I read students’ essays quite often and there’s one avoidable mistake I see often.
Writing Tip for Today: Here are some tips on avoiding the tendency to back into essay topics:
What’s a Set-up?
Your set-up guides readers into the essay with crucial information. In your opening couple of paragraphs, you can set the tone, deliver an emotional hook and at least hint at the overall theme.
Compelling essays often use an anecdote or character driven story to pull in readers. Resist the urge, however, to give too much background. Long descriptions, explanations and back stories only serve to confuse and bore readers. When, where and who are the most crucial set-up information you’ll need.
The less warm-up info you write, the faster readers can be compelled to keep reading. A fascinating and brief character scene where the main topic problem is illustrated will satisfy readers until the actual topic/theme is stated.
Avoid ‘Splaining
In the old “I Love Lucy” episodes, Ricky often tells Lucy she has some ‘splaing to do. This is great for the sitcom but deadly for your essays. Too much explaining drives readers away.
For instance, if your essay is about tomato gardening in the Northwest, going into too much detail about the seasons may confuse readers. A brief mention of the shorter growing season might work, but more than a sentence or two might also leave readers wondering when the tomatoes come in.
Tangents such as overexplaining give too much weight to an aspect of the essay and can lead to rabbit holes. By avoiding explaining, you can keep readers on target and give them credit for figuring out some implied aspects.
When you write too much set-up, readers have a harder time figuring out the direction your essay will take.
Go for Clear Communication
As E.B. White says in The Elements of Style, writing should be clear and concise. If you’ve ever tried to read a nineteenth century piece of prose, you may see why flowery language or purple prose is hard to read.
We in the twenty-first century keep truncating our words: podcasts are “pods,” a cartridge is a “cart.” Know your audience. Avoid these slang terms unless you’re writing to those who will understand them. Slang in general tends to be dated quickly—using out-of-style slang words makes readers laugh and not in a good way.
When you write too much set-up, readers have a harder time figuring out the direction your essay will take. Instead, paint a brief anecdotal picture of the topic and point. Break up the story, so the outcome is saved for your ending. Backing into your topic might sink an essay—don’t fall for too much explaining.
