarity and Grace, The University of Chicago Press: Chicago and London,
p. 78).
1. Clear sentences put characters in the subject and actions in the verb.
2. Clear sentences put old, less important information toward the
beginning and new, more important information toward the end.
3. Clear sentences put topics toward the beginning and stresses toward
the end.

KEY TERMS: INDEX POSITION and DISCUSSION, POINT

Know how a reader reads and craft your writing accordingly: As a

writer, you set and hopefully meet the expectations of your reader. To set
and meet expectations effectively, you must first understand how readers
will tend to approach sentences, paragraphs, and sections of your
document. When you understand the readers approach, you can craft
each part of your writing to effectively communicate what you want to
communicate to your readers.

You have already learned, for example, how readers tend to approach
sentences. Readers tend to search for characters and actions in order to
make sense of a sentence. And they tend to look for characters in the
grammatical subjects and actions in the verbs.

Two parts of a paragraph or section: Readers tend to approach

paragraphs and sections of a document in a particular way as well. They
tend to look for a short opening segment that introduces ideas that will
be developed further in the remainder of the paragraph or section. In
short, they divide the paragraph or section into two parts.

The two essential parts of a paragraph:

1. The Index Position
2. The Discussion

The Index Position:

o It is analogous to subject or topic. Like the subject or topic, it
introduces your reader to the concepts and claims that you intend
to expand upon.
o It is always located at the beginning of a paragraph.
o It establishes reader expectations with a set of indexed words
(themes), which the reader uses to understand the remainder of
the paragraph.
o It is often more than one sentence long. The first sentence often
functions as a transition from one paragraph or section to another.
The second sentence will state the point of the paragraph or
section.

The Discussion:
o It is analogous to the verb or stress. Like the verb and stress, the
discussion expands upon what came before it.

Paragraphs and sections have Points: You use paragraphs to

designate where you begin to discuss one idea, where you end that
discussion, and where you begin and end discussion of another idea. You
also use paragraphs to make new claims about new subjects. Those new
claims are called Points.

About the Point:

o The sentence that answers the question, Whats the point of this
paragraph or section?
o It is written on the page explicitly.
o Everything in the paragraph relates to it.
o Every paragraph or section must have a point that supports the
claim of the document (main point).
o It is often located at in the last sentence of the Index Position.

About themes:
o These are the words that get indexed in the Index Position.
o They are the words that your readers will think are most important.
o To make sense of the paragraph or section, readers will look for
these words throughout.

Grab the attention of your readers: You need to get your readers
interested in what you have written (unless, of course, these readers are
being paid to read your writing). The introduction should capture their
attention and make them want to learn what you have to say.

Address a relevant problem/question: Your readers get interested

when they think that your writing will tackle a problem/question that they
think needs a solution/answer.

Essential elements of an introduction:

Present information that establishes a shared context.
Pose a problem/question that readers find relevant.
Articulate/promise a response/solution.

First, establish a shared context:

Before you state a problem/pose a question, you should show
readers that you share common ground. You can do this by pointing
to a widely held belief or theory.
Acknowledge the elements of that belief or theory that are correct
or valuable. In other words, make concessions to the reader.

Then, state a problem/question:

Articulate an instability in your shared context. To accomplish this
you can:
o Attack a widely held belief or theory.

o Point to a gap in knowledge.

o Mention something new (a new source/data that has become
available)

Your reader may not necessarily care about the problem/question

you are writing about, and so, may not be interested in reading on.
To deal with reader indifference (the so what? problem), you can
explain the consequences of the instability. Tell them how this
instability will specifically impact them?

Your reader may care about a different problem/question than the

one you are writing about. To deal with reader resistance, persuade
them why the problem/question you identify should matter to them.

Finally, articulate your solution/answer to the problem/question.

The last sentence(s) of your introduction should respond to the
problem/question you have raised.
It should do so with an explicit solution/answer or it should promise
an explicit solution/answer to be delivered later in the paper.

