The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing: Clarity
clarity: being clear in your thoughts and words
saying what you intend to say in a way the reader understands
Aspects of clarity:
-short active verbs (to convey action)
-subjects that match up with their actors
-concision (keeping reader focused on what really matters)
-sustain a single point of view
Aspects of non-clarity:
-passive voice
-being verbs
-nominalizations
-wordiness
-jumps in point of view and time
Actions and Verbs:
-make sure there's a sense of action
-don't be reluctant to say something plainly
-use strong verbs with clear actors
e.g. Machiavelli best supports Machiavelli praises republics
republics in The Discourses. in The Discourses.
-don't treat actions as abstractions separated from their doers
(view comes from, morality is taken, etc)
-attach verbs to real actors
e.g. Machiavelli's view of Christianity Machiavelli judges religion
comes from... from a...
Clauses:
-clauses are the key syntactical structure of sentences
-clause: consists of a noun acting as a subject and a finite, conjugated verb attached to that subject
finite – has a specific tense
conjugated – fits the person and number of a subject
-phrase: any string of words that isn't a clause
-independent clause: can stand on its own
-dependent clause: cannot stand on its own
Types of Verbs:
active verbs – express an action of some kind
e.g. He felt raindrops.
She hurried to catch up.
being verbs – express a state of being/identity
e.g. The experiment was a failure.
Hamlet feels alienated.
transitive verbs – express action upon a direct object
e.g. I dropped by backpack.
The dog bit me.
intransitive verbs – express action without a direct object
e.g. The experiment failed.
The backpack dropped in the mud.
Types of Voices:
voice – refers to how you express action with the verb
the subject performs or receives the action
active voice – the subject performs the action
e.g. Bill Gates founded Microsoft.
He made a mistake.
passive voice – the subject receives the action
e.g. Microsoft was founded in 1975.
Mistakes were made.
– the doer can be left out of the action
– try to avoid abusing passive voice in writing
Nominalizations:
-actions expressed as nouns
-any nominalization can be turned into a verb, vice versa
Nominalization Verb
argument argue
performance perform
explanation explain
distortion distort
-allows one to present actions without actors
-try to avoid using nominalizations
e.g. An analysis was Dr. Radic performed
performed. an analysis.
The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing: Plain Style
How to write plainly and clearly:
-strive to be sensibly simple
-develop a baseline style of
short words
active verbs
simple sentences conveying clear actions or identities
-don't assume you must sound mature and scholarly
e.g. To satisfy her own need She devoured the bread.
of hunger, she ate the bread.
The Official Style:
-obfuscation, nominalizations, passive voice, long wordy constructions that muddy up questions of who did what
-prevalent in bureaucracies
-hides true meaning under mounds vocabulary and syntax
-question of agency: who did what
(people duck question of agency to avoid having to admit who is at fault)
The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing: Concision
-concision is intimately connected to clarity
-action-oriented subject-verb constructions that match syntax with logic = concise writer
-wordiness serves as camouflage to reduce one's visibility
How to Achieve Concision:
1) build around strong verbs
2) prefer the active voice to the passive voice
3) be suspicious of adverbs
e.g. Socrates convincingly explains Socrates explains his
his position to Crito. position to Crito.
4) toss out empty words and phrases (fluff)
e.g. Capitalism is accompanied Capitalism is accompanied
by the ideal of freedom as by the ideal of freedom.
something to be attained.
The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing: Rhetoric
Rhetoric:
-the art or science of persuasion by means of stylistic and structural techniques
-encourages us to think of writing as a series of strategic choices
-encourages thinking about one's audience since different audiences require different rhetorical
choices
Diction:
-what words to use
-first rhetoric choice a writer makes
-different audiences have different expectations about appropriate diction
(scientific community vs elementary school children)
Parallelism:
-refers to any structure which brings together parallel elements
(nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, etc)
-one of the most useful and flexible rhetorical techniques
-inversion/chiasmus: parallel elements are reversed for emphasis
gains power by focusing attention on ends of sentences
e.g. “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your
country.” - J.F.K
Repetition:
-allows a writer to hammer home an idea, image, or relationship, to force the reader to pay
attention
-one of the most useful tools available to writers
-elegant variation: the tendency of young authors to fear repetition
Tenses:
-refers to the time (past, present, future) in which actions occur
-once you begin a passage in one tense, stay in that tense
-historical present: the present tense one should use when writing about a text
-use past tense if presenting a fact or mentioning a work in passing
e.g. Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513.
Alliteration:
-beginning two or more stressed syllables with the same letter or sound
-helps reader become more receptive to your argument
-use sparingly
The Rule of Three:
-lists of all kinds (things, qualities, actions, reasons, etc) tend to come across most powerfully
when they contain three items
-called tricolon in classical rhetoric
-the third term is often slightly larger it its focus than the first two, making a more general point
Humor:
-humor and flourishes like slang should be used sparingly
-wry observations and ironic observations are more acceptable then outright jokes
First Person, Second Person, and Punctuation:
-I, me, my; we, us, our; you, your
-first person is allowed if it is used appropriately
-it's okay to use I as long as it doesn't venture into editorializing and emotion
-the acceptable amount varies from field to field
-using you changes the dynamic of the paper; depends on the situation
-direct questions are acceptable
-exclamations are not acceptable
Placing Emphasis:
-take advantage of the natural rhythm of English sentences
-the end of a sentence packs the most wallop
-familiar info is placed at the beginning
-new info is placed at the end
Syntax
Syntax are rules governing the structure of sentences
Choices in syntax impacts the reader
Techniques of Syntax
Conjunctions
coordinating -and, but, or, yet, so, etc.
-coordinate among equals (marriage relationship)
subordinating -one is dominant
-one relies on the other (parent – child relationship)
Sentences
compound: has coordinating conjunctions
complex: has subordinating conjunctions
simple: has neither coordinating or subordinating conjunctions
Sentence Variety
keep in mind the construction and length of the sentences
note the use or disuse of:
Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) structure
Subject-Verb-Complement (SVC) structure
short, medium, long sentence?
Effects of Syntax
pace – deliberately faster, slower, etc
tone
attention/emphasis – beginning/ends of sentences are “value spots”
– if a point is meant to be buried, it's placed mid sentence
~~~Here's the entire Nuts and Bolts of College Writing website!~~~
Effects of Syntax: (Artful Sentences: Syntax as a Style)
being verb sentences seem passive
He was angry.
intransitive verb sentences seem more active
His heart pounded.
transitive verb sentences are the most active
He shoved the door open.
short sentences convey action forcefully
He drew his gun.
present tense conveys action forcefully
In five seconds you'll be dead, Harris thought.
sentence fragments can sound lyrical, choppy, confused, etc
The coward. Behind the chair, shaking. Begging.
constructions can be intensified with verbals
His begging was worth than futile; it was infuriating.
imperatives are more forceful than declaratives
Harris had had enough. Just do it, he thought.
the -ing form of verbs makes constructions active and forceful
Tightening his finger on the trigger...
passive voice can obscure responsibility
Jones had been shot.
omission of conjunctions creates hurried tone
Raging, desperate, wild...
verbals opening sentences creates suspense
Crossing towards Harris...
~~~Some more info on syntax~~~
AP LIT Formula
What technique does the author use?
What effect does that technique achieve?
What does it mean?
Outside Connections:
I noticed that many school textbooks employ Official Style. Instead of being clear and straightforward, they try confuse the reader with messy syntax and heavy vocabulary.
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