HOW TO WRITE SUBSTANCE

 

SUBSTANCE WRITING ART:  Writing of substance is a great art. Every art has its specific field of application. Substance writing ability is one of the serious skills that has a higher demand in departmental works.

The word 'substance' has been acquired from a Latin word 'substare'. The word 'sub' means 'under' and 'stare' stands for 'to stand'. The writing of substance is not the superficial work, but penetrate into the deep of the meaning. It should be brief, clear and accurate. 

The accuracies of substance- writing: 

 Every letter in the word SUBSTANCE has a particular and exploring characteristic. The letters stand for:

The letter 'S' represents simplicity, the letter 'U' represents unity, the letter 'B' represents brevity, the letter 'S' stands for solidity, the letter 'T' for terseness, the letter ' 'A' for accuracy, the letter 'N' represents neutrality, the 'C' for clarity and the letter 'E'  calls attention to essence. 

Simplicity:

A substance must be seen in a lucid form so that it must be easily understood. It is written directly without any ornamentation of language.

Unity:

 The sentences written in the substance are not seen as unstrings.To be given a connected whole, every sentence is related to effective coherence and in logical order. 

Brevity:

Brevity means briefness. Usually the substance is seen one-third of the original passage as depending on the size of the passage or stanza. It is considered as the great quality of a substance maker in modern times of hurrying.

Solidity:

Solidarity is considered one of the great qualities of a good substance. It is meant for not leaving the main attraction and attention of the passage or stanza( in poetry stanza is known as passed to many a ones) A good substance is seen conveying full information of the original passage or in stanza form.

Terseness:

Terseness is known as compactness. Every lengthy matter is found in a short consolidation.

Accuracy:

The accuracy of writing substance is given much value . According as accurate of original piece is marked to be a basic requirement

Neutrality:

Substance makers or practitioners should be seen as 

unprejudiced. A substance is never seen opinionated and in the transaction of thoughts by its maker or practitioner.

Clarity:

Substance should be seen  reproduced with clarity. Such means as undue complexity and ambiguousness is seen finding no elasticity. 

Essence: 

Essence is essential that has been exercised in this art. 

 In essence the inclusion of external material is clearly given up.

In bringing differences between precis and substance, a precis is written by giving a title, but substance not. A substance is slightly longer than a precis. Similarly in digest is marked with substance or precis with careful consideration of all. 

Central idea is generally shorter than the substance. Central ideas may be extracted from expository passages or reflective passages, but substances are drawn from any kind of passages, either narrative, descriptive,or expository or reflective passages. It is to be remembered that substance means not the reproduction of the lengthy passage of the original one.

Whether it is prose or verse, all important ideas are counted in the form of substance. Such inessential points as repetition, digressions,allusion, examples, illustration, diagrams, charts, rhetorical embellishment are seen avoided in the writing of substance. The art of condensation is very much applicable, but it is far more applicable to use words and phrases which are thoroughly known to us. It is not necessary to change scientific or technical terms, dates, names of persons and places. A small quantity of  words like these is seen used.

A substance is reproduced by the mode of third person viewpoint. So dialogues and speeches are seen written in indirectness. Comments , criticism and exaggeration are always  avoided by substance makers. A few examples are:

Every morning he drinks the cup that cheers but not inebriates : Every morning he drinks a cup of tea.

His help was of no avail: His help was useless.

She lay in a tomb which was as white as snow: She lay in a snow white tomb.

All his plans ended in smoke: All his plans failed. 

It was a full of hope when I waited for him: Hopefully I waited for him

As he was in bad health, he could not come to me: Owing to his bad health he could not come to me.

 It was morning. They came to the river. They had their bath in it. 

:  In the morning they bathed in the river.

He said to the boy," I am a student here" : He told the girl that he was a student there .

Thus we see the essentials that are very important to reproduce substance as well as making condensation. Here is a list of a few condensation techniques:

• Avoid superfluous words and repetition.

• Replacement of figures.

• Changing of phrases to words.

• Changing clauses to words. 

• Alternating idioms to words.

• Substitution of part of speech.

• Transforming complex and compound sentences into simple sentences

• Joining simple sentences to singular sentences.

• Converting direct into indirect speech.

• Use of one word substitution.

• Transforming longer sentences to shorter ones.

In substance writing , the first step we should do is comprehension. To comprehend the passage's content we are required to read it numerous times. We should try to catch the drift of thought and sequence them. The clear understanding of subjects, verbs and objects and other extensions will help us a lot to grasp the meaning. The second step is the attentively selecting of ideas,  points,words and phrases and attentively rejecting the unnecessary and attentively finding out of subject matter. The third step is  elimination. Here we need to drop unnecessary decoration and useless comparison together with adjectives and adverbs. The fourth step is arrangement. Here we need to select the ideas into proper order ,first the main then according to proximity. The final step is Reproduction.  First we should draft, the second the draft again in proper order, the third the revision and maintenance of lengthm and suitable application of  grammar is made and lastly the fair copy is reproduced.

    

  EXERCISES

EXAMPLE 1

"Heaven from all creatures hides the book of fate

All but the page prescribed, their present state: From brutes what men, from men what spirits know

Or, who could suffer being here below?

The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed today,

Had he thy reason, would he skip and play?

Pleas'd to the last! he crops the flow'ry food,

And lick the hand just rais'd to shed his blood.

Oh, blindness to the future! Kindly giv'n,

That each may fill the circle Mark's by Heav'n

Who sees with equal yes, as God of all,

A hero perish, or a sparrow fall."

Meaning of extended words:

Heaven- God. Prescribed- the use of the advice written. Bruts- animals. Spirits- angels. Riot- revelry. Dooms- the judgment. Reason- intelligence. Crops- cuts it's top. Lick- passes the tongue over. Fill the circle- perform the appointed duty.

Perish- die.

Substance: God is merciful. He is equal to all. He hides the fate from all. Otherwise, all would die with extreme suffering. As fate is hidden, each performs his duty.

" Then do not look disheartened

O'er the work you have to do,

And say that such a mighty task

You never can get through.

But just endeavour day by day

Another point to gain

And soon the mountain that you feared

Will prove to be plain

Rome was not built in a day

The ancient proverb teaches;

And Nature , by her trees and flowers,

The same sweet sermon preaches"

Word nest:

Disheartened: lacking in confidence

Mighty task: labourios task

Endeavour: attempt

Sermon: moral lesson

Substance: Doing things regularly reduces the burden of work and makes its complition. Nature teaches this , growing trees and flowers.

                …... continued