Improving Style: Using Transitions Transitional words and phrases can create powerful links between ideas in your paper and can help your reader understand the logic of your paper. However, these words all have different meanings, nuances, and connotations. Before using a particular transitional word in your paper, be sure you understand its meaning and usage completely and be sure that it's the right match for the logic in your paper. Addition furthermore moreover too also in the second place again in addition even more next further last, lastly finally besides and, or, nor first second, secondly, etc. Time while immediately never after later, earlier always when soon whenever meanwhile sometimes in the meantime during afterwards now, until now next following once then at length simultaneously so far this time subsequently Place here there nearby beyond wherever opposite to adjacent to neighboring on above, below Exemplification or Illustration Comparison Contrast Clarification Cause because since on account of for that reason
Advice for Students: 10 Steps Toward Better Writing Writing well is easily one of the most sought-after and useful skills in the business world. Ironically, it is one of the rarest and most undervalued skills among students, and few professors have the time, resources, or skills to teach writing skills effectively. What follows are a handful of tips and general principles to help you develop your writing skills, which will not only improve your grades (the most worthless indicator of academic progress) but will help develop your ability to think and explain the most difficult topics. Although directed at students, most of this advice applies equally well to any sort of writing; in the end, good writing is not limited to one context or another. Pace yourself. The best way to improve your writing is to write, as much as you can. Read full content
Business Writing – The Art of Bullet Lists It’s easy to go wrong with bullet lists. Should it have a period at the end? Should it start with a capital letter? Here are some guidelines to make things simple. Bullet Lists v Number Lists When do you use bullets instead of numbers? Use number lists to: Identify a sequence of actions to be taken.Show the reader which steps to follow.If there are a specific number of items you want to highlight, e.g. Use bullet lists to: Outline a set of instructions, e.g. pack the following before traveling. Capitalize Bullet Lists When to capitalize the first letter in a bulleted item. Start each bulleted item with a capital letter. Capitalize proper nouns and the first word of a complete sentence. Bullet Lists Periods, Full stops and Punctuation When should you use periods (full stops) and have bulleted items end without punctuation? Use periods after independent clauses, dependent clauses, or long phrases that are displayed on separate lines in a list. For example: Criminal Activities. Violent history.
Drafting Legal Documents, Principles of Clear Writing Home | Previous | Next Principles of Clear Writing 1. The passive voice makes sentences longer and roundabout. plus Examples of passive verbs: was received, is being considered, has been selected. The passive voice reverses the natural, active order of English sentences. Passive: The regulation [receiver] was written [verb] by the drafter [actor]. Active: The drafter [actor] wrote [verb] the regulation [receiver]. Passive constructions are confusing when used in regulations. Putting the actor before the verb forces you to be clear about responsibility. The messenger will deliver the material. Avoid words like this: They are called "nominals" -- nouns with verbs inside. 3. To impose a legal obligation, use "must." To predict future action, use "will." DON'T SAY : The Governor shall approve it. SAY: The Governor must approve it. OR : The Governor will approve it. 4. Directness avoids the passive voice: SAY : Sign all copies. SAY : Attach a copy of your W-2 to your return. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
LEO Strategies for Reducing Wordiness Wordiness results from many sources. Many of us have learned to pad our writing with all sorts of empty phrases to reach length requirements for academic writing. Wordiness also tends to occur when we're struggling to clarify our ideas or when we're tired and not thinking clearly. Strategies for Eliminating Wordiness You can eliminate wordiness in your writing if . . . you mark sections of your writing that you struggled to produce. Patterns of Wordiness As you read the following list, consider which patterns are typical of your writing: Omit the filler phrases "it is," "there is," and "there are" at the beginning of sentences; these often delay the sentence's true subject and verb.WordyIt is expensive to upgrade computer systems.ConciseUpgrading computer systems is expensive.Omit "this" from the beginning of a sentence by joining it to the preceding sentence with a comma.WordyChlorofluorocarbons have been banned from aerosols.
