Clarity, Part 2

Kaz."Baby  Bath  Shower  Bath Tub  Child  Cute  Happy  Kid." 8/2015 via pixabay. CC0 Public Domain. 

In this blog I will be discussing more ways to help clean up the grammar in not only our quick reference guides, but for any further assignments we will have. Learning new writing techniques and brushing up on old rules is important for any writer to go through once in a while. I will be discussing mixed constructions, variety in text, tightly worded sentences, and appropriate language.

Untangling Mixed Constructions:

Mixed Constructions is when the sentence parts do not make sense together. This could be a result of a grammatical or logical error. Sometimes this can be a run on sentence or can just not make sense. The subject and predicate should fit well together correcting the "faulty predication error" and any one should avoid using "is when," "is where," and "reason... is because" since it does not always appeal well to the reader.

An example of a mixed up sentence is:
     For those who need to visit their families over the winter break pay expensive plane tickets but end up having nice family meals and enjoying new weather.

corrected sentence:
    Plane tickets become very expensive for those who need to visit their families over winter break. But they end up having nice family meals and enjoying new weather.

Provide Some Variety

You don't want your writing to become monotonous. In order to avoid this from happening,  you will want to change up the structure of the sentences in order to create more dynamics. Not all the sentences should start with the subject, then go on the verb.

Adverbial modifiers are one that are easy to move around and to change up. This can add diversity.

Changing up the sentence structure can be another way to create diversity. Different sentence structures include simple, compound, complex, and compound- complex sentences. You don't want all your sentences to be too short or too long.

Inverting your sentences can be a way to keep the reader interested as well.

Tighten Wordy Sentences

Tightening a sentence means that a sentence can be reduced in size and still hold the same meaning.

Ex. Antoine is a really special friend of my sister's that comes over a lot.
Change: My sister's boyfriend Antoine comes over a lot.

Avoid unnecessary repetition of words. Also, cut empty and inflated phrases. Sometimes using a lengthy phase to describe something is not as good as using a short or concise word or phrase. An example of this is "at this point in time" to "currently" or "now."

Also don't make the configuration of the sentence more complicated than it needs to be. Get to the point and make it. You can lose the reader if you drag the point out for too long.

Choose Appropriate Language

You have to know your audience to select the right language. For example, your Facebook or texting dialogue is very different from your essay writing. This means that you should not use specific jargon if you know not all of our audience will understand it.

Don't try to make your words too fancy if they do not need to be or can be plainly stated with less complicated vocabulary. Don't make the reader struggle more than they have to.

You also want to stay away from slang or cliche phrases. You want to seem professional if the essay demands you to be. Use the standard English language, not words that may mean different things to different people depending upon culture, etc.

Reflection on my text. 

I managed to reorganize or add in different lengths of sentences so not all the sentence were too long. I added in the sentence about Sarah's mom taking action. The sentences around it were getting confusing and long. There needed to be a break.

"Also, the case of Sarah Murnaghan, the use of social media is probably the thing that saved her life. Sarah’s mom saw an opportunity and acted. Most likely there would not have been an available pediatric lung set for her in time. For those that get the response from the public, the use of social media is quite helpful."

I also went through and shorted some other sentences so that they were not so lost and confusing. I needed to keep rereading them to fully understand them, and I am the author. 

Before: "When more people become aware of the necessities of donors through social media, more people there might be who want to become organ donors themselves."

After: "When more people become aware of the necessities of donors through social media, they might want to become organ donors themselves."