INTRODUCTION TO WRITING

WHY DO WE WRITE?

We use written symbols to express all kinds of messages: to share stories, note
financial transactions, record history, imagine the future, to express love,
hatred, humor or melancholy.

Writing gives us access to knowledge. We can trace how an idea has changed over
thousands of years, or argue against the opinions of those long dead, all because
the discoveries of others have been recorded and collected.

Science is often hard to read. Most people assume that its difficulties are born out of
necessity, out of the extreme complexity of scientific concepts, data and analysis.
We argue here that complexity of thought need not lead to impenetrability of
expression; we demonstrate a number of rhetorical principles that can produce
clarity in communication without oversimplifying scientific issues. The results are
substantive, not merely cosmetic: Improving the quality of writing actually improves
the quality of thought.

The fundamental purpose of scientific discourse is not the mere presentation of

information and thought, but rather its actual communication. It does not matter how
pleased an author might be to have converted all the right data into sentences and
paragraphs; it matters only whether a large majority of the reading audience
accurately perceives what the author had in mind. Therefore, in order to understand
how best to improve writing, we would do well to understand better how readers go
about reading. Such an understanding has recently become available through work
done in the fields of rhetoric, linguistics and cognitive psychology. It has helped to
produce a methodology based on the concept of reader expectations.

TYPES OF WRITING

Paragraphs and essays can be written in different types or styles. A writer will choos
e a type depending on what he or she wishes to accomplish, what sort of material i
s to be discussed, and what kind of effect s/he wants to have on the reader. Generall
y speaking, there are four types of writing, though
normally these types are mixed together.

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Narrative: The narrative paragraph or essay tells a story, just like a narrator in a play
(though it should be a true story, unlike a short story or a play). Narrative writing is
best used to illustrate the "personal developmental path" a person (often yourself)
has taken to reach a particular point in his/her life. As a result, it is normally written
in a first person point of view. True narrative writing isunusual, because it is demandi
ng. A narrative must have a conflict that is overcome. This is the core of any narrativ
e form of writing, be it a paragraph, an essay, or a story).

In an essay, it usually means a single incident/anecdote, where the narrator experie

nces some brief challenge that is met and (hopefully) survived. This "overcoming" sh
ould in turn lead to some form of understanding. Simply describing or explaining one'
s surroundings is not a narrative. You need a(brief) establishment of setting, an expl
anation of the challenge, and the resolution of this challenge.
In other words, you need a plot.

Descriptive: Descriptive writing paints a picture. In its pure form, nothing much
happens. "Description" tells us what something looks like, feels like, tast
e
like, sounds like or smells like without action or events. It doesn't explain a relationshi
p or a process beyond oneself; it focuses on one’s immediate subjective perception
s.

Thus, descriptive writing connects the outer world with our inner feelings. It is usuall
y concerned with creating a verbal picture of what we experience and feel at one mo
ment, and it will use many rich
and vivid adjectives and adverbs. So, as a writer, you should make the reader long
to smell therich essence of the trees, the haunting call of the wolves, or the rank odo
ur of the sewer... if that's what you're writing about! Descriptive paragraphs and e
ssays are usually written in the first person point of view, and are much more emotio
nal and personal than expository writing. It should be said that you will rarely write
a purely descriptive passage. Normally speaking, descriptive writing is mixed in with
other styles as a supplement.

Expository: Expository writing "exposes" or explains things about a subject. It is als

o sometimes called "information writing" because it gives information about a per
son, place, thing, relationship or idea. To accomplish that, it is best developed by t
he use of clear reasons, facts and statistical information, cause and effect relationshi
ps, or examples. Since expository paragraphs are factual, they are written without
emotion and usually wrien in the third person. Nevertheless, you can use "I" in your
expository writing if the focus is on external, neutral descriptions and explanations, ra
ther than personal feelings (personal feelings moveyou into "descriptive writing").

Indeed, expository
paragraphs and essays are sometimes confused with descriptive writing, because
both can spend alot of time describing things. But again, the big difference is that ex
pository description tends to focus on external objects, situations and processes, in o
rder to explain something in a neutral, matter‐of

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fact manner. Descriptive paragraphs, on the other hand, tend to focus on our emoti-
nal responses as we perceive the world at one point in time.

Persuasive: This type of writing is probably the most common form of writing at the
university level. Persuasive (or argumentative) writing attempts to convince the read
er that the point of view or course of action recommended by the writer is valid. To
accomplish this, the writer must develop a limited topic which is well defined and d
ebatable, and has more than one side. It is important that the author understand oth
er sides of the topic so that the strongest information to counter the others can be
presented. You may present these opposing points of view, but they must be summ
arized at the beginning and then quickly refuted (to refute something means to sho
w it is false or not particularly important). If you're not sure how to do this, then sim
ply stick to your side of an argument.

Whilepersuasive writing attempts to prove your point of view, it's usually written in an
objective, third person point of view; such a stance helps demonstrate your objectivi
ty. It should be noted that “argumentative” writing is said by some to be more ration
al and empirical (i.e. based on facts), whereas “persuasive” writing will often use
emotional appeals to manipulate the reader’s sympathy.
However, most writing experts view the two terms as synonymous; few essays are s
o coldly dispass-
ionate that they will not use strong and loaded language to win an argument, and an
alytic facts are always a good way to persuade the reader of one side over anothe
r.

Activity 1

1) You don't want to make a mistake on your tax return. Trust the expert
accountants at 123 Accounting with your taxes to ensure you get the most
money back.

2) Our injury attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for clients and we can
take your case and represent your interests. Call us today to schedule a free
consultation.

3) Our store has the lowest prices and the best selection of all of the stores in
the town. Visit us today to see our great selection.

4) All of the cool kids are wearing clothes from XXX Store. If you want to fit in
with the in-crowd, you should be sure to shop here too.

5) Our headache medication will get rid of your headache for five hours with just
one pill and has fewer side effects than other similar medications. Try it
today.

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 6) If you vote for me, I will make sure that your taxes are low and that you get
the government services that you depend upon. Cast your vote today.

7) In the majority of cases, the cause of bad breath, or halitosis, is the product
of bacteria in the mouth. These bacteria produce waste products, and it’s
these chemical compounds that contribute towards halitosis.

8) The main offenders are volatile sulfur compounds, or VSCs; hydrogen sulfide
has a smell of rotting eggs, methanethiol (also known as methyl mercaptan)
has the odour of rotting cabbage, and dimethyl sulfide has similarly pleasant
likeness to rotting cabbage, or garlic. At low levels, these compounds aren’t
detected by the human nose, but it doesn’t take a great deal for them to
become noticeable; 0.00047 parts per million is the threshold for the human
nose being able to detect hydrogen sulfide, for instance.

References

http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/04/07/the-chemistry-of-body-odours-sweat-
halitosis-flatulence-cheesy-feet/ Date Accessed 15 January 2015

http://www.uefap.com/writing/genre/genrefram.htm Date Accessed 15 January 2015