Writing- Chapter 5 Usage and Style

Vary sentences in length and structure

Principle 11: Even when writing is clear and correct, sentences that are all similar in length and structure can be tedious to read. Your ideas willl make more of an impact if you break up a series of complicated sentences by occasionally inserting a short and simple one. Usually you can do this by cutting one lone, convoluted sentences into two shorter sentences. Passages that are varied are more interesting.

subjunctive form of the verb

Principle 13 notes: match subject and verb After verbs such as recommend, require, suggest, ask, demand, and insist and after expressions of requirement, suggestion, and demand (for example, I demand that), use the __________ ____ __ ___ _____ (that is, the form of the verb used after expressions as I want to x). Correct: I recommend that the chocolate cake be reinstated on your menu. Correct: It is essential that the reader understand what you are trying to say.

Avoid redundancy

Principle 2: the writer needlessly repeats an idea because he fails to realize the scope of a word or phrase that has already been used. Ex. a beginner lacking experience refer back vs. refer few in number vs. few small-sized vs. small grouped together vs. grouped end result vs. result serious crisis vs. crisis new initiatives vs. initiatives

avoid jargon

Principle 10 describes the specialized voice clary only used by a particular group such as doctors, lawyers, or baseball coaches, that can be difficult for outsiders to understand. This can also include informal speech used in everyday conversation or typing, including acronyms or emoticons. A similar category to avoid is the overly inflated and complex language that burdens many students' essays. You will not impress anyone with big word that don't fit the tone or context of your essay, especially if you misuse them. If you are not certain of a word's meaning or appropriateness, leave it out. An appropriate vocabulary, even if simple, will add impact to your argument.

Do not shift narrative voice

Principle 12: Principle 5 advises to avoid needless self-reference. Since you are asked to write an explanatory essay, however, an occasional self-reference may be appropriate. You make call yourself "I" if you keep the number of first-person pronouns to a minimum. Less egocentric ways of referring to the narrator include "we" and "one." If these more formal ways of writing seem stilted, stay with "I". I suggest.. We can see.. One must admit... The method of self reference you select is called the narrative voice of your essay. Any of the above are acceptable. Nevertheless, whichever you choose, do not shift to a different narrative voice in your essay once you have begun.

Collective nouns

Principle 13 notes: (nouns of multitude) name a group of persons, places, or objects gathered together into a unit. Plural in meaning but are nevertheless grammatically singular Notes; the word number takes a singular verb when preceded by the and a plural verb when preceded by the verb a. Correct: A number of fans hope for a mere glimpse of this handsome face; unfortunately, they are rarely satisfied with a mere glimpse. Correct: The number of false who catch a glimpse of his handsome face seems to grow exponentially each time the tabloids write a story on seclusion

closest noun

Principle 13 notes: match subject and verb When the subject consists of two or more nouns connected by or or nor, the verb agrees with the _______

plural

Principle 13 notes: match subject and verb a subject that consists of two or more nouns connected by and takes the _____ form of the verb Correct: Karl, who is expert in cooking Hunan spicy duck, and George, who is expert in eating Hunan spicy duck, have combined their expertise to start a new restaurant.

and

Principle 13 notes: match subject and verb some connecting phrases look as though they should make a group of words into a plural but actually do not. The only connecting word that can make a series of singular nouns into a plural subject is ___. In particular, the following connecting words. and phrases do not result in a plural subject: along with, besides, together with, as well as, in addition to. Incorrect: The president, along with the secretary of state and the director of the CIA, are misinformed. Correct: The president, Hong with the Secretary of State and the director of the CIA, is misinformed.

match verb and subject examples

Principle 13: Incorrect: The joys of climbing mountains, especially if one is a novice climber without the proper equipment, escapes me. Correct The joys of climbing mountains, especially if one is a novice climber without the proper equipment, escape me. Incorrect: A group of jockeys who have already finished the race and who wish to have their pictures taken are blocking my view of the horses. Correct: A group of jockeys who have already finished the first race and who wish to have their pictures taken is block blocking my view of the horses. (The long prepositional phrase beginning with the preposition of qualifies the noun group. The subject of the sentences is the noun group, which takes the singular verb is.)

match verb and subject

Principle 13: singular subjects and plural subjects take different forms of the verb in the present tense. Usually the difference lies in the presence or absence of a final -s (e.g., he becomes and they become), but sometimes the difference can be more radical (e.g., he is, they are). You can usually trust your ear to give you the correct verb form, but certain situations cause difficulty: when the subject and verb are separated by a number of words, when the subject is an indefinite pronoun, and when the subject consists of more than one noun. A verb must agree with its subject in number regardless of intervening phrases.

constructions in parallel form

Principle 14 notes: x is as _____ as y x is more _____ than y x is less _____ than y both x and y... either x or y... neither x nor y... not only x but also y... x and y can stand for as little as one word or as much as a whole clause, but in any case the c=grammatical structure of x and y must be identical incorrect: The view from this apartment is not nearly as spectacular as from that mountain lodge. Correct: The view from this apartment is not nearly as spectacular as the one from the mountain lodge.