In the rest of your paper, it is important to show readers that your

discussion is connected to your introduction and the problem/question
you raised there.
(example: We UChicago students know that the Regenstein library is a
crowded place. Each of us has had to ascend floor after floor in search of
a seat. The most widespread explanations for why the Reg is so
crowded are that it is conveniently located and contains the largest
collection of books relevant to the widest sector of the student population.
These two factors do contribute to increased foot traffic at the Reg, but
they are only part of the explanation for crowdedness. Indeed, they are
likely not the most relevant ones. Last year, two graduate students
conducted a survey of library goers. What they found, is that the Reg is
only the most crowded library on campus between December and April.
During all other times of year, Crerar and Harper libraries average about
the same foot traffic as the Reg. Based on these findings, I conclude
that to solve the problem of overcrowding at the Regenstein, thermostats
across all libraries should remain consistent. In the cold months, students
choose the warmest library, which is the Reg. In the warmer months,
students migrate to different libraries.)

In the above example, the writer first establishes a shared context. She is
writing to UChicago students as a fellow UChicago student. She also
addresses a problem that she thinks her readers are likely to care about.
She then acknowledges the legitimacy of widespread explanations for
crowdedness at the Reg, but then attacks those explanations and
introduces new data that has become available. After destabilizing the
status quo, she articulates a solution to the problem of crowdedness:
keep temperatures constant across all libraries.
KEY TERMS: CLAIM, REASONS, EVIDENCE, WARRANT

In academic and professional writing, you are usually trying to convince

your readers to adopt your point of view on a particular matter. You
present a problem/question and your response to it is your argument.
The argument makes a clear claim. It supports that claim with grounds.
An argument also includes a warrant and responds to reader objections
through counterarguments.

Essential parts of an argument:

CLAIM + GROUNDS + WARRANT

What is a claim?
It is the answer/solution that you present in response to the main
question/problem you pose.
It is a statement your readers will doubt/be skeptical about. It is
not a statement that your readers will accept at face value.
You know you have a claim when it is contestable, specific,
supportable with evidence, and can be restated as its own opposite.
(example: During Chicago winters, an individual is more likely to
strike up conversation with a stranger in a neighborhood pub than
in a neighborhood caf.
In the example above, the claim is qualified and limited. It also
hedges and states conditions needed for the claim to apply. The
claim only applies to neighborhood (qualified) pubs and cafes.
These neighborhood pubs and cafes must be located in Chicago
(limited). An individual is only more likely (hedge) to strike up
conversation with a stranger, so he/she will not definitely strike up
conversation in a bar over a cafe. The claim is only applicable
during winters (stated conditions), not during any other time of
year.)

What are grounds?

These are the statements that respond to your readers

doubt/skepticism about your claim.
There are two types of grounds: reasons and evidence

Reasons: These are the statements that explain why your reader
should accept your claim. Reasons rest on evidence.

Evidence: These are statements that support your reasons.

o Evidence should be uncontestable, accurate, and reliable.
(example: During Chicago winters, an individual is more likely to
strike up conversation with a stranger in a neighborhood pub than
in a neighborhood caf. This is because individuals in pubs are
drinking alcohol, while individuals in cafes are drinking coffee. A
winter 2014 study conducted by Regenstein and Harper in Chicago
neighborhood cafes and pubs, found that coffee drinkers were 10
times less likely to strike up conversation with a stranger than were
beer drinkers.
In the example above, the claim (articulated in sentence #1) is
supported by a reason (articulated in sentence #2). This reason is
supported by evidence (articulated in sentence #3). Do you, as the
reader, think that the evidence supports the reason? If so, why? If
not, why? Could the writer use more relevant or effective reasons
and evidence?)

What is a warrant?
This is an assumption that connects reasons and evidence to a
claim. It is a generalized inference about the world.
You can identify a warrant with if (reason), then (claim)
constructions. You can also do so with whenever (generalized
version of reason), then (generalized version of claim)
constructions.
(example: If/whenever an individual drinks alcohol, then he/she is
more likely to strike up conversation with a stranger.
Consider the example above. Do you, as a reader, agree with the
warrant?)