By Paul Andrew Bourne, M.Sc. (pending); B.Sc. (Hons.); Dip. Edu.
According to Mead (1934), “language is the means whereby individuals can indicate to one another what their responses to objects will be, and hence what the meanings of objects are . . .” Within Mead’s perspective lies the essence of writing at graduate level: it is a process that is succinct, precise, logical and objective. Language, therefore, must convey its intended meanings. Embedded within language, at this level, is structural-semantic analysis through which social reality is explained. In order to comprehend Mead’s definition of language within the context of ‘language usage at the graduate level’, the writer will argue this position from the vantage point of essay writing.
Without an effective plan of action, the writing process is oftentimes a maze to which the there is no clarity and escape. Therefore, prelude to any form of effective writing is the planning stage in which is entrenched the linguistic system (the grammar). Often times this process is fostered by others’ viewpoints. As such, the writer(s) must acknowledge other author(s) for the use of their materials. The planning stage is where the idea is born and developed from infancy to a work of art, and hence language is therefore not merely the collection of words but the presentation of ideas in structural-semantic manner this is what Blount (1974: 55) correctly cited as “the degree to which the various parts of a word are welded together.”
An idea is captured in what is termed a thesis sentence. The thesis is a concise but comprehensive sentence. It gives the essence of the body of work. Some authors write their thesis at the beginning of the first paragraph. Others place it at the end of the first paragraph and some use subtlety of this thought throughout the essay without ever penning a direct sentence of the sort. The latter approach is not recommended for infant writer but is primarily a tool used by established authors.
Another aspect of the planning stage is the brainstorming process. It is at this stage, that the writer uses his audience’s characteristics as the basis for adopting the most appropriate style for communication. Here the purpose of the writer is to ensure that s/he is using suitable language that is easily understandable by his/her target group. A good writer should not write constantly at one level if his/her audience is at another level. He/she is dynamic and easily adaptable to his/her social setting. S/he must be able to pen his/her thoughts that are vital and fits the profile of the target market. It is at this stage that the author decides all those characteristics in order to meet the specificity of the writing process. Appropriate style writing is a paramount ingredient for good writing at the graduate level.
Without a thesis statement in the planning stage, the author runs the risk of becoming overly indulgent in one thought or by supplying irrelevant ideas. The thesis sentence, therefore, guides the body of work. All the thoughts must be logical and contributory to the thesis. Otherwise the author is not writing in a structured, coherent and synchronized manner. The writer is indulging in what is called irrelevant writing. This type of writing is poor for academics, and individuals who write for an examination; an author who does this, is guilty of a substandard script.
On completion of a good formulated thesis sentence, the writer is given a guide thereafter. If a thesis statement is followed in its entirety, the author is guided along a path of logical thinking. This is possible if and only if the writer subdivides the general thesis into sub thesis throughout the essay. Although this is so, a writer oftentimes does not pen his/her final thoughts at once. A properly constructed thesis sentence may take an experienced author a long time to formulate and so one can imagine the extent of the problems faced by new writers. Because of the importance of this concept, amateur writers will have a difficulty understanding this principle. However, the thesis is not the final aspect to an essay.
Writing a composition goes through a process of shaping, and reshaping of content before it approaches what seems befitting for its intended purpose. Kirszner and Mandel (1998, pp.3-20) in an article titled Writing Essays, posited that writing goes through a series of interrelated processes: “planning”, “shaping”, “writing”, “revising”, “editing” and “proofreading” before there is a finality of thought. The intended purpose of the writing must satisfy the audience desire for information while fulfilling their characterization within the context of good grammar. It is by the constant revising and editing, and proofing reading of an initial essay that the writing gradually emerges into a masterpiece.
Notwithstanding the continuous process involved in writing, an author may want to substantiate his/her present position by the use of other peoples’ works. He/she can do so by direct citations and-or paraphrasing the essence of another writer’s ideas. If an author, however, borrows from other authors’ works, he/she must acknowledge the source from which those perspectives were taken. Otherwise, he/she runs the risk of intellectual fraud (or “plagiarism”).
Therefore, good writing is not only writing. In order for writing (essay) to be classified as good, it must beginning with a good and relevant ‘attention getter’. After this characterization has been established, the author should write two or three other sentences inclusive of the thesis in the introduction. During this stage (drafting), the writer is only penning ideas as they emerge within the thought process. The planning stage is used to reanalyze those ideas. The author will edit and revise the concepts for appropriateness and relevance of content before he/she is able to move from the introduction to supporting paragraphs. He/she will follow this with a sub-thesis in each proceeding paragraph. Hence, the thesis becomes the skeleton of the essay. The writer is embodying all other thoughts after this sentence as justification of the initial idea. At the beginning of each paragraph, he/she will return to the thesis sentence in order to “reguide” the new set of sentences.
References
Mead, George H. (1934). In Mind, Self and Society. Charles W. Morris. (ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Quoted in Blount, Ben G. (1974: 5). Language, Culture and Society. Winthrop Publishers, Inc.: 17 Dunster Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
King, Robert G. (1979). Fundamental of Human Communication. MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc.: 866 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10022
Wolf, Maryanne et al (1982). (edited). Thoughts and Language/Language and Reading. Capital City Press, Montpellier, Vermont 05602.