beware of faulty parallelism

Principle 14: A common style problem, faulty parallelism, results from not seeing the structure of the sentence you are constructing. Matching constructions must be expressed in parallel form. It is often rhetorically effective to use a particular construction several times in succession, in order to provide emphasis. The technique is called parallel construction, and it is effective only when used sparingly. If your sentences are varied, a parallel construction will stand out. If your sentences are already repetitive, a parallel structure will further obscure your meaning. As a leader, Lincoln inspired a nation to throw off the chains of slavery; as a philosopher, he proclaimed the greatness of the little man; as a Hyman being, he served as a timeless example of humility. This creates a strong sense of rhythm and organization to the sentence and alerts the reader to yet another aspect of Lincoln's character

parallel gramatical form

Principle 14: beware of faulty parallelism Parallel construction must be expressed in parallel grammatical form. In other words, each segment of the parallel must be in similar form to the other segments: they must be all nouns, all infinitive, all gerunds, all prepositional phrases, or all clauses. Incorrect: All business students should learn word processing, accounting, and how to program computers. Correct: All business students should learn word processing, accounting, and computer programming.

parallel structure

Principle 14: beware of faulty parallelism incorrect: They are sturdy, attractive, and cost only a dollar each. (The phrase they are makes sense preceding the adjectives sturdy and attractive, but it can't be used before cost only a dollar each). Correct: They are sturdy and attractive, and they cost only a dollar each

Parallelism

Principle 14: beware of faulty parallelism parallel grammatical form applies to any words that might begin each item in a series: prepositions (in, on, by, with, ect.), articles (the, a, an), helping verbs (had, has, would, ect.), and possessives (his, her, our, etc.). Either repeat the word before every element in a series or include it only in the first item. Anything else violates the rules of _________ Incorrect: He invested his money in stocks, in real estate, and a home for retired performs. Correct: He invested his money in stocks, in real estate, and in a home for retired performers. Correct: He invested his money in stocks, real estate, and a home for retired performers.

avoid junk phrases

Principle 1: do not use several words when one work will achieve the same goal. They are empty and have no real value. Ex. at the present time or at this point in time instead of now Ex. take into consideration instead of consider

avoid unnecessary sentences

Principle 4: -do not write a sentence that gets you nowhere -do not ask a question only to answer it (unless you have hit upon a brilliant question) -do not merely copy the the essay's directions -do not write a whole sentence only to announce that you're changing the subject if you have something to say, say it without preamble. If you need to smooth over a change of subject, do so with a transitional word or phrase rather than a meaningless sentence.

avoid needless self-reference

Principle 5: self-reference is another form of unnecessarily qualifying what you say, so don't make repeated references to yourself in your essay. Avoid such unnecessary phrases as I believe, I feel, and in my opinion. Self-reference is generally superfluous and therefore detracts from your essay's concision and forcefulness by constantly reminding your reader that you are expressing an opinion rather than fact.

avoid the passive voice

Principle 6: in the active voice, the subject performs the action (we should do it..). In the passive voice, the subject is the receiver of the action and is often only implied (it should be done..). Using the passive voice is another way writer avoid accountability, so avoid the passive voice and put verbs in the active voice whenever possible. To do this, ask yourself who or what is performing the action. This person should be the subject of the sentence. Ex. The estimate of this year's tax revenues was prepared by the General Accounting Office. Active: The General Accounting Office prepared the estimate of this year's tax revenues.

Avoid weak openings

Principle 7: Do not bring a sentence with There is, There are, or It is. These are roundabout ways of getting to the main point of the sentence and usually indicate to your reader that you are trying to distance yourself from the position you are talking. Again, whatever the appearance, the problem usually results from writing before thinking about the sentence

Avoid vague language

Principle 8: Choose specific, descriptive words. Vague language weakens your writing because it forces the reader to guess what you mean instead of allowing the reader to concentrate fully on the ideas you are presenting. The essay topic will supply you with an abundance of specifics; your argument will be more forceful if you use similar specifics to replace vague phrases with the particular facts at hand highly educated vs. a master's degree in business education is a great communicator vs she speaks persuasively

Be correct

correctness is perhaps the most difficult objective for writers to achieve. The complex rules of standard English usage can leave you feeling unsure of your writing and more than a bit confused. Remember, though, that your readers will not expect perfection, so just think of the principles of correctness as proving you with general ideas to keep in mind rather than as rules you must completely memorize. Understand the essence of a word's function in the sentence so you can recognize an error when you see one

prepositional phrase examples

in, out, up down, over, under, between, off, on behind, of, with, about, to, from, by, onto, before, after, through, despite, converting, against

avoid needless qualification

principle 3: while trying to adopt reasonable tone, using modifiers (fairly, rather, somewhat, relatively, seems to be, a little, and a certain amount) often will weaken argument. Excessiveness will make the writer sound hesitant. Ex. this rather serious breach of etiquette may possible shake the very foundations of the corporate world Vs. The serious breach of etiquette may shake the foundations of the corporate world. Overuse of very will not be forceful. Stronger adjectives (or adverbs) can be used.

avoid cliches

principle 9: Cliches are commonly used expressions that may once have seemed powerful but now have lost much of their original meaning and effect because of overuse. When working under time pressure, you can easily let trite phrases slip into your writing. A reliance on vague or meaningless cliches will suggest you are a lazy thinker; keep them out of your essay. Weak: The painting cost an arm and a leg, but it's the real McCoy. Strong: The museum paid $10,000 for that painting, but it is genuine work by Salvador Dali.