Clarity and Style in Writing - Essay Example

Running Head: Clarity and style in writing Insert His/her Clarity and Style in writing; ‘Emphasis’ Sometimes you have to persuade through the written word alone which, if this is makes up only 7% of communication, makes it very difficult to persuade. There are, however, several ways to emphasis in written language. Emphasizing a word, phrase or sentence, usually changes the meaning of a sentence or puts in proper pressure or persuasion where required. Different methods of adding an emphasis in writing are described below.

How can we emphasize the written text? Following are the few ways to do so: One way of enlivening and emphasizing in written text is to use strong words that trigger emotional reactions, for example: "If you really love me then you will.” Bold is clearly visible when you first look at the whole page, for example, "Do not turn off the computer before shutting it down." Italics give light emphasis, used for subtle stressing of words, for example: “Before leaving the place, switch off all the electrical equipments.

” Underline is more insistent as it works well for emphasis of a complete phrase, for example: “Remember to Save the Whales.” UPPERCASE, is the written equivalent of shouting. Avoid where possible, including use in headings, for example: “Why don’t you UNDERSTAND THIS?” Size, bigger fonts stand out more and small fonts recede. But beware of reducing readability by mixing font sizes too much, for example, “The interest rate used is 11.5%.” Punctuation, in particular the exclamation mark, gives a strong emphasis.

Use sparingly. Be very careful when using multiple marks, it can be interpreted as either enthusiasm or attempted manipulation. Color / Highlighting; there are many colors you can use. Brighter colors and those towards the red end of the spectrum stand out more. Blues and dark colors are more subtle, for example, “Beware of open wires.” Headings in text are great places for emphasis of key points you want to make. You'll note that we use colored headings to help them stand out (and to add some visual variation in an otherwise deliberately simple layout).

Do remember to be consistent in your use of emphasis and abide by common rules. If you use different methods of emphasis for the same sense, then you will only confuse the reader. Subordinating Ideas clearly emphasizes which words, groups of words (clauses), or sentences are the most important in the writing, helps make smooth transition between sentences and paragraphs. Subordinate Conjunctions: Takes into account five factors ; (1) Time: when, after, as soon as, whenever, while, before; (2) Place: where, wherever; (3) Cause: because, since, in order that, so that; (4) Contrast/Concession: although, as if, though, while; and (5) Condition: if, unless, provided, since, as long as, for example: “Because CSUN is located in the San Fernando Valley, the university has become very attractive to students living in the inner city who want to stay close to home and yet not face the pressures of city life.

” (Dependent clause introduced by the subordinating conjunction because; independent or main clause begins with the university). Coordination is linking together words, groups of words (clauses), or sentences of equal type and importance, to put energy into writing. Coordinating Conjunctions: and, or, nor, for, but, so, yet, either/or, and neither/nor. Two principles to keep in mind: (I) By combining words and groups of words, you avoid repetition that steals energy from what you write; and (II) By combining whole sentences, you reveal the relationships between the thoughts, for example, “ Over the past decade many African American students have chosen to complete their formal education at Southern colleges and now in the city of Atlanta there is a major educational center built expressly to accommodate this upsurge of interest in the New South.

” (Two main clauses are given equal emphasis and connected by the coordinating conjunction and ) Always keep in mind that one word causes a slight tension, a whole section amplifies and sustains this. If you use emphasis a lot, it will LOSE its effect and is likely to make the other person rather annoyed!! So be conservative. Emphasis in writing works only because it makes words stand out. As with many other forms of communication, it is very easy to over-do emphasis, to the point where it no longer has any impact.

Emphasis works when it uses contrast with the surrounding text, and when its use is a surprise, not when it is used as a sledgehammer. This may trigger confusion, which results in them acting in a way that you do not want. Clarity and Style in writing; ‘Parallelism’ Parallel structures include word or phrase patterns that are similar. When ideas in a sentence or paragraph are similar, you can reinforce these similarities in meaning through creating parallel structures. Effective parallelism creates symmetry in sentences and adds force to your writing; it emphasizes the likeness between two or more ideas.

