Misusing Our Ability to Communicate

Why we should do a better job expressing our opinions


There are two essential forms of communication; writing and speaking. This makes it relatively simple yet extremely important for people to learn how to communicate. Everyone starts with basic speaking until they receive some form of education, where they begin to read and write. As the years go on, the education gets more and more complex and with it, the people’s ideas. However, something that isn’t really taught in a standard class is the importance of logic. Most classes have students write papers or prepare for discussions by making a thesis and then supporting it with evidence. In fact, most of the paper/discussion is just evidence. Students should be learning ways to make logical arguments, specifically avoiding the use of faulty reasoning.

Although it is bizarre to consider logic as something that can be taught, it is even more bizarre hearing a conversation where two people are getting frustrated at one another because neither of them are being reasonable (not talking about children) however they each are assuming that the other person is the unreasonable one. One person then begins to attack the other instead of the opposition’s argument and then things only get uglier from there. This might sound oddly specific, but it is something that is far too common for people that consider themselves “educated.” People should not have to enter a conversation and feel like they have something to lose, like time, pride, or respect. Instead, everyone should be more familiar with how logic works in order to have constructive arguments where at some point both sides agree that both can be logical arguments, or one side agrees that one makes more sense than the other. By doing this, people don’t feel any pressure to get defensive. As stated, no one should feel like they are losing anything when engaged in an argument. Instead, people need to go into arguments feeling like they will gain something, whether that is a new outlook based on what the opposition presented or a peer that agrees with their ideas. In fact, people probably are unreasonable because they get too defensive with their views.

There are few classes where teachers teach their students about faulty reasoning well before students write their first essay or have a discussion in the class. I know we did this in my moral reasoning class, given that reasoning is part of the name, but the discussion in that class where the best I have ever experienced. Although they might have not been as entertaining as people saying really unreasonable things, the discussions fulfilled their purpose of educating the students, which, at the end of the day, is the reason classes exist at all. Teachers could improve the quality of discussions by taking a day of class to show one of many info-graphics that explain very well what logical fallacies are. Students, aside from being able to further their understanding of the material, will be able to apply this kind of knowledge to many environments far out of the classroom. These students will realize that not everything is black or white, that humiliating the opposition and winning the argument are not the same, and that in a logical argument no one is at a loss yet everyone is victorious.

It is unreasonable to assume that people will never get emotional in a conversation, however it is completely reasonable to assume that emotions are a driving force for what people think and say, and although it can be powerful, it can also be a danger to the person that is getting emotional or defensive because that person is now likely to close themselves off from further logical conversation. I have seen some very smart people make some very foolish mistakes that end up holding them back, and they never even realize what they’re doing to themselves. People in general are smart, but they can be smarter if they were more responsible with how they apply their intelligence. We could be spending more time improving our ideas by challenging each other’s beliefs in a reasonable way, but instead, people are wasting their time thinking of the best way to insult/humiliate the opposition. As a wise man once wrote, “With great power, there must also come great responsibility.” We have the great power to learn and formulate opinions that can be expressed virtually anywhere we go, but with it comes the great responsibility that we must also be open to other people and adhere to the same rules of logic that will inevitably help us improve.

Fact As Tool of Nonfiction

                                                                 By Abigail Rivas

Nonfiction writing can be categorized as one of the most important writing genres for its wide use. Whether it be in classes, for fun, as an assignment, a majority have either read or written a nonfiction writing piece. Fact most commonly defines nonfiction. To effectively incorporate factual evidence in your writing, you must consider verification of sources, a balance of analysis and fact, as well as the notion that factual evidence should serve as support to an essay, not create it.

 Fact can help validate your essay as well as give it credibility, making it a reliable source for readers. To fit the mold as a reliable source, one must verify the dependability of a source. Occasionally media sources will intentionally present false statistics to readers to create propaganda. It is important that you verify that your factual evidence originates from a reliable source, such as textbooks, official websites, institutional sites, and reputable news sources (Examples of Sources That Are Often Most Credible, presentation.com). Most importantly in terms if appealing to a reader, verifying sources will create a writing piece that is reliable to a reader. 

