Rules for Writing 8: Stay on target

This rule is implicit in some of the others, but I still want to invoke the advice of that random X-Wing pilot to “stay on target” as you write. Not just every section of the paper, but every sentence of the paper, should somehow contribute to your overall project, which remember, is to give an answer to your central question. As we’ll see in rule 10, the conclusion can be a partial exception to this general principle, but otherwise it holds throughout. 

Sounds simple enough, but it creates problems. There are various reasons you may want to say something that in truth is irrelevant. There may be pragmatic issues – you need to cite a piece of secondary literature to show you’ve read it (cf rule 4) – or you may just have a clever idea that came to you when writing, that doesn’t really belong there but you’re so pleased with it that you really want to get it in. So, what to do?

First answer: that’s what footnotes are for. The rule to stay on target applies much less to footnotes since by putting something in a note, you are effectively taking it out of the main flow of the argument and even telling the reader that the point is optional. This is one reason I said under rule 4 that you can show you have consulted the relevant literature by relegating mention of it to footnotes. Don’t let things get out of hand though; no one wants to read a paper where half the word count is in the notes, because that is distracting and undermines the sense that the piece is focused and moving towards a clear target.

Second answer: you can bend the rule a little, by explicitly marking a point as a side issue, e.g. by putting it in parentheses or saying “Incidentally, it’s worth noting that…” Strictly speaking my rule says don’t do this, and when in doubt don’t. But you can do it occasionally, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of moving the argument along. As with other rules, the point is clearly communicating to the reader what is going on. If you signal to the reader “this doesn’t really contribute to my project, but while we’re at it, it’s kind of interesting,” then that gives you some cover (so long as it is indeed interesting). But as I say this should be done sparingly and only if you feel confident in your writing. It’s an “advanced” move, one you can allow yourself if you have everything else under control. 

Corollary: often you will have the reverse problem, that there is a point you could get into that really is relevant, but it is too big or difficult an issue, given constraints of space, time, competence, etc. What I’ve just said applies here too: you are allowed to tell the reader that an issue as relevant, even in principle very important, but impossible to cover in this piece of writing. It’s better to do this than to pass over it in silence and hope the reader doesn’t notice… because they might. The only caveat is that here too, it’s something to do very sparingly. In, say, a 15 page term paper, I wouldn’t want to see a student flag something as relevant but then not deal with it more than once or twice. If you are feeling you need to do it more often, that’s probably a sign that your original question was too big.