Lively Art of Writing
Lucile Vaughan Payne | The Lively Art of Writing | Workbook Part 1 |
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LAW Chap 1 What is an Essay?
Summary
Pick a subject, examine everything you know about it, arrive at an honest opinion. That probably sounds easy. It isn't. But it represents at least half the work involved in writing an essay. And most of it you can do without touching a pencil. The first axiom of the essayist could hardly be made clearer:
Think before you write.
In other words, never sit down to write until you have thought long enough and hard enough about one subject to have an opinion about it—an opinion that you believe in and want to share, one that you can defend logically and honestly. Most writing skills are relatively easy to learn, but it is pointless to learn them—in fact, you will find it almost impossible to learn them—unless you have learned the first rule, the unbreakable rule, of essay writing:
Opinions always come first.
And of course it comes first because, as soon as you have an opinion, you have something to say. That's the important thing: have something to say. Then you can learn how to say it. The skills come easily when you have a purpose for learning them. Have something to say—and if you really want to be heard, nothing can stop you from learning how to say it well.
Notes:
1) To help formulate an opinion, ask how, why, and what questions. 2) Force yourself to question your position by carefully considering everything that can be said in FAVOR of an exactly OPPOSITE opinion. This might cause you to change your mind, but that is fine. You may have a STRONGER opinion AND you will have viewed BOTH sides of an argument. You will be more aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your own opinion. 3) You should always check your easy topic against these two questions: a) Can a valid argument be made against it? b) Can I defend it logically against this argument? 4) Believe what you say!
LAW Chap 1
|
LAW Chap 1 What is an Essay?
Summary
Pick a subject, examine everything you know about it, arrive at an honest opinion. That probably sounds easy. It isn't. But it represents at least half the work involved in writing an essay. And most of it you can do without touching a pencil. The first axiom of the essayist could hardly be made clearer:
Think before you write.
In other words, never sit down to write until you have thought long enough and hard enough about one subject to have an opinion about it—an opinion that you believe in and want to share, one that you can defend logically and honestly. Most writing skills are relatively easy to learn, but it is pointless to learn them—in fact, you will find it almost impossible to learn them—unless you have learned the first rule, the unbreakable rule, of essay writing:
Opinions always come first.
And of course it comes first because, as soon as you have an opinion, you have something to say. That's the important thing: have something to say. Then you can learn how to say it. The skills come easily when you have a purpose for learning them. Have something to say—and if you really want to be heard, nothing can stop you from learning how to say it well.
Notes:
1) To help formulate an opinion, ask how, why, and what questions. 2) Force yourself to question your position by carefully considering everything that can be said in FAVOR of an exactly OPPOSITE opinion. This might cause you to change your mind, but that is fine. You may have a STRONGER opinion AND you will have viewed BOTH sides of an argument. You will be more aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your own opinion. 3) You should always check your easy topic against these two questions: a) Can a valid argument be made against it? b) Can I defend it logically against this argument? 4) Believe what you say!
LAW Chap 1