Some style tips |
Other writing tips: |
While the pitfalls described below do not necessarily indicate bad grammar,
awareness of these points can help clarify and strengthen your sentences.
Attention to these details may also help solidify your own idea of precisely
what your sentence should express.
"The Futurists saw themselves as artistic revolutionaries, challenging cultural complacency and conventional form in art. This especially influenced the Dadaists." It is unclear what the word "this" in the second sentence refers to: "Artistic revolution"? "Challenging cultural complacency"? "Challenging conventional form?" "Futurists"? Sometimes writers may use "this" as a noun as a convenient way to escape clarity. But "this" is a pronoun, and it demands an antecedent to function clearly. One solution is to follow "this" with a word or phrase stating what you are referring to: "The Futurists were especially known for advocating artistic revolution. This advocacy influenced the Dadaists." While it is possible to use "this" as a pronoun when the reference is absolutely unambiguous, 95% of the time this use sacrifices clarity. Again, it is sometimes helpful to use your word processor to search for the word "this." The unclear use of "this" as a noun is the most common example of a larger problem: unclear references. Be aware of precisely what you intend to refer to when using words like "which," "it," and so on. Sometimes a sentence that only states existence is a useful way to establish cohesion between sentences, but usually the most engaging sentences have identifiable actors and action verbs. Be careful of phrases such as "there is," "are present," "are evident," "displays," "can be seen," that tell us only that something exists or is possessed, not what it does. Such constructions often suggest that the sentence could be combined with the next sentence that shows what that thing does:
Word processors can be helpful again to search for the word "there."
The first way you think of expressing an idea might not be the most concise. When reading your draft, try to find simpler ways of phrasing the same thing. Sometimes an author can completely cut out a clause, phrase, or even a sentence without compromising the meaning of the passage:
Here are some common phrases and their more concise versions:
The construction "There is...that..." can usually be eliminated: "There are numerous passages in Ives's Fourth Symphony that quote American popular music," can easily be revised to, "Numerous passages in Ives's Fourth Symphony quote American popular music."
Part of your job as a writer is to clarify as much as possible. Therefore, you should avoid constructions (such as passive voice sometimes) which allow you to escape specifics. Here are some vague words which often substitute for a clearer expression:
Writers should also avoid vague and colloquial expressions of relationships or connections: Again, word processors can be helpful again to search for such words and phrases. Sometimes overstatements have become colloquial expressions of emphasis, but such words and phrases should be avoided in a formal paper:
Also, never qualify the word "unique." "Unique" means one of a kind, so it is impossible for something to be "very unique" or "rather unique."
Making nouns into verbs has been a distinctively American pastime for centuries. Benjamin Franklin himself bemoaned the fact that words such as "progress" and "notice" had made this transition in his time. Although readers and dictionaries now accept these words and others as nouns bequeathed by the natural evolution of language, as writers we should be careful about forcing nouns into this new duty. Sometimes doing so only creates an awkward expression or is a self-conscious adoption of MBA-speak. Most uses of the following examples could be easily replaced with simple conventional verbs:
Although less common, adjectives too can be made into nouns. Avoid using "vocal" and "visual" as nouns. Constructions such as "the visual" are usually just excuses for vagueness. Also, never create new adjectives or adverbs by adding the suffix "-wise"!
Calvin, from the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, put it this way: "I take nouns and adjectives and use them as verbs. Remember when 'access' was a thing? Now, it's something you do. It got verbed. Verbing weirds language."
In the past few years, many style authorities have endorsed the use of plural pronouns ("they," "them," "their") when the referent is of unknown, indeterminate, or non-binary sex, even when the referent is singular. The old custom of always using male pronouns for such referents is no longer accepted in most professional writing. Likewise, don't use language that associates a particular profession or description with a particular sex (unless there is a legitimate reason for doing so). For example, "chairman" can be replaced with "chair" or "chairperson," "anchorman" with "anchor."
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