Writing composition

A topic sentence

提示It tells the reader what the whole chunk is about before any detail arrives.

为什么Everything else in the paragraph should support it. If you cannot write one for a paragraph, that paragraph is probably carrying two ideas.

One

提示If you can write two different opening sentences for it, it should be two chunks.

为什么Paragraphs break writing into digestible units of thought. A wall of text holding three ideas is far harder to follow than three short blocks.

A plan

提示Builders draw one of these before laying a single brick.

为什么Two minutes spent deciding the order saves ten minutes of rewriting. Most weak answers are not badly written, they are badly ordered.

hook

提示Anglers use one; so does a good first sentence.

为什么Action, dialogue or an unanswered question all work. Starting with the weather and a character waking up almost never does.

Sight

提示The one you are using to take in this card.

为什么Smell and sound place a reader in a scene faster than another visual detail does, partly because they are so much less expected.

She twisted her sleeve

提示The version that hands you an action to picture instead of a label to accept.

为什么Naming a feeling closes it down; an action lets the reader work it out, and readers believe conclusions they reach for themselves.

Start a new line

提示The layout shows the change of voice before the words themselves do.

为什么It saves the reader working out who is talking, which means you need far fewer "he said" and "she replied" tags to stay clear.

Proof-reading

提示Do it aloud if you can — the eye skips over what the brain expects to see.

为什么Your brain autocorrects your own writing, so the errors you miss are the ones you make most often. Saying it aloud forces you to meet every word.

Brand-new evidence

提示By the end the case is closed — nothing fresh may be smuggled in.

为什么A conclusion pulls together what the reader has already been shown. A fresh point there has no room to be explained, so it weakens the piece.

Connectives

提示The signposts that tell a reader which way the argument is about to turn.

为什么They do real work: "however" promises a contrast and "therefore" promises a consequence, so the wrong one misleads the reader about your argument.

rhetorical

提示'Do we really want to live like this?' — nobody is meant to put a hand up.

为什么It works by making the audience supply the answer themselves, so they feel they arrived at your position rather than being told it.

A thesis statement

提示The steering line at the top — everything after it has to serve it.

为什么It tells the reader where the essay is going and tells you which paragraphs belong. Anything that does not support it should be cut.