When writing, it is important to maintain a balance between fact and analysis. By doing this, an author shows precedent and clarity over one's subject. A writer may present too much factual evidence and fail to provide an explanation for their use, making it harder to communicate an idea to the reader.  You can avoid flooding an essay with excessive amounts of either analysis and opinions, and fact by proofreading, revising, and editing an essay with caution to this issue (Facts Are Not Always More Important than Opinions: Here’s Why., Ellerton)

It also is important that a writer understand that facts should not be used to create an argument, rather to support it. To incorporate factual evidence properly, one must create an argument and use fact to compel the reader that their argument is correct. In a research journal titled "Does Flower Preservative Extend the Live of Cut Flowers?" the writer uses a fact derived from a series of experiments to argue that flower preservative helped preserve the weight of the tested flowers. Later, the author will argue that flower preservative did preserve the life of cut flowers. By using factual evidence to support an argument, the author has offered fact-based evidence to legitimize the essay’s primary argument. Again, it is important to manage a balance between fact and opinion. This piece demonstrates this notion by including one sentence worth of factual evidence, and three of analysis/opinion, as well as provides a possible explanation for an unexplained phenomenon. Finding a healthy medium between the two creates a persuasive and effective essay.

Including fact in an essay adds a new perspective to a reader, and creates a stronger, more effective argument.

Hooked

This sentence is spectacular. Do you know why? Because you are still reading. After all, that is the point of the very first sentence of any piece of writing. Unlike food recipes, or Ikea instructions there is no single way to create a good, engaging hook. But, there are tools and techniques that can be helpful in achieving an effective opening sentence.

Simple and straightforward language must be present to have a good hook. Unclear hooks are unsuccessful. The negative effects of unclear writing in a hook can be seen here, “The Philippines independence was well earned, having been a colony for over four hundred years” (DeLuca, "Philippines Independence"). In this hook, from an essay on the Philippines independence, the writing itself is weak. The sentence is muddied with dull passive verbs and a lack of direct objects. Even in a hook, typical writing tips should be applied. The combination of “was well earned” and “having been a colony” take away from the meaning of the sentence, and are grammatically unfavorable. This topic sentence leaves the reader scratching their head questioning the quality of the writer, and debating whether this essay is worth reading. If the writer can not effectively express their thoughts in the first sentence, this is a precursor for a larger issue through the rest of their writing. A successful hook does not have to be complicated. A straightforward sentence such as, “Tom Buchanan is a player” (DeLuca “Tinder: Tom Buchanan’s Many Matches”) can serve as an effective hook. This example uses simple grammatical constructions, and language. This topic sentence is short, it does not drag the reader through a long heavy sentence. Also, this is a good example of an intriguing hook because of the slang term used to describe a fictional character from a popular novel. This hook is also specific.  Clear language is a necessary tool for writing a good hook.

 Aristotle’s three proofs-- ethos, pathos, and logos-- are very effective in hook sentences. Ethos, pathos, and logos are three persuasion tools that you should know. A hook sentence, “It is false and unjust to make large generalizations about groups of people without correct statistics to support the generalization” (DeLuca “3rd Paragraph”), properly utilizes two of Aristotle's three proofs. The diction translates into ethos, and logos. For ethos, the word “unjust” creates this moral platform that something is not fair. The words “generalization” and “correct statistics” form a logical standpoint, which is logos. From this sentence, the reader will be curious to learn about the immoral and unlogical generalization being mentioned. This sentence brings up an unarguable statement thats draws the reader's in by appealing to logic and morals. This approach can make for a very successful hook sentence. This sentence, also, is effectively vague. It is general enough so that the reader is motivated to get more information to discover what this sentence, and piece of writing is more specifically about.

When writing a hook there is no one size fits all model. However, there are numerous combinations of blouses, jeans, jackets, shoes, and accessories. It is important to figure out which combination best suits the occasion. However as all outfits strive to look good, all hook sentences aim to draw in the reader. Creating a good hook is not easy, and writers rarely get it on the first try. Roll up your sleeves. Open your tool box and get to work.

Tunnel Vision

A common mistake that I often find myself making is trusting non-fiction writing. I tell myself that because it’s non fiction it is both true and unbiased. As defined by Goodreads, “Nonfiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. This presentation may be accurate or not; that is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question.” Non-fiction writing often falls under the trap of being influenced by its writers opinions. Take for example the media. Many of us might consider the news as a place where we learn new and true information, but honestly, the media is extremely biased, and often just representations of the journalists opinions.

