Ignatius

Joseph Edward Ignatius

English 101H
Professor McKeever
December 1, 2013
Word Count: 749

How to Say Nothing in 500 Words Summary

Professor Paul Roberts (1917 - 1967) argues that the writers job is to find the
argument, the approach, the angle, the wording to take the reader with him in his 1956
essay, How to Say Nothing in 500 words. He divides the essay into nine main sections
which makes it easier for readers to understand his logical points.
The first section he has is titled Avoid Obvious Content. This section says that
when writing arguments, write down the first ideas that come to your mind. Then refuse
to use any of that material. He continues saying that if those ideas leap into your mind,
others will think of them, too. Which will lead to whomever is grading your paper to get
bored and most likely give you a bad grade for over used topics.
Section number two is labeled Take The Less Usual Side, which tells the reader
to take the side of the argument that majority of others will avoid. Professor Roberts says
to always take the side that looks the hardest and least defensible because its almost
always easier to write more interesting on that side. Also, never include personalities into
any essay so that it doesnt come off as being rude to the grader.
Slip out of Abstraction is the title of the third section. In this, Roberts says in

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order to really make a point or lasting impression, the paper must never be dull or boring
and particular. The writer cannot just say that something is evil or good, but really display
the evil or good in the topic. True writers constantly move from anecdotes to facts to
abstract statements to keep the piece their writing alive. An example Roberts gives is to
not say sentences such as sororities teach girls the social graces, but instead say
sorority life teaches a girl how to carry on a conversation while pouring tea, without
sloshing the tea into the saucer.
The fourth part of Roberts essay is Get Rid of Obvious Padding. This part states that
the biggest problem students have these days is trying to make papers the proper length.
Instead of using one word to describe something, figure out how to put ten words into its
spot. But in order to do it correctly, not an ounce of unnecessary content should be added.
All the writer has to do is dig up more content. Real content. And illustrate the writing
piece using descriptive words, etc.
Call a Fool a Fool is section five and one of the most important ones. Roberts
states that if someone is a fool, call them a fool. He continues saying as I see its and at
least from my point of views gain you nothing. A writer should always decide what
theyre going to say as vigorously as possible, without an apology and in plain words.
Section six is titled Beware of Pat Expressions. Pat expressions are hard, often
impossible, to avoid because they come too easily to be noticed. Some prime examples of
pat expressions are the time of his life, over my dead body, and to the ends of the
Earth. Writers should only use them when they cannot think of anything else to use in
their writing piece. They really do not add anything to papers except for more unneeded
words.

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Sections seven, eight, and nine all discuss similar topics so I felt like they
belonged together. Sevens title is Colorful Words. Which then goes into detail saying
that a writers work is a constant struggle to get the right word in the right place at the
right time. The word that will help convey what his/her exact meaning is. Colorful words
are words calculated together to produce a picture or induce an emotion. Section eight is
called Colored Words. Colored words are words that are loaded with associations good
or bad. For example, the word mother may have a good connotation to some people,
where as others might have a very negative connotation with thus word. When we hear a
word, an echo of every time weve heard that word pops in our head. Lastly, section nine
is titled Colorless Words. This section says that colorless words are those of such
general meaning that in a particular sentence have no specific meaning. Words such as
nice, good, and cool are very overused and lose their meaning and quickly die.