Economical Writing McCloskey Summaries 11-20

Elias Garcia
Econ 210
Economical Writing Summaries: Chapters 11-20
Chapter 11:
Extending her previous them on stylistic writing, McCloskey emphasis that you can learn good
writing by repetition and revision. The end goal of this stylistic writing establishes a clear and concise
piece for a group/individual that you preemptively make your target audience. This creates a stable
platform that you communicate from, emphasizing the importance of choosing this audience early, as
you can't write in the style necessary without knowing who this audience is. A good example includes a
walk through recipe for the average cook. You don't want to be excessive or pedantic in description, nor
do you want to assume ignorance of basic cooking. By constantly keeping your audience in mind,
writing a cooking recipe becomes easier for you and clearer for your audience, the cooks.
Chapter 12:
McCloskey formally introduces the problem of 'boilerplate' in chapter 12, something
inexperienced writers especially struggle with. In order to keep your audience interested, you must stay
focused and to the point of your writing. We often get caught up in the details in our own writing, and
what we consider important. However, as McCloskey has emphasized before, solely the reader matters,
and retaining their interest comes first. Thus, common methods of 'fluff' writing must be avoided,
including the common introduction passage, background information not immediately relevant, road
mapping, and summaries. Another good example includes passive voice, an issue that Dr. Gillette
emphasizes we avoid at all costs. Using unnecessary terms that obfuscate an article only further extend
and complicate said article, risking a loss of interest at the cost of adding meaningless fluff.
Chapter 13:
Parallel to choosing a target audience early, choosing a specific tone early allows for clarity and
stability in your writing. McCloskey argues that choosing a proper tone gives consistency to your
writing, and, if done write, makes your article tolerable to readers. A tone to definitely avoid includes
what McCloskey considers the all too common 'Scientist' tone, which hides lack of self esteem behind
pedantry and obscure terminology. Examples of possible tones include the enthusiastic tour guide, fan,
or teacher, tones embodying a teaching, yet enthusiastic and kind, mentality. You must write to explain
well, not to impress. Additionally, avoid putting your opinion in the open or attacking others because it
makes you look weak and gives sympathy to those attacked. McCloskey concludes with humor always
being welcomed in a field that takes itself all too serious.
Chapter 14:
McCloskey transitions from tips on essays as a whole to individual paragraphs, and focuses on
creating focused paragraphs. Paragraphs must have intention, as all your writing should, and will
maintain the reader's interest if done right. Think of paragraphs as stepping stones across a pond. Too
many stepping stones become inconvenient to walk on effectively, while too few make the trip difficult.
If you have too many paragraphs, the point becomes obscured, while too little or too large paragraphs
communicate too little. McCloskey also emphasizes the times when block quotes are appropriate,
limiting use to properly quoting an opposing viewpoint you will systemically deconstruct or when you
desire to quote a passage perfectly encapsulating your argument. On a final note, you should definitely
never plageriaze.
Chapter 15:
Graphs, tables, and equations are indistinguishable in purpose from general writing. Like
writing, graphs, tables and equations are meant to communicate an idea to the reader. Consequentially,
McCloskey strongly believes that they then follow the same rules as general writing, and must be clear
and used with purpose. Think of it this way: would you be able to decipher a economic text with every
equation used by the author printed ad hoc? Absolutely not. Many of the equations would be
purposeless, as you either already know them or they are redundant in use. Only the equations that
communicate a unique role should be presented, clearly and with description.
Chapter 16:
McCloskey makes a short argument in this chapter about footnotes. Use them only to guide
your reader to the sources you cite. Do not writing mini passages in your footnotes. Do not ramble on
with separate arguments in your footnotes. Do not do anything with footnotes but make footnotes,
which are meant to be citations. McCloskey emphasizes that footnotes are subordinate to your actual
article, so treat them as such.
Chapter 17:
Another tip worth mentioning by McCloskey involves the coherence of your writing. Coherence
is what allows your reader to put together what your writing on the fly, giving a smooth delivery of
concepts that writing that also connects stylistically. Repetition and the use of pronouns bolster the
coherence of your writing, and linking your writing with set nouns and phrases is encouraged. Most
importantly, however, your writing should connect in ideas. Sentences should flow from one another in
references and ideas, chaining your topic together, and style serves to assist in this as well.
Chapter 18:
McCloskey shifts the focus from paragraphs to sentences entirely in chapter 18. Additionally,
she further extends the theme of coherence and style, explaining the minutia of rhythm in prose. Giving
your sentences variation in style creates a flow to their metaphorical march in your essay. You want
your reader moving from sentence to the next with their interest piqued, and like good speeches, this
involves a stylistic use of emphasis. Changing emphasis from within parts of a sentence gives variation
that, McCloskey points out again, keeps your reader focused. McCloskey also introduces the concept of
creating emphasis by extrapolating on the individual parts of a sentence: the subject, object, and verb.
Creating healthy rhythm involves extending one of these parts in each sentence, while leaving the
others to a minimum.
Chapter 19:
This section is extremely short. Make sure to write full sentences. Otherwise, it might confuse.
Who remains confused is unknown. Maybe if you write full sentences we'd know. McCloskey suggests
that you do that the vast majority of the time.
Chapter 20:
While up to this point McCloskey has encouraged stylistic writing, she now makes sure to
differentiate good stylistic writing from elegant variation. Stylistic writing will keep the reader
interested and communicate clearly what you want. There is room for plenty of individual discretion in
this process. However, a part of keeping the reader interested and writing clearly includes a stable
platform, something McCloskey consistently articulates through the previous chapters. Having a stable
platform includes uniform terminology, using a single word that communicates a single definition.
Having multiple words with the same definition, or vice versa, defines elegant variation, and should
thus be avoided. A good comparison is the child who uses words they don't understand in conversation.
Instead of actually communicating their idea, they simply confuse everybody involved, including
themselves.

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