* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Tips for Writing Concisely
Cognitive semantics wikipedia , lookup
Old English grammar wikipedia , lookup
Serbo-Croatian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Navajo grammar wikipedia , lookup
Sentence spacing wikipedia , lookup
Kannada grammar wikipedia , lookup
Portuguese grammar wikipedia , lookup
Lexical semantics wikipedia , lookup
Georgian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Transformational grammar wikipedia , lookup
French grammar wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Greek grammar wikipedia , lookup
Esperanto grammar wikipedia , lookup
Malay grammar wikipedia , lookup
Russian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Icelandic grammar wikipedia , lookup
English clause syntax wikipedia , lookup
Modern Hebrew grammar wikipedia , lookup
Japanese grammar wikipedia , lookup
Yiddish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Polish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Romanian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Turkish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Chinese grammar wikipedia , lookup
Latin syntax wikipedia , lookup
Pipil grammar wikipedia , lookup
Tips for Writing Concisely 1. Find and revise any nominalizations. A nominalization is a noun that in its original form was a verb or adjective. For example, “swimming” and “discovery” are nominalizations of the verbs “swim” and “discover,” and “difference” is a nominalization of the adjective “different.” How does this help fix the problem? Nominalizations lead to unnecessary phrases and clauses. For example, if you turn the verb of your sentence into a noun, then you’ll have to include some other verb—usually a weaker one—to complete your sentence. Examples We did our swimming in the summer. We swim in the summer. They made the discovery of the printing They discovered the printing press. press. Marian makes the recommendation that Marian recommends that you review you complete a review of your notes. your notes. The difference of our problems has a special kind of significance. Our different problems have special significance. 2. Turn lengthy sentences into two or more sentences. Lengthy sentences tend to be three or more lines in length. Oftentimes these sentences present multiple ideas that can stand alone in their own sentences. How does this help fix the problem? Long sentences tend to require the use of several clauses and phrases, which can make it difficult for readers to follow your original argument. Breaking one long sentence into two or three sentences simplifies your language and eliminates these confusing and excessive clauses. Examples (one sentence) J. K. Rowling’s Lord Voldemort and Bram Stoker’s Dracula are similar in many ways and are most similar in that they are both monsters who threaten the individuality of others by invading others’ minds and finding ways to live on eternally, which of course makes it difficult for others to combat them. (three sentences) J. K. Rowling’s Lord Voldemort and Bram Stoker’s Dracula are monsters who similar in many ways. For example, they both threaten the individuality of others by invading others’ minds. They also seek ways to live on eternally, which makes it difficult for others to combat them. By Jenelle Wagoner, Writing Studio peer consultant