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Witchology Writing Guide

Introduction to Writing

Writing is simply the transfer of thought to paper; both writing and thinking are done in words. To be able to write clearly is to be able to think clearly and vice-versa. The purpose of writing is to communicate information, ideas, opinions, or feelings to other people. Unless the other people "get the message" you intend to convey, you have failed to communicate effectively. Thus, as a writer, you have two major tasks. The first and most difficult task it to establish clearly in your own mind what you want to say. The second task it to find the most effective way to convey your message to the reader. Listed below are tips and strategies for accomplishing both tasks effectively.

The Manuscript

The Title

Ideally, a title should say a great deal in only a few words. It should not only capture the reader's attention but in some way express the whole work including its themes and outcome.  To this end:

• Include the key terms in the title.
• Give a specific indication of subject matter.

The Introduction

An introduction, like a title, should engage the reader's attention and interest right away, in the opening sentence if possible.  You need not resort to flashy rhetorical tricks, but you should say something direct and interesting about your thesis. Be helpful to your reader by explaining immediately what he or she is about to read andy why, roughly how the argument will develop, what the pitfalls are, and how the piece relates to the field as a whole.  To this end:

• Interpret the title, if necessary.
• Give the thesis statement followed by the main discussion points and the order in which the reader will encounter them.
• Identify the scope and limitations of your project.
• Define any terms, concepts or theories critical to your work.
• List potential problems such as a lack of sources or information, biased sources, incomplete evidence, etc.
• Indicate how the topic relates to the field of study as a whole.

The Main Body

Of the two major tasks facing any writer, the first task of thinking clearly and critically can be greatly aided by an outline. Arrange your information into a logical and understandable sequence of main points that support your thesis statement.  To this end:

• Keep your main points separate and follow each with a summary statement to remind the reader how said point relates to the topic as a whole.
• Follow each main point with your evidence for it (examples, quotations, proofs, sources, etc.)
• If arguing a general point, give the facts first and then the generalization followed by a summary statement.
• If arguing a specific point, give the less specific information first and end with the most specific followed by a summary statement.
• If proving something, give the weaker evidence first and end with the strongest followed by a summary statement.
• If disproving something, outline the supposed "proofs" first and end with the disproof followed by a summary statement.

The writer's second task of effective communication is eased by establishing two things: a clear idea of the intended audience, and a durable and distinctive personal style of writing and thinking. Most "ideal readers" should be reasonably intelligent and liberally educated individuals, not specialists in your subject matter.  As for good writing, style and content are inseparable.  Style pervade a writer's whole work, from the choice and definition of a subject through the research and in its final literary presentation. Write with accuracy, clarity, conciseness, objectivity, and vigor. While this course is not a study in English composition, it is a fact that any idea you wish to express is only as effective as the language skill used to express it. It is difficult for a reader to understand and learn from a paper when assaulted by a plethora of misspelled words, incorrectly punctuated sentences, misplaced modifiers, and awkward sentence construction.  To this end:

• Use the simple past tense for the simple reason that your subjects lived and died in the past. Even though you may have the written evidence of their lives in front of you now, they speak to you from the past.
• Use the active voice rather than the passive. Use clear, action verbs whenever possible. Avoid the "to be" verbs (is, are, were, was, am, etc.) except where you intend and require an equation or definition. Avoid limp, weak verbs (seems, appears, try, etc.). These verbs indicate nothing that can be evaluated clearly. They are transparent attempts to avoid making statements for which one can be held accountable.
• Be direct, which means economical with your word choice.
• Be specific rather than general or abstract, employing "first-degree" words which immediately bring an image to mind (e.g. face), rather than second degree word which require translation (e.g. countenance).
• Refer to people, not books or sources; books do not talk.
• Avoid unspecific referents (this, it, they).
• Conceal your "scaffolding." Avoid statements like "This paper will prove...", or "as I argue below" and similar references to your own act of writing. Just prove and argue your points without fanfare. Scaffolding is only acceptable in an abstract.
• Avoid tense/number agreement errors. Verbs and pronouns agree in number and tense with any nouns to which they refer. Lax standards in spoken English are not acceptable in formal writing.
• Avoid textual references to yourself. "I" is at least more honest that "we", but equally obtrusive. The subject of history is people in the past, not the historian. The reader wants the finished product, not a diary about the process of making it.
• Minimize the use of "very". Historical evidence is seldom complete enough to justify such a fine distinction, and a properly chosen adverb or adjective makes the qualification unnecessary.
• Do not patronize, lecture to, or push the reader around. Let the reader notice and decide what he or she thinks is important.
• Integrate quotations - your accessible proof - into your own prose, and vary your introductions. So and so said...is boring.  The first time you introduce a speaker give his or her full name and a brief identification.  Do not be afraid to use parts of quotations rather than whole sentences, or to introduce quotations in the middle or at the end as well as at the beginning.
• Re-work awkwardly worded sentences.
• Avoid contractions (e.g. don't, prof, they've) in historical writing. It is a semi-formal writing style inappropriate for professional writers.
• In the text centuries must be written out in lower case letters: "the seventeenth century" not "the 17th century." If the date is a modifier, it is hyphenated as if one word: "fifteenth-century chivalry." Decades do not get an apostrophe: "1650s".
• Catholic clergyman have ecclesiastical titles (e.g., Father Le Clercq) whereas Protestant clergyman have honorific titles (e.g., the Reverend Bill Johnson).
• Ellipses (...) are not needed in a quotation unless you omit something from the middle or end of a complete sentence that begins with a capitalized word. Ellipses warn the reader that something (perhaps vital) is missing. You may use any fragment of a quotation without them at the front and back because the lack of a capitalized first word announces its incompleteness.
• In anything shorter than a book, a bibliography is unnecessary. Footnotes in which full bibliographic information is given are sufficient.
• Always use citations. Anytime you assert a "fact" that is not truly general knowledge you must provide a citation from a scholastically reputable source. A general rule is that if you can find the fact in three or more sources it is considered an established fact an need not be supported by citation. However, when in doubt, err on the side of caution. Anytime you use a quotation you must provide the name of the author and your source. Anytime you borrow an idea or a mode of expression from an author you must provide both the name of the author and the source in which you found the expression.
• Proof-reading is the crucial last act of writing. Do it with a dictionary: When in doubt, look it up. Effort in this area will reduce the number of misspelled words and wrong words which are correctly spelled words used inappropriately. Omitted words and/or sentence fragments are often the result of editing and re-writing. Avoid these errors by re-reading your paper and making sure the new, "corrected" sentence makes sense.

The Conclusion

A conclusion should actually conclude your argument or presentation, not merely restate earlier material, especially the introduction. Although no new material should be introduced, a conclusion should present a new perspective on the points already covered or suggest future directions for thinking about the subject. To this end:

• Do not introduce new material.  Information that appears vital to your end product should be included in the main body of the paper, not in the last few paragraphs.
• Remind the reader of your thesis statment, the main point of your discussion and their implications, as well as how the topic relates to the field or course as a whole.
• Make a conclusion; answer the question at hand (i.e. render a final verdict).

General Requirements

In order to create useful scholarly habits and give you the best chance of ensuring that your work is given the credit it deserves, observe the following:

• All assignments must be word-processed.
• All assignment must be submitted one-and-a-half times or double spaced with one-inch margins on all four sides.
• All assignments must be submitted digitally.
• All assignments must have either a title or the assignment quoted in full at the beginning of the paper.
• All assignments must have the writer's name and date appearing in the upper right-hand corner of the paper. Do not include any superfulous information.
• All assignments must be footnoted and/or referenced via endnotes, and include bibliographies of works cited.
• All assignments must have the word count typed on a separate line well below the text at the end of the paper.