Style and Substance: A Handy Guide to Writing College Essays

Style and substance pic

You may thank your lucky stars for choosing your own topic for your application essay, but you would encounter the issue of style and substance in essay writing. Is it one or the other?

You're one of the first to watch "Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)", where you marvel at the amusement park where Harley Quinn, Black Canary, the Huntress, and Renee Montoya joined forces to beat Black Mask and his goons. The park's design, both Gothic and surreal, would beat the production design of any Tim Burton movie, "Edward Scissorhands" in particular, yet you would perceive the lack of substance in the wickedly-entertaining premise. You have browsed a number of comics books and seen several episodes of the DC animated series, where you have glimpsed at Harley Quinn's intriguing, if not uncontrollable, id (of her human psyche). If producers would add half an hour of screening time (to explore her persona further), it could alienate more moviegoers. Then again, the producers of "Deadpool" bit the bullet and relied on a cheesy soundtrack (to pull it off). It won't be the case with writing an essay.

"Birds of Prey" would show that style is important than substance, but college is a different case. There won't be any pressure (on a return of investment), not even wrack your brain on showing off your understanding of balance, parallelism or repetition (if you happen to study poetry). It doesn't mean that substance is more important than style, as your professors would expect you to demonstrate a balance (of style and substance) during your second year. It may be too early during your first year, but some could do it. Pressure should motivate you, if not bring out your competitive side. (On the other hand, it would be too late to show it during your final year. You must be consulting your tutor on a frequent basis.) You might be unaware that you're on your way to literary stardom, if not you haven't get used to the struggles and uncertainties that artists have dealt most of their lives, but you can learn some important points, which is not the same as funny punctuation mistakes. Get ready for that important lesson.

3 Ideas That College Students Find Useful Over the Years

Know when to slalom and keep track of your ideas. You don't know who is Lindsey Vonn, even if your course mate would point out that she's not the greatest slalom skier of all time. It hardly matters, as whether you're a huge fan of alpine skiing (or not) is not the point here. Slaloming would would involve moving from point to point, which results to a long zigzag line. It's not hard to apply it in paper writing, where you know how to make a (persuasive) case with your argument. It's all about moving from one point to another, where you must compare, contrast or make allusion to another material. And you must ensure that it won't confuse your professors. Some students might take it longer (to master it), and you must not worry if you're one of them. You'll be guided accordingly.

What is nominalisation? One glaring difference between a great essay and the rest (of marked essays) is how nominalisation could make an argument sound more persuasive, if not authoritative. It should eliminate vague ideas, which many students would experience while writing a paper on a Shakespeare's play. There's no guarantee after memorizing the familiar concepts in the analysis of prose (or poem for that matter). You must pay attention to verb use, which can be turned into gerunds. It won't be wise to rely on Google solely, though.

Read. It's the only way to gain lots of ideas, which should give you lots of light bulb moments. You must make sure that you have lots of rest, if not you can indulge in loafing. These are moments where solitude is required, and you may (or may not) be online. The Internet could bring out your addictive side, but you should align it with your goals. And one (of those goals) is to beat the deadlines. You might worry about the lack of time, where you can't read for pleasure. There's always a way if you want it. Moreover, you can engage your course mates by chatting with them or discussing it during a study group. Be warned about the news of certain schools misusing tests (to gain admission to Ivy League schools), though.

Literary Analysis 101

You have a copy of your module, which contains several pages on literary analysis. It lists down a set of questions, which should give you some personal narrative ideas. You’re way passed that point after attending several lectures. You may not be expected to memorize all the concepts (to become good in paper writing), as there is something more important than it. You must understand it, which would help you finish your assignment on a shorter time. It also gives you some cues on how to master the (English) language. It goes back to reading, though.

 

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