Parallel structure is really a matter of balance. Balancing a sentence can be compared to balancing a scale if we pretend that certain words are the balancing points and if we understand that the words being balanced must carry the same "weight" in the sentence. For example; Not Parallel: Ellen likes hiking, the rodeo, and to take afternoon naps. Parallel: Ellen likes hiking, attending the rodeo, and taking afternoon naps. Often more a matter of style than grammatical error, achieving parallel structure adds rhythm and elegance to a sentence.

Creative writers do have a certain poetic license to forego the rules of parallelism when the result is a more powerful or artistic sentence, but in general, watch out for elements that don’t jibe. For Example: When I was a teenager, I was a cook at a fast-food restaurant, delivered newspapers, and then I worked as a valet. Parallel: When I was a teenager, I cooked at a fast-food restaurant, delivered newspapers, and worked as a valet. Parallel structure adds both clout and clarity to your writing.

When you use parallel structure, you increase the readability of your writing by creating word patterns readers can follow easily. With Coordinating Conjunctions: When you connect two or more clauses or phrases with a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so), use parallel structure. Example; Not Parallel: My best friend took me dancing and to a show. Parallel: My best friend took me to a dance and a show. With Correlative Conjunctions: When you connect two clauses or phrases with a correlative conjunction (not only…but also, either…or, neither…nor, if…then, etc.), use parallel structure.

Example; Not Parallel: My dog not only likes to play fetch, but also chase cars. Parallel: My dog not only likes to play fetch, but he also likes to chase cars. OR My dog likes not only to play fetch, but also to chase cars. With Phrases or Clauses of Comparison: When you connect two clauses or phrases with a word of comparison, such as than or as, use parallel structure. Example; Not Parallel: I would rather pay for my education than financial aid. Parallel: I would rather pay for my education than receive financial aid.

With Lists: When you are comparing items in a list, use parallel structure. Example; Not Parallel: John Taylor Gatto criticizes public schools because they are compulsory, funded by the government, and destroys students' humanity. Parallel: John Taylor Gatto criticizes public schools because they are compulsory, government funded, and normalizing. OR John Taylor Gatto criticizes public schools because they require students to attend, receive money from the government, and destroy students' humanity.

Common Trouble Spots: When revising your work, look out for these common sources of trouble with parallel structure: Shifts in type of phrase or clause: Be sure to stay consistent with the types of phrases you use. Shifts in phrase type create confusion. Example; Faulty Parallel: She hates to study, to work, and going to school, but she loves partying. Corrected: She hates studying, working, and going to school, but she loves partying. Appropriate use of prepositions, articles, and modifiers with each item in a series: Be very careful to ensure that the preposition, article, modifier, or auxiliary verb is appropriate to each item in a series; otherwise, the sentence will be illogical.

The initial items are going to govern every item in the series, unless you write the appropriate item into each phrase. Example; Faulty Parallel: On her first day at work, Thelma wore a new dress, shoes, hat, and her favorite briefcase. Corrected: On her first day at work, Thelma wore a new dress, shoes, and hat, and carried her favorite briefcase. Therefore, we can conclude that when two items are parallel, they share similar components. Parallelism in writing concerns the similarity in structure between ideas and grammatical form.

Phrases and clauses that have the same grammatical structure are said to be parallel. If you write single words in a list, you should keep the list as single words. Verb tenses should also remain the same throughout the sentence. If a writer fails to keep parallel form, the sentence(s) or list will feel awkward to the reader; that is, when parallelism is not achieved, it can create a jarring effect for the reader as well a grammatically incorrect structure. Parallel structure is important when writing a series/list, when presenting ideas as pairs, and when writing verb tenses.

