Writing is a powerful tool for delivering a message if worded 'correctly'. But most writers, especially students, struggle to write their pieces correctly and most of them end up being a confusing gibberish in the end. So what is the 'correct' way to write? The 'correct' way to write in my opinion is expressing your thought clearly to your readers. The readers must understand what your message is and if they don't, then your writing is a failure. So how does one write a paper that delivers its message loud and clear to the readers? My advice to every student writer out there is to believe in what you write and write with a clear perspective, conscience, and conviction.
Student writers are asked to write all sorts of papers and all of these papers must state your position and opinion on the main topic. No paper you would ever write throughout your schools would ever ask you to be neutral. You must choose a side to stand on and from that point on you must write to express from that side and that side only. When writing a paper, the writer must decide on his perspective. This can be something like deciding whether it is a first or third person narrative, or choosing a side on an issue. You must keep the narrative flowing and to do this you must have a consistent narrative technique and perspective in order to write a great paper.
Writing with a clear perspective in your ideas is a good start for a great paper but conviction alone won't make the paper great. A writer must also have a clear conscience when writing his paper. Having a clear conscience means that the writer does not worry about what the opposition is going to say. It is wise to avoid stating false facts and figures but an idea can never be wrong or false. As long as it's your own idea, it is the right idea and you should not waiver or worry about how the opposing viewpoints would retaliate to your paper. So many student writers, especially Korean students, worry about what others might say or think regarding their stands on an issue and they just try to avoid statements that appear to be too aggressive. But if one is too careful to make strong and bold claims even if they are true just because one is scared of the whiplash that might follow after, then the paper is just neutral and weak.
Last ingredient to a great paper would be a clear conviction. Korean students are too careful with their attitudes and wording in their papers to the point that it is harmful towards showing belief in their own ideas. Some student writers believe that being merely suggestive is enough but a mere suggestion is not what makes a great writing. The readers should be able to feel the aura of the author's belief after reading the paper if it is indeed a great one. When one picks up a pen and paper, one must write with a clear conviction in order to overcome these doubts and fears to deliver a message clearly.
As any fanatic preacher would, one must possess and believe in his idea and viewpoint with clear conscience and strong conviction. Brilliance of an idea itself can only carry the writing so far, and the writer's abilities to grab the attention and to persuade the readers are far more important in terms of writing a good paper. A great writing bends its readers to its will and any display of weak attitude would not win the heart of any reader over.
Gayoung Kim / Your point is very impressive. Because when people including myself think about great writing, we concentrate on structures, but you focused on the writer's mind and attitude. Thanks for sharing good perspective!
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