Insight

How do you grade a paper that’s written clearly, organized well, fulfills all the assignment requirements, but contains only the most painfully obvious information, is ten pages of utter boredom, and took so few risks that it’s not fair to give it an A when other students worked so much harder and learned so much more from their papers? No reader would learn anything or gain any benefit at all from the paper.

After a run in with this dilemma, I vowed to never let it happen again, and began teaching the importance of insight in your writing. Insight can be any kind of new information, valuable application, a clever twist, a new angle, anything that makes the reader learn more, understand better, and especially anything that makes the reader go "Ahhh!"

Un-insightful papers are what I call "Utah is a state" papers. And believe it or not, many papers begin with statements just that obvious. It’s a carry over from the junior high papers that you copied from the encyclopedia. It’s a transition from nothingness to your topic. But it’s also too easy, a cop out, and a habit you should break. It’s not hard to find more interesting introductions, and it’s essential that you soon move on to usable information.

If you’re keeping your audience in mind, this should not be hard. What do they already know about your subject? Then don’t tell them that again—you’ll bore them. You’ll waste their time. Sure, you might mention a thing or two that they already know, don’t be afraid of that, but you should understand the limits when you look over what you’ve got.

Here’s another phrase to avoid: "Webster’s dictionary defines X as…". Another crutch. Another carry over from junior high. Avoid it, it damages your credibility. Especially when you’re defining words like "school", "animal", or anything that everyone already knows all about.

Here are a few ways you can add insight to your paper:

Apply the topic to your reader.
Do research and find new information.
Conduct your own survey—this will almost certainly be new information.
Use a metaphor or comparison.
Ask members of your "audience" what they would like to know about your topic.
Include stories or case studies—any application of your information and ideas.
Teach your readers something new, or show them a new slant on something old.
Make a new link of understanding between two items in a comparison or metaphor.

Try reading through some of the papers or essays on this CD ROM and watching for insights. And you're bound to enjoy insights about science from kids. For some shocking insight, try Lincoln and Kennedy.

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