Clarity and Style in writing; ‘Variety and Description’ A sentence is a group of words containing a subject and predicate. Sometimes, the subject is "understood," as in a command: "[You] go next door and get a cup of sugar." That probably means that the shortest possible complete sentence is something like "Go!" Sentences are also defined according to function: declarative (most of the sentences we use), interrogative (which ask a question — "What's your name?"), exclamatory ("There's a fire in the kitchen!"), and imperative ("Don't drink that!").Adding sentence variety to prose can give it life and rhythm.

Too many sentences with the same structure and length can grow monotonous for readers. Varying sentence style and structure can also reduce repetition and add emphasis. Long sentences work well for incorporating a lot of information, and short sentences can often maximize crucial points. These general tips may help add variety to similar sentences. Vary the rhythm by alternating short and long sentences: Several sentences of the same length can make for bland writing. Example: The Winslow family visited Canada and Alaska last summer to find some Native American art.

They were very disappointed when they left Anchorage empty-handed. Revision: The Winslow family visited Canada and Alaska last summer to find some Native American art, such as soapstone carvings and wall hangings. They were disappointed to learn that wall hangings, which they had especially wanted, were difficult to find. Sadly, they left empty-handed. Vary sentence openings. If too many sentences start with the same word, especially "The," "It," "This," or "I," prose can grow tedious for readers, so changing opening words and phrases can be refreshing.

Below are alternative openings for a fairly standard sentence. Example: The biggest coincidence that day happened when David and I ended up sitting next to each other at the Super Bowl. Revision: Coincidentally, David and I ended up sitting right next to each other at the Super Bowl. Coordination: Allow the complexity of a longer sentence to develop after the verb, not before it. Make the connection between subject and verb quick and vigorous and then allow the sentence to do some extra work, to cut a fancy figure or two.

Repeated Terms: One of the scariest techniques for handling long sentences is the repetition of a key term. Example; The Swiss watchmakers' failure to capitalize on the invention of the digital timepiece was both astonishing and alarming— astonishing in that the Swiss had, since the beginnings of the industrial revolution in Europe, been among the first to capitalize on technical innovations, alarming in that a tremendous industrial potential had been lost to their chief competitors, the watchmakers of Japan.

Renaming and Amplifying the Subject: Consider the following sentence, the way information is appended and feels tacked on: Hartford continues to lose its industrial base, which means that more and more of its income base depends on companies whose primary business is paper shuffling. Instead of using that clumsy "which clause," let's rename the event and follow it with a dependent clause that amplifies the added noun. Hartford continues to lose its industrial base, an economic catastrophe in the making [that is] characterized by an income base primarily dependent on companies engaged in paper shuffling.

A Chain of Modifying Phrases: Try ending a sentence with a set of prepositional phrases, each beginning with a present or past participle. Example: And we all nodded at him: the man of finance, the man of accounts, the man of law, we all nodded at him over the polished table that like a still sheet of brown water reflected our faces, lined, wrinkled; our faces marked by toil, by deceptions, by success, by love; Resumptive and Summative Modifiers: A resumptive modifier picks up a word or phrase from a sentence that seems to be finished and then adds information and takes the reader into new territory of thought.

Example: The Swiss watchmakers' failure to capitalize on the invention of the digital timepiece alarming — alarming in that a tremendous industrial potential had been lost to their chief competitors .A summative modifier quickly re-names or sums up what was going on in an earlier part of the sentence and then adds new information, example: The defensive coaches taught risk-taking, ball-hawking, and perpetual movement — three strategies that bewildered the opposition and resulted in many bad passes, steals, and easy fast break baskets.

That's what variety of sentence length can do. Great expansiveness followed up by the bullwhip crack of a one-liner. It's not that one kind of sentence is better than the other (although the taste of the twentieth-century reader generally favors the terse, the economical). It's just that there are two different kinds of energies here, both potent. Use them both, and your prose will be energized. Reference Ashford University, Ashford Guide for Academic and Career Success, Chapter: 3 ‘Clarity and Style’.

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