Style and Clarity
Style and clarity go together. Do you sound like yourself when you write? Does your reader understand you? Does your reader want to keep reading?
This section offers ten suggestions to help you develop your own voice and write clear, understandable, authoritative prose. Keys for success: liveliness and simplicity.
Note that style and clarity may differ depending on the discipline and genre of each
writing project. Instructors and writing center tutors are great resources for exploring
the finer details of individual projects.
1. Write naturally by using words you understand.
Although it's tempting to use fancy language to give your prose more weight, unless you fully understand a word's denotations (meaning) and connotations (implications), the clarity of your writing may suffer.
The thesaurus (a resource that lists synonyms and related concepts) may be handy, but it won't give you shades of meaning, and it may not provide you with an effective word every time. Use a thesaurus to remind you of words you already know, but can't remember at the moment. The thesaurus should be a guide, not an authority; and don't forget to check your choice in the dictionary. Make sure you pay particular attention to how the word is used in sentences.
It's great to expand your vocabulary. The best way is by reading widely and paying attention to the way good writers use words. You'll discover words that are lively, provocative, precise, colorful, and engaging. Notice patterns in writing that communicate ideas clearly and effectively. Make these words your own by using them to explain your own ideas, starting with a few example sentences right away.
2. Eliminate unnecessary words and phrases.
Look for overused and wordy phrases such as
due to
the fact that
in order to
is when
of great importance
I believe that (in an essay, unless you're quoting someone else, you're the only speaker
with beliefs).
Determining if a phrase or a word is unnecessary depends on the context. Ask yourself:
Can you convey the same idea but more concisely? Do you repeat the same set of words
throughout the essay? What other words and phrases can you use instead?
3. Write in the active voice; watch out for the passive voice.
In an active sentence, the subject performs the action. In a passive sentence, the action is being done to the subject. In other words, in active voice, the subject is the doer, while in passive voice, the subject is the receiver of the verb's action.
Active: Trisha donated the books to the library.
Passive: The books were donated to the library by Trisha.
In the passive construction, we have a choice to include the "doer" or not ("by Trisha").
Active: A renowned scholar delivered a lecture on the changing nature of the Western geopolitical
landscape.
Passive: A lecture on the changing nature of the Western geopolitical landscape was delivered
by a renowned scholar.
Active: The board of directors decided to fire them.
Passive: It was decided that they would be fired.
Active sentences make your writing clearer, and is therefore associated with an ethical stance towards honest communication. The passive voice often makes writing harder to understand, with sentences that lack key information.
Though wordy, vague, and cluttered, the passive voice nevertheless has its uses. In a scientific lab report, for example, the name of the scientist is often unimportant.
For example, "Ryan recorded all observations in a lab notebook" is active, directing our attention to Ryan, the "doer" of the action. However, in a context where the doer is not as important as the action itself, we can remove the doer with a passive construction: "All observations were recorded in a lab notebook." This accurately reveals the action without any distracting, irrelevant information. In some disciplines, the passive voice may be a typical or expected feature.
You should learn the difference between active and passive voice in order to choose the right one for your essay.
4. Pay attention to verbs and verb forms.
Verbs are powerful words in any sentence. Use strong verbs, and change "ing" forms into present or past tense.
Examples:
Strong evidence can make an argument better.
Strong evidence strengthens an argument.
This problem was getting to be more and more difficult to solve.
This problem grew increasingly difficult to solve.
In certain kinds of writing, such as in literary analysis, the academic norm is to use the simple present tense:
Example:
The imagery is representing the narrator鈥檚 attempts at alleviating her mental conflict.
The imagery represents the narrator鈥檚 attempts at alleviating her mental conflict.
While neither construction is entirely incorrect (save for the awkwardness of the
first one), the second suggests a "timeless" quality where the insights are "generally
true." This tendency is common across many analytical essays and scientific research
papers.
5. Scan your writing for small words and long sentences.
This combination often creates stupor-inducing wordiness and vagueness in your prose.
Example:
It is this book that must be read in order to observe the use of irony which is striking
in her story due to the extreme sharpness of her perceptions.
The author's sharp perceptions produce striking irony.
Other things to look out for when it comes to your sentences:
- - Avoid 鈥渃hoppy鈥� sentences (abrupt and short) and alternate between longer and shorter
sentences.
- Vary the way you build sentences: keep an eye on how you structure and present the beginning, middle, and the end of your sentence.
6. Highlight all uses of the verb "to be" and try to reword as many as you can.
Too often, we simply plug in this poor, overused, boring word in place of a more interesting one, just because we're in a hurry to get our thoughts down. Lively prose uses lively verbs; remember that "to be" merely indicates a state of being.
- - Avoid the verb TO BE (am, are, is, was, were, will) if a better choice is available
- Avoid the use of "it" or "there" as subjects.
Examples:
I am worried about the weather.
The weather concerns me.
There was someone moving behind the hedge.
Someone lurked behind the hedge.
7. Avoid excessive or overused qualifiers.
Try to eliminate as many adverbs as you can, especially ones that modify whole sentences.
"Hopefully, we'll go to the dance."
Does this mean "We hope we'll go to the dance" or "We'll go to the dance in a hopeful frame of mind?" Overuse of adverbs lends a verbose quality to the prose. Here's a list of some adjectives and adverbs that are used so often their meaning has been diluted:
- totally
- basically
- actually
- extremely
- really
- incredibly, incredible
- awesome
- amazing
- ridiculous
- simplistic
- very
- quite
- unique.
Look them up if you're tempted to use them, and make sure they say what you mean them
to say.
8. Avoid cliches.
Clich茅s are phrases or expressions regarded as unoriginal or trite due to overuse. They can weaken your ideas. So stay away from...
- tried and true
- spur of the moment
- paved the way
- in this day and age
- nick of time
- few and far between
- hard as a rock
- hit the nail on the head
- moving experience
- pride and joy
- each and every.
9. Beware of repeating yourself.
Guard against pairing adjectives and adverbs with other words similar in meaning.
Example: The old antiques from a distant time period were on sale at the spacious, expansive store.
Well, all antiques are old, by definition. Time and period refer to the same thing.
And what meaningful difference is there between expansive and spacious?
10. Don't use slangy or colloquial expressions.
Example: The little kids who go to the local day care center are totally cool to be around. It's awesome to see how things that would seem gross or weird to guys in the dorm seem perfectly okay to them.
In college writing, "little kids" are "children;" "totally cool" may be "interesting," or "fascinating"; nothing is "awesome," "gross," or "weird." "Guys" might be "students" and "perfectly okay" may be acceptable. Your readers will expect that your written work will be on a higher level than informal conversations with friends.