Writing Style to Avoid Confusion for the Reader

1. Writing Style to Avoid Confusion for the Reader • Avoid weak verbs • Use Active Voice • Use the dependent clause • Avoid prepositional phrases • Avoid excess wordiness and less precise words • Avoid fancy or less precise words • Limit paragraph, word, and sentence length

2. Avoid Weak Verbs • Weak verbs convey practically no sense of action • do, make, perform, have • forms of the verb to be • Avoid nouns that are really verbs in disguise • Substitute verbs that create a clear sense of action At the core of every good sentence is a strong, precise verb.

3. Verbs Disguised as Nouns Make a recommendation Recommend Formulate an argument Argue Arrive at a conclusion Conclude Perform an analysis Analyze

4. Active vs Passive Voice Frisky ate my homework. (4) Frisky = Doer / subject of sentence ate = Active Verb homework = Object of action My homework was eaten by Frisky. (6) homework= Object as subject was eaten = passive verb by Frisky= Doer object of preposition

5. Active or Passive Voice? The metropolis has been scorched by the dragon’s fiery breath. (10) The dragon’s fiery breathscorched the metropolis. (7) The technicians demanded longer coffee breaks. (6) The techniciansdemanded longer coffee breaks. The explosion was caused by a kerosene lamp. (8) A kerosene lamp caused the explosion. (6)

6. When Passive Works … Use active voice unless you have a good reason for choosing passive • Emphasize the receiver of the action The solution was heated to the boiling point and then reduced in volume by 50 percent.

7. When Passive Works … Use active voice unless you have a good reason for choosing passive Passive Voice: A number of problems are indicated by these results. Active Voice: The results indicate a number of problems. Further analysis showed / suggested / yielded ….

8. The Dependent Clause • Amplifies or qualifies the statement in the main part of the sentence • Highlights the importance • Suppresses the incidental • Links ideas together • Shows how ideas are related • Start with a subordinating conjunctionor relative pronoun

9. The Dependent Clause Subordinating conjunctions Relative Pronouns

10. The Dependent Clause The project was not completed on time, because the machine parts were stolen. If at first you don't succeed, try something else. A helium nucleus has two protons, whereas hydrogen has only one. Energy supplies will dwindle, unless we conserve.

11. The Dependent Clause Where are the parts that I ordered? The uranium nucleus, which contains 92 protons, is unstable. Most people don't know who their senators are. What the aerospace industry needs now is more friends in Congress.

12. Avoid Prepositional Phrases • Less informative alternative to dependent clause • Treat all ideas as grammatically equal • No discrimination • No emphasis among qualifying details • Reader left to interpret what you are trying to say

13. Avoid Prepositional Phrases • in progress • on the floor • beside the garage • between the cities • of data-processing equipment • to a Martian • by walking on hot coals

14. Avoid Prepositional Phrases In their specifications for engine parts, titanium is often requested by engineers because of its resistance to the effects of high temperatures. (6) Because titanium resists high temperatures, engineers often request it in their engine part specifications.

15. Avoid Excess Wordiness Unnecessary Phrases….. • As a matter of fact • I might add that • It should be pointed out that • the presence of • the course of • the fact that • It is significant that…. Use only necessary words ….. at this point in time has the ability to in light of the fact that in the event that the question as to whether now, then can because if whether

16. Editing Approach What to look for….. • Circle the prepositions • Determine the doer • Determine the action What to do ….. • Use dependent clauses instead of prepositional phrases, when possible • Use active voice instead of passive • Use strong verbs • Eliminate excess / less precise words