[Just keep one thing in mind to make your writing cohesive!] Teaching the secrets of essay writing (July 2015 issue feature)

Compensating for the deficiencies of the preceding sentence

Context is a common term, but what does it actually mean to string sentences together? There is a rule to it.

Stringing sentences together while filling in the gaps

What kind of sentence should you write after the opening line, "I am a cat."

I am a cat. I am the pet cat of Mr. Kushami.
I am a cat. Why can I talk even though I am a cat...

There are countless other possibilities, but if you write,
I am a cat. The current Prime Minister is Shinzo Abe.
this does not make sense. The relationship between "I am a cat" and "The current Prime Minister is Shinzo Abe" is unclear, and the reader will be left wondering, "Huh?" Why is this follow-up sentence not acceptable?
Simply put, the reason is that "The current Prime Minister is Shinzo Abe"does not compensate for the deficiency of the preceding sentence.

When you say, "I am a cat,"various questions arise in the reader's mind.
For example, "What kind of cat?" "Whose cat?" "Is it male or female?" "What color is it?" and so on.
Any sentence thatanswers those questions can be strung together.

And if you continue with, "I am the pet cat of Mr. Kushami," then new questions arise, such as "Who is Mr. Kushami? What kind of person is he? Where does he live? Is he a teacher?"
Becausenew questions are born, you answer them in turn. This iscontext.

Sentences have a certain direction, a vector

However,it does not mean you can write anything as long as it compensates for the deficiency.

In the diagram above, I listed follow-up sentences A through H that answer the questions raised by "I am a cat," and further listed A' through H' that follow those sentences.
Suppose the goal of a piece of writing is beyond A-A'. If you start writing in the direction of E-E', you will later have tochange direction toward A.

Of course, some detours are necessary, butbasically, every sentence written in a context must be heading toward the subject.

Reference: Shinichi Suzuki, "A Novel Writing Course You Can Take Even Without Literary Talent"

Create a question and answer it

When writing an essay, you do not need to follow the 'kishōtenketsu' (introduction, development, turn, conclusion) structure. However, there is one condition for putting it together well.

A sentence is complete if there is a question and an answer

When writing an essay, you do not need to fit it into a fixed structure like 'kishōtenketsu'.
I am not saying you shouldn't, butif you write too rigidly, the dynamism of the writing is lost. You can write about what you think, see, or hear in an essay as you please. You can start and end it however you like.

However, there is one condition. That is tocreate a question and answer it.
A question does not have to be like one in a thesis; it can be something as simple as "I went to Tokyo."
But even there, there is an implicitquestion of "So what if you went?" and the story will not be complete unless you answer it.

Here, I will show four representative examples of questions and answers.
The style is academic, but this isto clearly show the relationship between question and answer, andwhen writing an essay, you can use a much softer style.

There is a simple question

Example: When applying for a literary award, is it true that you should research the common direction of past winning works and write along those lines? Is that really true?.
Certainly, I think each award has its own color, but just because of that, if you go straight down the middle with something everyone thinks 'that award has a lot of these works,' there is a possibility that your content will overlap with rivals, and if that happens, you will definitely not be selected. Evaluations for similar works are harsh.
Therefore, once you know the trends of a literary award, I want you to try thinking in the direction of writing a work that is the exact opposite.

Explanation: First, there is a 'is it true?' question, then a counter-argument, and finally the answer is written.

There is a question between the lines

Example: When applying for a literary award, researching the purpose of the award and the trends of past winning works and writing along those lines is correct as a marketing technique.
Certainly, because each award has its own color, a misguided work will not be considered.
The problem is that what literary awards are looking for is a new work. What is required is not a work that fits the award's color, but perhaps a masterpiece that breaks the award's color.
Therefore, once you know the trends of a literary award, I want you to try thinking in the direction of writing a work that is the exact opposite.

Explanation: Superficially there is no question, but in the first half, a question of 'is that really true?' is posed between the lines.

The whole thing is an answer

Example: When applying for a literary award, research the common direction of past winning works and write along those lines. If you are aiming to win, I cannot recommend this.
There are three reasons.
First, there are famous works among past winners, and trends often originate from them, but no one is looking for a rehash.
Second, what is required is not a work that follows the award's trends, but a masterpiece that will become the future representative work of that award.
Third, in the first place, similar works are rejected in bulk, so they will not be selected.

Explanation: At the beginning, it implicitly asks 'I cannot recommend this (why is that?)' and then answers it.

The answer is between the lines

Example: When applying for a literary award, is it true that you should research the common direction of past winning works and write along those lines? Is that really true?.
Certainly, I think each award has its own color, but just because of that, if you go straight down the middle with something everyone thinks 'that award has a lot of these works,' there is a possibility that your content will overlap with rivals, and if that happens, you will definitely not be selected.
Similarity is the greatest flaw. For a work that is said to be similar to that work or that shows the influence of that masterpiece, you will almost never win.

Explanation: It does not clearly write the answer, but the counter-argument part is substantial so the conclusion goes without saying.

Feature: Turn your 'oh well' days into money with essays! Read the full text here!

*This article is a reprint of an article published in the July 2015 issue.