Over the last few years, I have come to realize that I need to significantly improve my writing skills. Many times, my essays intend to drive home a main point. But during the course of writing the essay, I present different ideas without really connecting them together and strengthening my point. During these times, it is likely that I will lose my reader.
An essay is not a bunch of random thoughts. If it is, then it does not serve its purpose - to convey to its readers a message. Writing an essay that is structured well requires that you understand the deeper meanings of cause and effect, fact and evidence, and open doors to thinking critically.
A good essay is a sequence of related thoughts that lead to something more substantial than the individual thoughts themselves. Each thought in that sequence must contribute to the main point of that essay. If it doesn't, the author should seriously consider removing it. In addition, these thoughts must be interconnected well so that they lead to the main objective message which should stand up crystal clear to the reader. If they are not connected well enough, the reader is not likely to understand the intention the isolated thoughts, hence resulting in a loss of communication. If you are intentionally going to digress from the main point of the essay, then it is better to convey to the reader how the digression is related to the main point, or at least, promise them that it will all make sense at the end. And of course, you need to keep it up. The bottom line is that the author should ensure that the readers do not forget the main point of the essay.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Action, Results and Happiness
The most famous message of the Gita often quoted as:
"Do your duty, do not expect the results of your actions."
...gives an impression that we are expected to be more or less robots on this earth just bothered about our duty and stay detached from the outcome. Let me rephrase it, and then its power becomes a little more clear:
"Do not rely on the results of what you do to be happy. Happiness is your birthright! Enjoy it whenever you want it by making your action as the reason for your happiness rather than its result!"
"Do your duty, do not expect the results of your actions."
...gives an impression that we are expected to be more or less robots on this earth just bothered about our duty and stay detached from the outcome. Let me rephrase it, and then its power becomes a little more clear:
"Do not rely on the results of what you do to be happy. Happiness is your birthright! Enjoy it whenever you want it by making your action as the reason for your happiness rather than its result!"
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