How To Eschew Weasel Words...

Outlines. Formal writing requires a structure. This doesn't mean your papers must follow a formula or that they should be boring, even if they are for a history course. But you must know four things before you begin to write: 1) what your points are; 2) if you can prove them (keeping in mind and testing, counter-arguments); 3) how you will prove them; and 4)how you can distill from them a logical conclusion.

Many people dislike formal outlines -- the kind with Roman numerals and letters and numbers of various sizes. Some form of outline, nonetheless, is essential. One strongly recommended method is to list the major points in order, but to express them in full sentences. The result is less an outline than a logical sequence of opic sentences of paragraphs. This has the advantage of letting you see whether or not the major transitions work before you spend time writing. Pinpointing problems will take more time at the outset, but will make your job far simpler in the long run.

Paragraphs. These are the building blocks of essays. Each should form a coherent unit, treating a particular idea or aspect of the topic rather than scattering thoughts with abandon. Paragraphs should function like links in a chain: self-contained, but connected to the rest. and each, as E.B. White says, should tell the reader "that a new step in the development of the subject has been reached."

An introductory paragraph or two should occur in reasonably proximity to the first page and should announce the major themes of the paper, serving as a promise to the reader of what the author will accomplish. The paragraphs that follow should build on the introduction and on earlier points -- all while making sense. The conclusion should summarize your main points and make an intelligent case for your paper's significance. (If it has no significance, your reader will let you know.)

When proofreading your essay, check the opening and closing paragraphs to make sure they are consistent. Read the topic sentences of paragraphs in order. If you can make sense of the argument by doing that, you can be reasonably sure that the paper proceeds in logical fashion.

Sentences. No amount of planning, and no beautifully constructed paragraph, is worth anything unless your sentences carry weight. A well-designed puzzle is pointless unless the pieces fit into a cohesive whole; so it is with writing. First, determine what you absolutely need to say to put your point across -- the bare minimum to support your thesis. Ask yourself what evidence is necessary to make the case. If, for example, you want to demonstrate that slavery caused the Civil War, can you do it if you only have data from antislavery newspapers? What evidence will you need?

Your topic sentences -- the ones that make the crucial points in general terms -- are most important: If they fail, everything does. Make certain that topic sentences occur at the beginning of paragraphs (or at least, are not buried in the middle), and that they are crystal clear.

Terse prose is usually your best choice for non-fiction. Long, ornate sentences are hard to control and frequently disturb the reader's concentration. Write with nouns and verbs, and avoid forcing adjectives and adverbs into otherwise innocent sentences. For example:

• "The dour general's savage, unkempt, ragtag men viciously slashed their way through the prostrate countryside, laying waste to everything before them." Translates to: "Sherman's troops devastated the South."

As usual, Elements of Style puts it well. "The adjective hasn't been built," the authors state, "that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place." The same can be said for verbs (and we say it in the section on verbs).

Hearing the language. Although spoken and written English differ considerably, it is useful to read troublesome sentences out loud. If they don't sound right, try explaining their content -- again, out loud -- to an imaginary listener. The ears don't lie, a fact that can help you find ways to simplify your written English and make it more direct. Reading aloud can also help you pick up unintentional rhymes and monotonous, thumping rhythms, the kind that come from using similar sentence structures several times in a row.

Reading comments on your writing. Among the most difficult tasks a writer faces is learning to take advice. If you are fortunate, friends and faculty mebers will be brutal in editing your prose. When that happens, students tend either to reject the advice totally ("I know what I'm saying") or to incorporate the criticism unquestioningly. Either approach is wrongheaded.

Look for patterns of criticism. Do readers have trouble following the argument? If so, check the opening and closing statements and the topic sentences. Do readers tell you that you are wordy or put terms in the margins like "air," "puff," and "empty phrases"? If so, look at adjectives and adverbs -- are there too many? Check to see if your sentences are unnecessarily complex. Also look for pretentious phrases and weasel words.

You are doing yourself and your editors a disservice if you accept or reject their advice without understanding what underlying problem prompted it.