Many liberals, such as myself, often consider Fox News to be a projector of “fake news”, while republicans hate the New York Times for the same reason. We are both wrong. The fact of the matter remains that the NYT knows that the majority of its audience are liberals, they cater their news stories into something their audience wants to hear. For example, I often read stories about all the horrible things Trump has done, but rarely read any opinions that state the opposite. Several months ago, I was following news stories concerning confederate monuments around the nation. While skimming the New York Times, I came across an article that was pro-removal of the monuments in question:

What the events of this past weekend have made clear is that for several generations, the Lee monument and others like it have assisted the cause of white supremacy and the deadly violence that has accompanied it. This is why communities across the region have a moral obligation to take up the cause of removing them (NYT, “Why Confederate Monuments Must Fall”).

Being someone who agrees with every word the article said, I closed the tab and went on with my day. It wasn't until a few weeks later, when I got into a debate with a person who identifies as a conservative that I realized that I had never researched or even thought about their side of the argument before. That night, for the first time, I went to Fox News, and read up on opinions by historians concerning the confederate statues. “[The monuments] should be preserved, just like any other historical document, whether in a museum or some other appropriate venue,” (Fox News, Oldest historians group on Confederate monuments: Preservation and 'historical context' needed). To me this provided a stark realization that I could possibly be wrong if I only listened to one source of information. How could I have tunnel-vision when I pride myself on being open minded?

Writing is the basis on which everyone in the world can find his or her own ways of expressing themselves, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. Writing has its own languages within itself, each in a different form. Writing is an essential tool that one needs to be successful, but it also serves as a stress relief valve when sharing your ideas. It is impossible to get through education without learning how to write. There is a stigma around what makes good non-fiction writing so good. The best non-fiction derives from the personal side of the writer of the piece. 

Personal writing warrants the freedom of someone expressing themselves in any way which they please, leaving room for more thought, passion, and originality. Some of the best known and successful writers write about their personal experiences. For example, Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who was in hiding during the Holocaust became world famous for her diary that she wrote in daily while in hiding. According to annefrank.org, " Shortly before going into hiding Anne receives a diary for her birthday. She starts writing straightaway and during her time in hiding she writes about events in the secret annex and about herself. Her diary is a great support to her. Anne also writes short stories and collects quotations from other writers in her ‘book of beautiful sentences’." Her personal writing served as a remedy for her stress in a time where they are hiding at the expense of her life. This anxiety fueled the passion inside of her that made her diary so powerful. When a person writes just for themselves, they don't have the pressure of grades, or any kind of anxiety. You have the freedom to choose your on tone and formality of what you're writing, as well as the diction, syntax, and overall mood. You have nobody to impress or persuade, as opposed to academic writing where you have to robotically write in attempt to get your teacher to agree with you. Personal writing is just throwing ideas onto your paper.

Not everyone views personal writing at the same relevance as academic writing. It depends on the audience, and who the your writing pertains to. For example, applying to college has evolved into a question of personality instead of the traditional intelligence levels that it once was. Many years ago, applications were based off of grades and achievements, not the morals, ethics, and personality of someone. In this day and age, a normal college application essay is a test of your character, background, and identity. Many colleges ask the applicant to write about their story, not about an academic topic that serves to showcase an applicant’s classroom intelligence. Colleges take the students who come across as genuine, and that stems from personal writing. Applicants who fail to be granted admission tell the colleges what they want to hear, not what they want the colleges to know about them. Honing personal writing skills allows one to significantly improve their writing, and can help teenagers apply to schools and for jobs as they approach adulthood. I truly believe writing without any determining factors or restrictions is the recipe for some of the best writing that a person can produce.

Effective writing has the power the change the world.

It's true.

In the past, effective, nonfiction writing changed minds, altered events, and left the world a very different place than when that piece of writing was introduced. For example, “The Gettysburg Address”, written by Abraham Lincoln had the power to help preserve the Union during one The United States’ bloodiest times. Later in history, Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, “I HAVE A DREAM...” speech was so powerful that it sparked hope in a time of true despair. All throughout history, journalism is the source of truth for life’s events; journalism in the form of articles has the potential to have the reader take a second glance at what is really going on in the world. A journalist has the responsibility to tell the story for those who cannot. This responsibility and potential can only be used effectively if one knows how to properly write effectively: incorporating precise language and creative imagery.

