Friday, October 22, 2010

Organize Your Writing

From LegalGeekery
I recently edited a friend’s law school admission essay. He would like to pursue business law and wrote a great story about how his current job and experience in growing a fledging business has led him to this field.

Except, when he got to his final paragraph—the most important part of the whole essay!—he lost focus. He wants to be a lawyer so badly and for so many reasons that he tried to spew it out all at once. His confusion was there on paper for us all to see. There were disagreements between subjects and objects; there were run-on sentences; and I think he talked about a blooming flower once or twice.

This is a mistake a lot of writers make. We want something so much that it’s incredibly hard to articulate. “I just want it, okay?”

So, these are the suggestions that I offered to him and, therefore, are offering to you in your own writing projects:

Please delete the flowery writing. There’s a time and a place for this and a law school application is not it. Additionally, flowery statements signal to me that the person is hiding behind metaphors rather than choosing the right word—a sign of a poor writer. If you don’t believe me (or if you want to learn more), check out On Writing Well.

You need to break down the various reasons as to why you want to be a lawyer/doctor/writer/whatever. For example, my friend wants to help people, resolve disputes, develop his business acumen, become a good lawyer, get international experience, and… and… and.... Whew! In one sentence, this is overwhelming. If each point is instead broken down, it appears both possible and admirable. Provide examples and then provide more examples. (Examples and quotes are what got me through my English degree. Worked for my History degree as well. Who'd have thunk it?)

Don’t lose your personal voice. My friend was very good at telling his story, but in the conclusion he switched gears and wrote what he thinks he should say. Yes, he wants to become a lawyer, but the law school committee already knows about lawyers; what they do, what they’re like. They’re more interested in your personal contribution!

I have yet to see my friend’s second draft, but I hope (as all editors do) that he’ll take my comments and at least consider them as an option. Many times, just thinking about a certain sentence can lead to a whole new direction that’s even better than the one I proposed.

I hope this is helpful! And keep writing, y'all—practice makes perfect.

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