It’s that point in the semester where you may be struggling to add a couple more pages to your papers before your final deadlines. The easy way out is to fill your paper with filler. Like most easy solutions, however, not only have teachers been trained to spot fluff, but this makes your writing intolerably boring. So I’ve gathered some tips to help expand your paper.
Elaborate
If you’re trying to explain something, nothing is more poignant than providing an example. Don’t just tell your reader what you want to say, show it. Concepts will fall out of the realm of the abstract and into the world. The meaning of your argument will become more than just empty talk, but experience. Explanation isn’t necessarily bad, however, if you’re looking to expand your paper you can explain your reasoning to further clarify your points. Or you could even add a new point. Usually there are multiple ways to think about a subject, how many ways have you used?
Counter Arguments
Speaking of different ways to view a subject, offer your reader multiple views. Even include some views that you may not necessarily agree with. Papers with limited viewpoints suggest bias: anything that offers no alternative is suspicious to the reader. The world is too ambiguous and diverse for that. Rather, you could include a counter-argument that boosts your own point by showing how others might agree with it and then talk about why you reject it. Incorporating other opinions creates a more well-rounded paper and allows you to get more words down.
Details
This one’s a bit self-explanatory: details show life. I’ve always been amused by novels that have fake books in them or pay attention to the names of things no matter how insignificant they seemed. This level of detail makes the world appear real, it broadens its scope and gives it tangibility, even if this world only exists in words. In papers, instead of just saying things bluntly (which isn’t always a bad approach), you can be declarative in colorful ways: Instead of “The meal was revolting,” write something like, “the steward came down the aisle with a steaming cart and handed us plastic lunch boxes. Every portion of the meal had to be unwrapped and the sausage had the same consistency as Styrofoam.”
Broader Conclusions
What are the implications of your paper? What kinds of questions arise? Where can the reader go next? The conclusion is a place of expansion. Not only do you get to bring all your points home, but you can pull in that extra stuff that your paper had only briefly touched on before. You don’t want to go overboard, but you can give your paper a strong sense of where it fits in the big picture.
May 27, 2014