Most feel that journalism form of writing, but the best journalistic pieces are a hybrid of factual information with sensory. In this article written about “Acapalooza”, a charity event, the feeling  was captured within the words, not just the factual information. For example in the quotation, The Whimawehs raised the most money for PS 154, and stole the competition. "Emerging in black dresses and wearing popping red bows and lipstick every eye was drawn to the unparalleled level of energy that the Whims drew to stage" (Sachdeva, "Acapalooza").

Martin Luther’s King Speech, changed the world with the carefully chosen and specific language, “This momentus decree is a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice.” Sometimes, simple writing is more effective than complicated writing. In the quotation, the word "seared" is so specific and paints a very clear image, making short sentence, wildly powerful. Another quotation that paints the "We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is corrupt." In context, the word "refuse" is an extremely bold and powerful choice.

Tunnel Vision

Tunnel Vision in Non-Fiction Writing

A common mistake that I often find myself making is trusting non-fiction writing. I tell myself that because it’s non fiction it is both true and unbiased. As defined by Goodreads, “Nonfiction is an account or representation of a subject which is presented as fact. This presentation may be accurate or not; that is, it can give either a true or a false account of the subject in question.” Non-fiction writing often falls under the trap of being influenced by its writers opinions.

Take for example the media. Many of us might consider the news as a place where we learn new and true information, but honestly, the media is extremely biased, and often just representations of the journalists opinions. Many liberals, such as myself, often consider Fox News to be a projector of “fake news”, while republicans hate the New York Times for the same reason. We are both wrong. The fact of the matter remains that the NYT knows that the majority of its audience are liberals, they cater their news stories into something their audience wants to hear. For example, I often read stories about all the horrible things Trump has done, but rarely read any opinions that state the opposite. Several months ago, I was following news stories concerning confederate monuments around the nation. While skimming the New York Times, I came across an article that was pro-removal of the monuments in question:

What the events of this past weekend have made clear is that for several generations, the Lee monument and others like it have assisted the cause of white supremacy and the deadly violence that has accompanied it. This is why communities across the region have a moral obligation to take up the cause of removing them (NYT, “Why Confederate Monuments Must Fall”).

Being someone who agrees with every word the article said, I closed the tab and went on with my day. It wasn't until a few weeks later, when I got into a debate with a person who identifies as a conservative that I realized that I had never researched or even thought about their side of the argument before. That night, for the first time, I went to Fox News, and read up on opinions by historians concerning the confederate statues. “[The monuments] should be preserved, just like any other historical document, whether in a museum or some other appropriate venue,” (Fox News, Oldest historians group on Confederate monuments: Preservation and 'historical context' needed). To me this provided a stark realization that I could possibly be wrong if I only listened to one source of information. How could I have tunnel-vision when I pride myself on being open minded?

Personal Writing vs. Academic Writing

Writing is the basis on which everyone in the world can find his or her own ways of expressing themselves, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. Writing has its own languages within itself, each in a different form. Writing is an essential tool that one needs to be successful, but it also serves as a stress relief valve when sharing your ideas. It is impossible to get through education without learning how to write. There is a stigma around what makes good non-fiction writing so good. The best non-fiction derives from the personal side of the writer of the piece. 

Personal writing warrants the freedom of someone expressing themselves in any way which they please, leaving room for more thought, passion, and originality. Some of the best known and successful writers write about their personal experiences. For example, Anne Frank, a Jewish girl who was in hiding during the Holocaust became world famous for her diary that she wrote in daily while in hiding. According to annefrank.org, " Shortly before going into hiding Anne receives a diary for her birthday. She starts writing straightaway and during her time in hiding she writes about events in the secret annex and about herself. Her diary is a great support to her. Anne also writes short stories and collects quotations from other writers in her ‘book of beautiful sentences’." Her personal writing served as a remedy for her stress in a time where they are hiding at the expense of her life. This anxiety fueled the passion inside of her that made her diary so powerful. When a person writes just for themselves, they don't have the pressure of grades, or any kind of anxiety. You have the freedom to choose your on tone and formality of what you're writing, as well as the diction, syntax, and overall mood. You have nobody to impress or persuade, as opposed to academic writing where you have to robotically write in attempt to get your teacher to agree with you. Personal writing is just throwing ideas onto your paper. I truly believe writing without any determining factors or restrictions is the recipe for some of the best writing that a person can produce.

