Alfredo S.

Mandia III English

12 – Pascal Ma’am Marilyn Lumactao

Academic Writing
Topic: Paul Robert’s “How to Say nothing in 500 words”
To start, the writer notes an essay for a class in the form as to how many
people write; what people want to hear with obvious content and writing. The
author, Paul Roberts, starts by writing how most students start a paper, trying to
put it off and anticipating a minimum of 500 words. With no excellent detail and
counting every word, the paper is then treaded along writing what everybody else
has written. It then goes on to give valuable ideas to make it more fun to write and
read what has been written.
According to Roberts, the main challenge of the writer is to "find the claim,
the approach, the context, the terminology that the reader will take with him."
Roberts 'explains that, while this is not easy, especially with subjects that have
been thoroughly explored. He tells the writer that it is possible to make every
subject engaging. In his piece, “How to Write Nothing in 500 Words”, he offers
advice on how to achieve a well written and engaging essay.
His first directive is to 'ignore obvious content.' The writer should make a
list of supporting points and ignore them after deciding which side of an argument
to take. He recommends that original or humorous claims be thought of. Roberts
notes that briefly summarizing and then disregarding all obvious points enables the
reader to anticipate an essay that is new or unexpected.
The second advice by Roberts, "take the less usual hand" instructs the reader
to be unconcerned when writing his claims regarding the reader's point of view. As
this would be more compelling, he recommends choosing an approach that allows
for more original claims. Originality would be permitted by taking the less usual
point of view. As the side that will prove easier to write about and more
interesting, Roberts describes the side that looks most difficult to defend.
Personalities are the one subject he warns against, which he refers to and is not
considered amusing.
The third advice from Roberts is to "slip out of abstraction." To make sure
the essay is not full of generalities, the writer is told. Examples that are specific,
accurate, or help the reader imagine the argument should be backed up with every
abstract statement.
 The fourth recommendation from Roberts is, "Get rid of obvious padding."
When attempting to reach a particular word count, he suggests not to write
needless words. On seeking more material and illustrative examples, a concerned
student should work.
In "Call a fool a fool," Roberts further illustrates his argument about
removing extra terms. He states that there are many reasons for students to add
vocabulary. The value of clarification, specifics and avoiding terms that undermine
one's argument or viewpoint is clarified by Roberts. In an attempt to be
straightforward, he cautions against the use of bad language throughout one's
article.
Robert’s '"Beware of pat expressions" directive contains widely used terms
and clichés. According to Roberts, these phrases are used by most authors, but
strong writers limit their use of them. He also notes that a writer and his thoughts
are always a barrier between them.
Finally, the last three are colorful, colorful, and colorless. These type of
words may bring confusion hence should be greatly considered in order to produce
and conduct proper research along with proper academic writing,
In accordance to what Robert has stated in this piece, I am very supportive
of his idea for its relevance has no other match. It still lives up to the usefulness it
provides in properly creating a viable work. Nothing should be disregard for every
step of the ways is necessary and without one of them, it may turn out lacking.
Academically writing can assist students evaluate, transmit understanding, think
objectively and concentrate on technique and style. With that said, everything
under what as stated is deemed of use to not only students but individuals who are
tasked to create a certain piece of text for various uses.