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Chapter 13
What Writing Style Do I Use?
Wear your learning like your watch, in a private pocket; do not merely pull it out and strike it; merely to show you have one.
LORD CHESTERFIELD
It's the moment of truth: time to start writing your first draft. Even if you haven't finished all your research, once you complete most of your note cards and outline, it's time to start writing. Drafting at this stage allows you to see what additional information you need so that you can fill it in. As you begin to draft your paper, you must consider your writing style.
Style
A writer's style is his or her distinctive way of writing. Style is a series of choices—words, sentence length and structure, figures of speech, punctuation, and so on. The style you select for your research paper depends on the following factors:
• Audience
• Purpose
• Tone

 

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Audience
Knowing with whom you are communicating is fundamental to the success of any message. You need to tailor your writing style to suit the audience's needs, interests, and goals. The audience for your research paper is likely to be one of the following three people or groups:
• Your boss, supervisor, professor, teacher, instructor
• Your colleagues or classmates
• Any outside readers, such as clients
To tailor your research paper to your audience, do an audience analysis. Before you write, ask yourself these questions:
1. Who will be reading my research paper?
2. How much do my readers know about the topic at this point?
3. What is the basis of the information they have? (For example, reading, personal experience?)
4. How does my audience feel about this topic? Are they neutral, hostile, enthusiastic—or somewhere in between?
5. What style of writing does my audience anticipate and prefer?
Purpose
Writers have four main purposes:
• To explain (exposition)
• To convince (persuasion)
• To describe (description)
• To tell a story (narration)
In writing your research paper, your purpose is to persuade. As a result, select supporting material (such as details, examples, and quotations) that best accomplishes this purpose. As you write, look for the most convincing examples, the most powerful statistics, the most compelling quotations to suit your purpose.

 

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Tone
The tone is the writer's attitude toward the subject matter.
Example:
The tone can be angry, bitter, neutral, or formal.
The tone depends on your audience and purpose. Since your research paper is being read by educated professionals and your purpose is to persuade, use a formal, unbiased tone. The writing should not condescend to the audience, insult them, or lecture them.
The language used in most academic and professional writing is called Standard Written English, the writing found in magazines such as Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, and the Atlantic. Such language conforms to the widely established rules of grammar, sentence structure, usage, punctuation, and spelling. It has an objective, learned tone. It's the language to use in your research paper.
The Nitty-Gritty of Research Paper Style
Words
1. Write simply and directly. Perhaps you were told to use as many multisyllabic words as possible since ''big'' words dazzle people. Much of the time, however, big words just set up barriers between you and your audience. Instead of using words for the sake of impressing your readers, write simply and directly.
Select your words carefully to convey your thoughts vividly and precisely.
Example:
"Blissful," "blithe," "cheerful," "contented," "gay," "joyful," and "gladdened" all mean "happy." Yet each one conveys a different shade of meaning.
2. Use words that are accurate, suitable, and familiar. Familiar words are easy to read and understand. Accurate words say what you mean. Suitable words convey your tone and fit with the other words in the document.

 

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As you write your research paper, you want words that express the importance of the subject but aren't stuffy or overblown. Refer to yourself as I if you are involved with the subject, but always keep the focus on the subject rather than on yourself. Remember, this is academic writing, not memoir.
3. Avoid slang, regional words, and nonstandard diction. Here's a brief list of words that are never correct in academic writing:
Nonstandard Words and Expressions
Nonstandard
Standard
irregardless
regardless
being that
since
had ought
ought
could of
could have
this here
this
try and do
try to do
off of
off
that there
that

4. Avoid redundant, wordy phrases.
Examples
Wordy
Concise
honest truth
truth
past history
history
fatally killed
killed
revert back
revert
true facts
facts
live and breathe
live
null and void
null (or void)
most unique
unique
cease and desist
cease (or desist)
proceed ahead
proceed

5. Always use bias-free language. Use words and phrases that don't discriminate on the basis of gender, physical condition, age, or race.

 

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Example:
Avoid using "he" to refer to both men and women.
Never use language that denigrates people or excludes one gender.
Watch for phrases that suggest women and men behave in stereo-typical ways, such as "talkative women."
In addition, always try to refer to a group by the term it prefers. Language changes, so stay on the cutting edge.
Example:
Today the term "Asian" is preferred to "Oriental."
Sentences
Effective writing uses sentences of different lengths and types to create variety and interest. Craft your sentences to express your ideas in the best possible way.
Guidelines:
1. Mix simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. When your topic is complicated or full of numbers, use simple sentences to aid understanding. Use longer, more complex sentences to show how ideas are linked and to avoid repetition. Check out the two sample papers at the end of this Guide for models.
2. Select the subject of each sentence based on what you want to emphasize.
3. Add adjectives and adverbs to a sentence (when suitable) for emphasis and variety.
4. Repeat key words or ideas for emphasis.
5. Use the active voice, not the passive voice.
6. Use transitions to link ideas.
Punctuation
Similarly, successful research papers are free of technical errors.
Guidelines.
1. A period shows a full separation between ideas.
Example:
The car was in for repair Friday. I had no transportation to work.

