Dear Dr. Price,
I keep getting the same feedback on my essays: “Be more specific,” “Lacking evidence,” “Unclear argument.” I think I understand my points, but when I write them down, something gets lost. How do I actually make my writing clearer and more detailed without rambling?
— Trying to Be Clear
Dear Trying to Be Clear,
You’re asking one of the most important questions in academic writing—and one of the most common. I recently worked with a student who came in with the exact same struggle. He wanted help with his MLA citation, but once we got into the draft, it became clear that the real issue wasn’t formatting—it was specificity and staying grounded in the text.
We started with the basics: cleaning up his citations. The bigger shift, though, happened once we began reading his essay. His thesis statement was broad, making it weak. So, I asked him probing questions to get at his actual understanding. The ideas were there—they just weren’t on the page yet. Once he talked them out, I helped him rewrite the thesis with sharper specifics so it made a clear argument, not just an observation.
Then, we zoomed in on one paragraph. I challenged him to deepen the How so? and So what? layers—two questions that transform vague writing into analytical writing. With every sentence, I nudged him back to the text: Where in the documents do we see this? What line supports this point? How can you connect this detail to your larger argument? That process alone strengthened his clarity more than anything else. As we continued, he quickly saw how clarity grows when you connect details, explain them, and deliberately lead the reader through your reasoning.
So here’s my advice to you:
Clarity comes from specificity. Specificity comes from staying close to the text–i.e., your evidence.
If you can explain the How so? and So what? behind every claim, your writing will naturally become stronger, more analytical, and more persuasive. And if your thesis statement makes a clear argument—one grounded in the details you’ll later unpack—you’re already halfway there.
You’ve got this.
Sincerely,
Dr. Price
A Writing Consultant Who Looks for the Specifics