English B60 Standard vs. Non-standard English Clichés, Wordiness, and Awkward Phrasing

Standard English Standard English is grammatically correct, academic language. It is what you should use in your class assignments. Non-standard English includes more informal language that would be used with your friends or some family members. Non-standard English has an appropriate time and place. You should be able to switch registers to use standard English when appropriate and non-standard English the rest of the time.

Practice Translate the following non-standard English sentences to standard English. OMG, that movie was totally awesome! My mom freaked out when I got home late last night, you know? That party was, like, so lame! He said that I should register for chemistry, and I was all, “No way!”

Clichés Clichés are expressions that have been used so often, they have lost their significance. At the top of his lungs White as a ghost Sick as a dog Busy as a bee Better late than never You should avoid clichés when possible to give your work greater impact and originality.

Practice See if you can complete the following clichés. The agony of… Breath a sigh of… Lend a helping… Raining cats and… As American as… Now attempt to convey these same ideas in original language.

Wordiness Good writing is concise writing. Saying “In today’s society” isn’t as effective as saying, “today,” and it’s a cliché. When you can say less, do so.

Practice Re-write the following wordy phrases so that they are more concise. Green in color Completely empty Fewer in number On a regular basis Sufficient enough

Awkward Phrasing Awkward phrasing creates sentences that break basic sentence patterns, omit necessary words, or use combinations of words without clear meaning. "I read in a magazine where scientists believe they have discovered a new subatomic particle.“ How could this sentence be clarified. "I read in a magazine that scientists believe they have discovered a new subatomic particle."

Practice Correct the following awkwardly phrased sentences. A person taking on the role of caregiver for another, a sick elder, perhaps, is a very demanding job. Attempts at explanations for increases in voter participation in this year’s elections were offered by several candidates. It is important to effect the verbalization of concepts through the utilization of unsophisticated terminology.