 

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2. A comma and a coordinating conjunction show the following relationships: addition, choice, consequence, contrast, or cause.
Example:
The car was in for repair Friday, but I still made it to work.
3. A semicolon shows that the second sentence completes the content of the first sentence. The semicolon suggests a link but leaves the connection to the reader.
Example:
The car was in for repair Friday; I didn't make work.
4. A semicolon and a conjunctive adverb (a word such as nevertheless, however, etc.) shows the relationship between ideas: addition, consequence, contrast, cause and effect, time, emphasis, or addition.
Example:
The car was in for repair Friday; however, I made it to work.
5. Using a period between sentences forces a pause and then stresses the conjunctive adverb.
Example:
The car was in for repair Friday. But I made it to work.
Warning!
Even if you run a grammar check in your word processor, check and double-check your punctuation and grammar as you draft your research paper.
Writing the Introduction
A research paper, like any good essay, starts off with an introduction. The introduction serves two purposes: It presents your thesis and gets the reader's attention. You can do this by means of:
• An anecdote (a brief story).
• A statement (usually the thesis).
• Statistics.
• A question.
• A quotation.

 

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Select the method that suits your audience, purpose, and tone, as you have learned.
Example: Statement Used as an Introduction
Statement
To Edith Newbold Jones, cross-currents with English influences came early. Unlike other upper-middle-class New York ladies of the 1860s, young Edith grew deeply immersed in her father's impressive library on West 23rd Street. Her reading was mainly concentrated in English authors, for the only American literary works she perused were those of Prescott, Parkman, Longfellow, and Irving. As Louis Auchincloss maintains, culture and education, to the Joneses, still meant Europe [Auchincloss 54]. Edith's education bears this out.
Details
Source material Leed-in to second paragraph

Here are other models for crafting the openings to your research papers. In each case, the specific technique is under-lined.
Examples:
Anecdote
Anecdote——
It was the game that could have ended a dynasty. There were only six seconds left on the clock. Seaford was up by one, but they were in trouble on their own 20-yard line without the ball against a powerful Bethpage. It was all up to the kicker to boot the ball through the uprights.The huddle broke and the whistle blew. The crowd jumped to their feet, hoping for a miracle. Thump! The ball flew high over the left upright. It didn't look good to the coaches, but the fans went wild.To the coaches' astonishment, the referee in the end zone signaled the kick was good. A look at the videotape told a different story, however. According to the camera, the ball wasn't clear.
Thesis statement——
Instant replay could have changed the outcome of this crucial game—and many others like it on both local and national levels.That's why instant replay should be brought back to the NFL.

 

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Statement
Statement——
Fifty years ago, two weeks after the blinding bang of a second atomic bomb burst and the riotous victory revelries, World War II formally passed into history on the deck of the battleship Missouri. Only a boatswain's piping punctuated the somber surrender ceremony. Once the last signature was completed, General Douglas MacArthur, the Allied commander, said, "These proceedings are closed." Succeeding generations of Japanese took that message to heart—particularly concerning their country's role as aggressor. But the passage of time has a way of prompting reflection.
Thesis statement——
Recently, Japan has undergone an astonishing aboutface.

Statistics
Statistic——
Thesis statements
According to the National Highway Safety Administration, 1,136 lives have been saved by air bags between the years 1989 and 1995 [Reason 8]. Since 1991, an increasing number of auto manufacturers have equipped their cars with air bags. As the number of cars equipped with air bags rises, so do the number of lives they save.

Question
 
An allegedly drunk driver runs down a person on a water scooter in the Great South Bay.
A Rocky Point teenager disappears in rough seas after going fishing in Lake Michigan in a Styrofoam boat lacking a sail, motor, or oars.
A speedboat with four people aboard strikes a rock and capsizes in high winds.
Questions——
Thesis statement——
Could these accidents have been avoided if the boat operator had acquired more boating skills? Would mandatory licensing for boat operators help prevent future tragedies? I believe that we must have both statement mandatory safe boating education and licensing.

 

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Quotation
Quotation——
Thesis statement——
The ads trumpet, "You've come a long way, baby" but have we? Nothing could be further from the truth. Today, females have few positive role models, especially when it comes to the media. Television developers and producers have to take a long, hard look at the messages their programs send to the female population and rethink the format of current and future television shows.

In this chapter, you explored ways to suit your writing style to your audience, purpose, and tone. Now, find out how to use your source material to make your point.

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