Strategy 1: Use Active Voice.
Sentences in active voice are usually easier to understand than those in passive voice because
active-voice constructions clearly indicate who performs the action expressed by the verb. In
addition, changing from passive to active voice often results in a more concise sentence.
Passive (more wordy): My car is borrowed every Saturday by Gina.
Active (clear and direct): Gina borrows my car every Saturday.
Strategy 2: Use Parallel Constructions.
When you have a series of words, phrases, or clauses, put them in parallel form (similar
grammatical construction) so the reader can easily identify the linking relationship between the
items in the series.
Not Parallel (awkward): In areas threatened by hurricanes, it is important to become
aware of the warning signs, there are precautions to take, and deciding when to take
shelter is important.
Parallel (clear): In areas threatened by hurricanes, it is important to become aware of
the warning signs, to know what precautions to take, and to decide when to seek shelter.
In the first sentence, notice how the series of advice regarding hurricanes does not create a
parallel structure. Also, notice how much more difficult it is for a reader to follow the meaning
of the first sentence compared to the second one.
Strategy 3: Choose Action Verbs Over Forms of Be.
When possible, avoid using forms of be as the main verbs in your sentences and clauses. Instead
of using be verbs, choose descriptive verbs that convey the specific actions you wish to express.
For the same reasons, avoid overuse of other nonspecific verbs like, do, make, and have.
Overuse of be verbs (wordy): One difference between television news reporting and
the coverage provided by newspapers is the time factor between the actual happening of
an event and the time it takes to be reported. The problem is that instantaneous coverage
is physically impossible for newspapers.
Use of action verbs (concise): Television news reporting differs from that of
newspapers in that television, unlike newspapers, provides instantaneous coverage of
events as they happen.
Strategy 4: Avoid Unclear Pronoun References.
Be sure the pronouns you use clearly refer to a noun in the current or previous sentence. If the
pronoun refers to a noun that has been implied but not stated, you can clarify the reference by
explicitly using that noun.
Unclear pronoun reference: American universities are tightening budgets by hiring
temporary contract employees as teachers instead of hiring new, full-time faculty. This
has prompted them to join unions as a way of protecting job security and benefits.
Clear pronoun reference: American universities are tightening budgets by hiring
temporary contract employees as teachers instead of hiring new, full-time faculty. This
trend has prompted many full-time faculty members to join unions as a way of
protecting job security and benefits.
Strategy 5: Avoid Shifts in Person.
An unintentional shift in person is a common flaw in student writing and should be avoided. To
avoid shifts in person, decide whom you will be referencing in your paper, whether it is first
person (I, we), second person (you), or third person (he/she, they, a student, the government,
etc.) and stay consistent.
Awkward (shift of person): Students who come to college as freshmen must make
many new choices, and sometimes you get confused.
Clearer (consistent use of person): Students who come to college as freshmen must
make many new choices, and sometimes they get confused.
Strategy 6: Be Careful about Placement of Interrupting Material.
Avoid interrupting the main clause with additional information if the interruption will cause
confusion.
Awkward (additional information embedded in the middle): Industrial spying,
because of the growing use of computers to store and process corporate information, is
increasing rapidly.
Clearer (additional information at the end): Industrial spying is increasing rapidly
because of the growing use of computers to store and process corporate information.
Clearer (additional information at the beginning): Because of the growing use of
computers to store and process corporate information, industrial spying is increasing
rapidly.
Strategy 7: Avoid Noun Strings.
Nouns that are strung one after the other often make sentences difficult to understand. One way
to revise a string of nouns is to change one noun to a verb.
Awkward (string of nouns): This report explains our investment growth stimulation
projects.
Clearer: This report explains our projects to stimulate growth in investments.
Strategy 8: Avoid Multiple Negatives.
Use affirmative forms rather than several negatives because multiple negatives are difficult to
understand.
Unclear (multiple negatives, passive): Less attention is paid to commercials that lack
human-interest stories than to other kinds of commercials.
Clearer: People pay more attention to commercials with human-interest stories than to
other kinds of commercials.
Strategy 9: Avoid Overusing Noun Forms of Verbs.
Use verbs when possible rather than the noun forms of those verbs.
Unclear: The implementation of the plan was successful.
Clearer: The plan was implemented successfully.
or We implemented the plan successfully.
ivnoolik
English102_ImprovingSentenceClarity_TipsforWriting.docx
0
