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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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Speaker 1: tip is that most writing is better when you have

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Speaker 1: a simple and strong opinion. Ideally, you can sum up

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Speaker 1: your point in a sentence, So try asking yourself do

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Speaker 1: you come out for it or against it? You will

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Speaker 1: probably make your writing better as a result. This week

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Speaker 1: I will be sharing some of my favorite writing tips.

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Speaker 1: Even if you don't write for a living, you likely

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Speaker 1: have to write from time to time, whether it's emails, reports,

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Speaker 1: or articles for an industry publication. Years ago, when I

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Speaker 1: was trying to figure out how to structure an opinion essay,

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Speaker 1: and I had talked myself into all sorts of nos,

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Speaker 1: a wise person asked me do you come out for

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Speaker 1: it or against it? With the particular matter, It was

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Speaker 1: somewhat of a funny question, but overall I realize that

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Speaker 1: it is a great question to ask. The point of

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Speaker 1: writing is to communicate something. You want people to take away,

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Speaker 1: a simple idea that they will remember. Yet, too many

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Speaker 1: times we start writing without a clear idea or a

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Speaker 1: strong opinion. We meander all over the place, and at

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Speaker 1: the end of the day readers can't sum up what

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Speaker 1: we were saying in a few sentences. When people can't

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Speaker 1: sum things up, they are likely going to forget them.

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Speaker 1: So when I am writing essays or blog posts or

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Speaker 1: anything like that, I start with the thesis, what am

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Speaker 1: I trying to convey in one sentence? If this is

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Speaker 1: persuasive writing, do I come out for it or against it?

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Speaker 1: When I help other people edit their essays and op

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Speaker 1: eds and posts, I ask similar questions, what exactly are

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Speaker 1: you trying to say? Maybe it's that something is bad

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Speaker 1: you come out against it, or it is good and

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Speaker 1: you come out for it. And if you can say

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Speaker 1: why in the same sentence or two, then you will

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Speaker 1: have a more memorable, succinct piece of writing. I am

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Speaker 1: sure you can imagine all sorts of theses that can

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Speaker 1: be structured this way, like don't go to law school

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Speaker 1: after college if you're unsure what to do. You'll learn

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Speaker 1: more and it will be cheaper to travel the world instead.

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Speaker 1: Or women spend less time on housework now than in

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Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties, and that's a good thing because they

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Speaker 1: are spending more time with their kids even as they

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Speaker 1: are working more hours for pay as well. Or the

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Speaker 1: thesis of this episode that writing is better when you

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Speaker 1: have a strong opinion and that you can sum up

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Speaker 1: in a sentence or two. So the next time you

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Speaker 1: start writing anything that you hope will be read, start

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Speaker 1: by writing down your main idea. What are you trying

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Speaker 1: to convey? Then you can build your writing around that thesis.

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Speaker 1: Lead into it in an engaging way, show your evidence. Afterwards,

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Speaker 1: acknowledge other opinions and why people might think them, and

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Speaker 1: then show why they are wrong. When you have something

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Speaker 1: to say, writing is a lot easier. The words just

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Speaker 1: come quicker, and of course it's easier on the reader.

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Speaker 1: There is no question of what you are saying. You

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Speaker 1: are clear, and the reader can engage with your arguments

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Speaker 1: rather than getting bored or distracted. In the meantime, this

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Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd love to hear

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Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the

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Speaker 1: number four then breakfast Pod. You can also shoot me

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Speaker 1: an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com

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Speaker 1: that Before breakfast is spelled out with all the letters

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Speaker 1: thanks so much.

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Speaker 2: Should I look forward to staying in touch Before Breakfast

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Speaker 2: is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,

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Speaker 2: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

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Speaker 2: to your favorite shows.

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Speaker 1: O gay Ga