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7 Passage Writing Tips

7 Passage Writing Tips

Writing passages is often an undervalued skill as a writer. Writing a novel or a full essay or even a blog post are looked at as needed skills instead. The only problem is that each of these is made up of a series of passages. Without a great passage that connects to another great passage, you won’t be able to write a memorable blog post, essay, or novel. These passage writing tips will help you be able to be more consistent with your creative process.

#1. Choose a topic and focus on it.

Think of a passage as a miniature scene for your writing. There is one key point that needs to be made and you have limited space in which to make it. Have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion for the passage topic. This will allow you to move onto the next passage with a natural transition. Remember: this is an opportunity to educate, persuade, or entertain.

#2. Prepare an outline for your passages.

This will help you to organize your thoughts about what you’re writing. Although it’s fun to just start writing, sometimes this creates a passage that feels disjointed or inconsistent. By preparing an outline, you’re creating more structure so your passage has a better chance of making the points you want to make. Write your topic at the top of your outline and then start filling in the blanks.

#3. Have a clear thesis statement for your passage.

Your overall work will have one primary thesis statement. Each passage must correlate with this thesis in some way. What often gets overlooked when writing passages is that each individual passage also needs its own thesis as well. Determine the point you’re trying to make within that passage and then summarize the argument and you’ll be able to develop that thesis statement.

#4. Compose the body of your passage in the first-draft format.

The main idea of your thesis statement needs to be expanded upon. This is the place where you’re going to do just that. Each sentence must transition to the next one so that a logical argument can be created. Include your supporting ideas, but leave yourself some space to include new ideas that might come along. If you treat your passage writing as a first draft, you won’t limit the scope of your key points until the final draft is ready to go.

#5. Hook your reader.

A good thesis statement does more than just present the key argument you’re trying to make. Every passage must have a thesis that is going to hook your reader so they want to keep reading. So yes – show the focus of your essay. Absolutely. But also consider using an interesting story, a dialogue, or even an inspirational quote to help hook the reader. All of these work with the thesis to make for an interesting proposal.

#6. Don’t forget to include a conclusion.

Your passage isn’t complete without a meaningful conclusion. How that conclusion is structured will be dependent upon where the passage falls in your overall body of work. Many passages will conclude with a transition that leads the reader to the next key point or scene that is being offered. Beginning passages will introduce the scenes or arguments being offered. Ending passages will wrap up the argument or bring a story to its conclusion. Avoid the temptation of just reviewing your arguments here – finish strong with a good couple of sentences that will make your work memorable.

#7. You’re not finished until the small details are completed.

Once you’ve finished writing your passages, it’s time to go back and review what you’ve written. Fill in the spaces you may have left blank with new ideas. Check the order of your passages to make sure everything is in order. Check for grammatical mistakes, spelling errors, or thinking errors that stand out now that you’ve had more time to think about what you’ve been writing. Connect thoughts and ideas that have been left dangling. Polish up your wording if needed.

These passage writing tips are designed to help you write something great, whether that’s an essay, a novel, or even a blog post. By connecting your concepts together in a meaningful way, you’ll be able to make a logical argument that supports your point of view or creates authentic scenes for your characters. Remember to connect each passage in some way and your readers will want to keep reading your work.

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