Clarity: Part 1

There are many aspects of writing that few people think about, and many can make grammatical mistakes without even realizing it later while revising. In the post below, I will describe four sections from Rules for Writers about this subject.

Reusch, Eli. "Grammar Police." September 8, 2008 via Flickr.
Public Domain 

Needed Words: 
In this section the book focused on comparing and contrasting and when certain words need to be added to make sentences grammatically correct. I learned that a lot of comparing and contrasting phrases can have a slight difference in meaning, which is why it is so important to clarify those sentences. One example that I never thought about before was the use of the words 'a' and 'an'. Using 'an' after the use of 'a' was something I never considered. I always thought these sentences sounded a little weird, but didn't realize that adding this word would clean it up so much.

Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers:
This section talks about the use of modifiers and where they should be placed to make sense in the sentence meaning. Modifiers need to be placed directly next to the word they are affecting, and their placement in a sentence should quickly allow the reader to see what they are affecting. This section also discusses how dangling modifiers can be hard to recognize, although easy to fix. These modifiers lead a reader to expect something in the next part of the sentence that is not there, so a writer must finish this modifier to make it grammatically correct.

Emphasize:
This section talks about how to put emphasis on what you want the reader to most pay attention to, so this should be included in the independent clause. When emphasizing something, a writer has to remember to use coordinating conjunctions that match what they are talking about. Contrasting should use 'but' or 'however.' But when a writer wants to give unequal emphasis in a sentence, they should use a subordination to give more attention to their main point. Another way to add emphasis is to use short, choppy sentences to make the text more dramatic.

Exact Words:
This section explains how using exact words can better explain a writer's point. When using a thesaurus, a writer should look for words that exactly express the meaning the writer wants to convey. This section also talks about how connotations as well as the dictionary definitions of words should be considered when choosing wording. If a word has a specific connotation in society, it may or may not be applicable in the text, despite the dictionary definition of the term. Writers should also use specific nouns instead of abstract ones, as well as watch out for misusing words. These tips should lead to clearly stated writing that proves a point well.

These strategies all lead to better, more clear writing. The use of contrasting and comparing phrases and how to set them up was somewhat new to me. I hadn't realized how specific I would have to be to make one meaning or another, although reading it now I realize how easy it would be to confuse a reader. Combined, the tips above will help me write more effectively.


Reflection: 
After reading some of QRGs from my classmates, I learned that everyone writes in different ways even when using the same strategies. For example, In Chad's paper he said, "Although this technology could be used to prevent human deaths before they are born, it is not likely that the technology could make humans smarter or fitter." He used the transition, "although" to start his contrast, and finished it with a disproving point. Others could have used different transitions to set up the contrast or put emphasis on other parts of the sentence by breaking it up more. Stef also set up a contrast when she stated, "However, Michelle Obama would like to continue to reinforce this act." Here, Stef used "however" to set up a contrast, but unlike Chad she explained most of it before hand and used a short sentence here for more emphasis. Overall, I learned that comparing and contrasting can be extremely useful in a paper like the QRG, but that it can be set up in many ways that mean different things.