Jul 18, 2016
- Rule 1
Use concrete rather than vague language.- Examples:
Vague: The weather was of an extreme nature on the west coast.
Concrete: California had very cold weather last week.
- Examples:
- Rule 2
Use active voice whenever possible. Active voice means the subject is performing the verb.- Examples:
Active: Barry hit the ball.
Passive: The ball was hit. - Notice that the responsible party may not even appear when using passive voice.
- Examples:
- Rule 3
Avoid overusing there is, there are, it is, it was, and so on.- Example:
There is a case of meningitis that was reported in the newspaper.
Correction: A case of meningitis was reported in the newspaper.
Even Better: The newspaper reported a case of meningitis. (Active voice) - Example:
It is important to signal before making a left turn.
Correction: Signaling before making a left turn is important.
OR
Signaling before a left turn is important.
OR
You should signal before making a left turn. (Active voice) - Example:
There are some revisions which must be made.
Correction: Some revisions must be made.
Even Better: Please make some revisions. (Active voice)
- Example:
- Rule 4
To avoid confusion, don’t use two negatives to make a positive. - Rule 5
Use similar grammatical form when offering several ideas. This is called parallel construction. - Rule 6
If you start a sentence with an action, place the actor immediately after or you will have created the infamous dangling modifier. - Rule 7
Place modifiers near the words they modify. - Rule 8
A sentence fragment occurs when you have only a phrase or weak clause but are missing a strong clause.
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