deepstash
Beta
How to Write Usefully
Novelty
Telling people something novel doesn't always mean surprising them. It could mean telling them something they knew unconsciously but were unable to put into words. In fact, those insights are often more valuable because they are more fundamental.
The way to get novelty is to write about topics you've thought about a lot. Anything you notice that surprises you will probably also surprise many readers. If you don't learn anything from writing an essay, don't publish it.
235 SAVES
SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
13
Key Ideas
Jordan Peterson
The Levels of Resolution
An essay exists at multiple levels:
- The choice of words
- The formation of sentences
- The arrangement of sentences in a paragraph
- The arrangement of paragraphs in a logical progression, beginning to end
- The essay as a whole
A good essay works at every one of those levels simultaneously.
Step 1: Choose Topic, Read & Take Notes
Writing begins with these 3 steps:
- Pick a topic: because your essay should answer a central question.
- Make a reading list: You should aim to read 5-10 books before you write an essay. And plenty of online sources.
- Take Notes: of everything that catches your attention.
5
Key Ideas
What is a speech?
Just like essays, speeches have three main sections:
- Introduction
- Body
- Conclusion
However, unlike essays, speeches must be written to be heard as opposed to read. It should contain some color, drama or humor.
Tips on How to Write a Speech Essay
- Determine the type of speech you're writing. Is it to inform people? Persuade? Entertain?
- Craft a creative speech introduction with an attention-grabber, statement on your topic and a strong transition to the body.
- Determine the flow of the body of the speech depending on the information consisting the body.
- Write a memorable speech conclusion by restating the main points and ending with a memorable speech.
- Address the key objectives by using some clever quotes, inspirational stories, meaningful transitions and a good ending.
Types of Speeches
- Informative and Instructional Speech - Used to inform people about a certain topic, event or area of knowledge.
- Persuasive Speech - Used to persuade people to join one side of an argument.
- Entertaining Speech - Used to entertain audience, and topics may not be practical.
- Special Occasion Speech - Used in special occasions to entertain or inform audience such as graduation, toasts, etc.
5
Key Ideas
Read widely, with maximum curiosity
The clearest thinkers tend to be those that draw from multiple disciplines.
Develop the habit of reading and eliminate/reduce the things that might stop you from doing that (e.g. mindless TV watching or checking social media constantly).
Put reality first and theory last
Confusing models with reality is a cardinal sin of clear thinking.
If you believe too strongly in your models of the world, you can start to ignore evidence that your model is wrong.
Campbell’s law
The basic idea is that when you reward people for a particular measure — clicks, dollars, likes, etc. — people will find a way to “game” the system.
For example: If journalism is fueled by clicks, journalists are going to write sensationalist clickbait.