Vegetable beings? Love and other uncertainities? I curate several Scoop-its. One is Home and Garden. While checking the recommendations for garden sites, I saw this post. The flowers were pretty, but the content - well, you read it and see what you think. The flowers and their characteristics What's the most beautiful and significant than a flower? Note: If I thought this was written by a sincere person, I would not make fun of it. A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices Robert A. Harris Version Date: January 19, 2013 This book contains definitions and examples of more than sixty traditional rhetorical devices, (including rhetorical tropes and rhetorical figures) all of which can still be useful today to improve the effectiveness, clarity, and enjoyment of your writing. A Preface of Quotations Whoever desires for his writings or himself, what none can reasonably condemn,the favor of mankind, must add grace to strength, and make his thoughts agreeable as well as useful. Men must be taught as if you taught them not; And things unknown propos'd as things forgot. Style in painting is the same as in writing, a power over materials, whether words or colors, by which conceptions or sentiments are conveyed. Introduction Good writing depends upon more than making a collection of statements worthy of belief, because writing is intended to be read by others, with minds different from your own. Practice these; try them out. Resources by Edward P. Rhetorical Devices
Thirty Tools for Writers [Author’s note: Of the many things I’ve written for the Poynter website, none has been as popular as my "Twenty Tools for Writers." This list has been quoted, cited, praised, debated, and repurposed by writers, editors, teachers, and other professionals who care about the craft. That folks find these tools useful gives me courage. So I’m adding ten more to my workbench, and sharpening up several others. As you can see, I’m very impressed with myself. At times it helps to think of writing as carpentry. Below is a list of 30 writing and revising tools. Sentences and Paragraphs 1. 2. 3. 4. Language 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Effects 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Structure 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. The Writing Life 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. This list contains tools, not rules. Tags: Writing tips and techniques
15 Frequently Confused Pairs of Adjectives by Mark Nichol Some of these similar-looking words do have, among various meanings, the same sense, but their primary definitions are quite different. Know these distinctions: 1. ambiguous/ambivalent: To be ambiguous is be able to be understood in more than one way (or, less commonly, of uncertain identity); to be ambivalent is to express uncertainty or contradictory opinions. 2. alternate/alternative: To be alternate is to occur by turns or in a pattern that skips from one side to the other, or to provide another possibility; to be alternative is to offer a choice, or to be a variation from a norm. 3. abstruse/obtuse: Something abstruse is, because of complexity, something not easily comprehended; something obtuse is unclear because or careless or imprecise information. 4. arrant/errant: Arrant means “immoderate” or “extreme”; errant means “traveling” or “being aimless, or “straying” or “misbehaving.” 6. climatic/climactic: Climatic refers to climate; climactic applies to a climax.
How to Make Sentences Clear and Concise How to Make Sentences Clear and Concise ( printable version here ) Richard Lanham, a professor of English at UCLA, invented an easy-to-use method for making your writing clearer and more concise. The Writing Center strongly advocates Lanham's "Paramedic Method" for your writing. Here's how to do it: 1a. Original : In this passage is an example of the use of the rule of justice in argumentation. 1b. Original : The point I wish to make is that fish sleep with their eyes open. 2. Original : Burning books is considered censorship by some people. 3. Original : The theory of relativity isn't demonstrated by this experiment. 4. My opinion is that.... Want more information? Back to ' Focusing/Connecting Ideas ' Writer's Web | Writing Center | Make an Appointment | Library Copyright 2010
» Gender Fair Language Center for Communication Practices Our language and society reflect one another, so it is important for us as communicators to recognize and respect change in the meaning and acceptability of words. Concern about the use of sexist language is part of our increased awareness that the perceived meanings of some words have changed in response to the changing roles of men and women in our society. For example, girl once meant a young person of either sex, while youth indicated only a young man. Now, girl applies only to young female persons, while youth can refer to young persons of either sex. Just as you would not use girl with its outdated meaning, you should not use other words connoting gender that do not accurately represent the people behind them. If you write with nonsexist language, you write to represent with fairness the gender identified in many words. Below are some examples of how you can revise the most common sexist usages of he and man. Solution 1: Write the sentence without pronouns. References
Eliminating Wordiness | Undergraduate Writing Center In concise writing words pull their own weight. Each carries meaning essential to the content of the sentence. Try to identify which words add meaning to the sentence and which just take up space. As you revise your work, keep these enemies of concision in mind. 1. Some words are the written equivalent of “um.” Generally speaking writers can kind of rely on certain online indexes of journals to basically start their research. The words in boldface have little to do with the point of the sentence; they can go. 2. We’re used to seeing some words paired: each and every, true and accurate, full and complete. The end result was brighter in color than we had hoped, but we plan to repaint the wall in the future . This sentence only needs the italicized words, not the bold ones: The result was brighter than we had hoped, but we plan to repaint the wall. 3. If you can think of one word to replace several, use the word. Pared down, the sentence reads like this: 4. 5. 6. The opposite is just as bad.
Writers-Editors Network Cliche List — The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread