WRITING | COMPOSITION | ARTICLES | ESSAYS
Nonfiction Writers: Repeat Your Main Idea Four Times
“There is no harm in repeating a good thing.” — Plato
If you’re arguing a point in your article or essay, use the Golden Rule of news writing: remind your main thesis or subject matter 4 times.
- Mention your main subject matter (“keywords” in SEO parlance) in your TITLE.
- Explain your subject matter right away in the FIRST PARAGRAPH.
- Develop your main thesis further throughout the main BODY of your prose.
- Then, at the END, remind your readers what they have just read and what your main point was.
Example
Let’s say our subject matter (or thesis) is how CARBON TRADING helps slow down GLOBAL WARMING.
First Mention of the Main Idea
SAMPLE TITLE: A New Breed of Stock Traders and The Fate of Our World
BETTER TITLE: How Carbon Trading Helps Slow Down Global Warming
Second Mention of the Main Idea
SAMPLE FIRST PARAGRAPH: Have you noticed how warm in general the weather has been lately? Some scientists claim we are doing it by releasing all these “greenhouse gases” into the atmosphere. The issue has become a political football among the conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats.
BETTER FIRST PARAGRAPH: We were again reminded of Global Warming lately when a chunk of ice the size of Rhode Island broke off from the Antarctic land mass and fell into the water. Some economists believe Carbon Trading can apply the brakes to this trend by forcing those companies that emit “greenhouse gases” to clean up their acts and emit less, or pay the price.
Third Mention of the Main Idea
SAMPLE BODY COPY: Some people say human activity is responsible for global warming while others dispute that. Perhaps cyclical changes are responsible for rising global temperatures, they argue. Al Gore begs to differ, though. He certainly had lot to do with convincing many people in this country and abroad that we indeed are responsible for this catastrophic threat at our door.
BETTER BODY COPY: Carbon trading will help alleviate the problem by penalizing those companies who insist on maintaining a large carbon footprint while rewarding those who innovate, become more efficient and produce more by polluting less. One outcome of such a development would be the emergence of new kinds of exchanges focusing exclusively on carbon trading. London has already made a name for itself as the new carbon trading capital of the world with $25 billion worth of carbon credits changing hands in year 2007 alone.
Fourth Mention of the Main Idea
SAMPLE ENDING: So, what are we supposed to do? No one knows. Should we invest in the stocks of companies that provide a new and efficient kind of air conditioning system or take refuge in prayer and hope for the best? Do we have that much time before the next mega wave of tsunami takes away all the major cities built on the coastal line? Further scientific research needs to be funded by all governments across the world not as a matter of high-minded civic responsibility but our last defiant act of survival as a species.
BETTER ENDING: Carbon trading is our best hope to slow down global warming. The U.S. investors have already taken part in the carbon trading market through various hedge funds that deal in the 200-member Chicago Climate Exchange, Inc. However, until the U.S. signs the Kyoto Treaty, the expansion of carbon trading in domestic exchanges will be limited. A major development to spur Washington in that direction would be the launching of a carbon credit exchange soon in Beijing, China. I’m sure we are witnessing only the beginning of a brand-new trading sector that will make itself felt strongly in the months and years ahead.
Last Word
Apply this technique in your non-fiction and you’re guaranteed to become a better communicator with more impact and influence.
For more time-tested and practical writing methods with examples: 101 Pro Writing Tips