Some of the Little (Big?) Things You Should Have Learned Back to Basics Some of the Little (Big?) Things You Should Have Learned

Audience is King According to E.B. White, “All through The Elements of Style one finds evidences of the author’s deep sympathy for the reader. Will felt that the reader was in serious trouble most of the time, a man floundering in a swamp, and that it was the duty of anyone attempting to write English to drain this swamp quickly and get his man up on dry ground, or at least throw him a rope.”

Avoid The passive voice Research into alternative energy is stimulated by rising oil prices. Rising oil prices stimulate research into alternative energy. Too many prepositions and prepositional phrases in a sentence An evaluation of the effect of Class C fly ash and granulated blast furnace slag on the properties of ternary mixtures for use in concrete pavements was undertaken and is presented in this paper. (34 words, including some passive voice) This paper evaluates the effect of Class C fly ash and granulated blast furnace slag on the properties of ternary mixtures in concrete pavements. (24)

Avoid Vague “It is” or “There are” or “There will be” constructions at the beginning of a sentence There will be no classes held on Friday. No classes will be held on Friday. Black holes at the end of a sentence A celestial object with a gravitational field so strong that light cannot escape from it is a black hole. A black hole is . . .

Avoid Unclear pronoun reference (unclear antecedents) If the food is too hot for the baby, put it in the refrigerator for a minute. If the food is too hot for the baby, put the food in the refrigerator for a minute. When Bonnie talked with Sheri, she said her mother was feeling better. When Bonnie talked with Sheri, Sheri said her mother was feeling better.

Avoid “To be” verb forms Nominalizations is, are, was, and were If there is information to which the company has reasonable access, the designated witness is required to review it. If the company has reasonable access to information, the designated witness must review it. Nominalizations Instead of “conduct and examination” examine Instead of “submit an application” apply

Avoid (Summary) Passive voice Too many prepositions/prepositional phrases Vague subjects (there is, there are, it is, etc.) Black Holes Unclear pronoun reference “To be” verb forms Nominalizations

Use Transitions - connectors Vigorous, telling verbs He ran happily through the field of clover! He skipped through the field of clover. Concrete, descriptive nouns She drove a car to school. She drove an ’84 Beetle to campus.

Learn How to use a comma Harry asked Sally to lunch, and she said yes. If Harry asked Sally to lunch, she might say yes. (then is implied) Whether or not Harry asks Sally to lunch, she intends on asking him. That commas and periods go inside the “quotation marks,” rather than outside the “quotation marks”. To omit needless words—cut, cut, cut That the art of writing takes place in revision

Train Your Ear Read good writing—and pay attention to what makes it good. Read about grammar and punctuation: “The Elements of Style,” Strunk & White. “The College Writer’s Reference,” by Fulwiler and Hayakawa, and other reference books.

Train Your Ear (cont.) Read about writing: “Writing With Style,” by John Trimble. “Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity & Grace,” by Joseph Williams. Anything by Peter Elbow or William Zinsser. “Legal Writing in Plain English,” by Bryan Garner

Your Ear Rules A play on words. There are rules of grammar and rules of punctuation, but . . . Always pay attention to your ear because it will tell you When you are violating a rule and When you should violate a rule.