The Importance of Research
By: Jessica Lage


Research papers are some of the greatest pieces of writing on the planet. The point of a research paper, no matter the subject, is to explore, support, and share a new perspective that either expands an idea further or to challenge the status quo. Sometimes, people overlook how important it is to have new or different perspectives to challenge traditional ways of thinking. It’s amazing how much society will change to new information that’s been published. Without new ideas, we would think that proteins were genetic information, Freud was the god of psychology, or that dinosaurs never existed, and for many young children, that idea’s devastating. Unfortunately, research papers get a bad reputation for being distant, boring, and tasteless. It is heartbreaking; the most passionate young researcher, left without an audience because of a generic paper. People argue that it’s the job of news sources to spread information about significant breakthroughs in the realm of academia, many sources often skew newly released information in order to draw in readers and subscribers and in turn can spread false information. They can’t translate research and rarely comment on the significance of new information. It’s important to know how to captivate an audience without using a middle man. Therefore, it is important that an author know how to gain readers through grammar, organization, and an appropriate tone of voice.

The one of the most important parts of any good piece of writing is clarity, which can be maintained through standard use of the English language and coherent organization. Standard grammar is constant across writing and should not vary in a nonfiction piece of writing, especially a research paper. By practising proper grammar, an author allows readers to be able to understand their work. People don't have the patience to sit and read through a paper riddled with grammatical errors. The more difficult part to keep in mind is organization. In analytical writing there is a general formula for this, however, many writers struggle with the order of those arguments. The best way to do this is to put the second strongest arguments in the beginning, the weakest in the middle and the strongest last. In scientific papers, there is also a standard order to a research paper. According to an article by Thomas Perneger and Patricia Hudelson, “The basic structure of a typical research paper is the sequence of Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (sometimes abbreviated as IMRAD).

Each section addresses a different objective. The authors state: (i) the problem they intend to address—in other terms, the research question—in the Introduction; (ii) what they did to answer the question in the Methods section; (iii) what they observed in the Results section; and (iv) what they think the results mean in the Discussion.” (Oxford Academic) The really tricky part, in my experience, is making sure to include all the tiny and almost insignificant details of your research in your paper. This is just in case a future researcher wants to continue or validate your work. Bouncing off of that, in order for someone to base their ideas or work off of your writing, they need to be interested in it first.

The next most important thing to keep in mind is your audience. Writing for a scientific journal versus the general population are two very different things. When writing for a scientific journal, the language is extremely formal: you can’t use singular personal pronouns, contractions, and numbers that value less than 100 are exclusively written out. In a graded journal article I wrote in my own biology class, “Flower preservatives help prolong the visual appeal of flowers”, the audience was for a hypothetical science journal. After reviewing where points were lost the most, I found that I had lost points for using the pronoun “I” instead of “we”. “I chose to graph the average water level for each day of observations because it would be an indication of how much water was absorbed on average for each of the two groups of stems.” The sentence is completely fine on its own, but scientific journals will take the error into account when their choosing whether or not to let the paper be published.

The general population tends to be more lenient when it comes to grammar and style, but they’ll want reading material to be more personal and generally more entertaining. Susan Williams, Robins Williams widow, published an article in the journal of theAmerican Academy of Neurology, she writes about her experience of her husband suffering the disease and his subsequent suicide. In the article she uses incredibly personal language to describe the deterioration of her husband's mind and uses personal pronouns and imagery to capture the reader's attention (Neurology) . Which is exactly the point of a journal article.

As stated before papers are published and created to stretch the mind of the population to challenge what we already know. It’s too easy to dismiss these piece as boring, tedious, and repetitive. People tend to relate to things that are familiar to them, like celebrities, popular books, or current events. Academic papers tend to not grasp at the general population. However, when allowed, papers that become popular through being published or spread between social circles, they become popular topics, for research and conservation alike, and soon enough, they become common knowledge. From there, they can change the way society works. Whether you’re allowed to write for academia or the media, successful writing can have monumental effects on the world around you, for better or worse.