Clarity, Part 1

In this post I will talk about what I believe to be the most beneficial topics, provided in the "Clarity" portion of Rules for Writers, that I can use to help my writing.

Green, Amy, "poetry notes never looked so good." 6/1/2008 via Flickr. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic

Eliminate Distracting Shifts-

• Keeping the subjects of my sentences consistent in regards to number and person is something that I can look out for in my writing. This isn't the first time that I have seen this suggestion, but I struggle with number  and person because sometimes it is hard to catch small mistakes in shifts.
• Another aspect of my writing that this portion of the book made me aware of is the need to keep verbs in the same mood and voice. This will make my writing a lot more clear and understandable, because when verbs in the same sentence are unclear about who/what they are referring to, a reader can become confused.

Tighten Wordy Sentences-

• While attempt to have detailed writing, I sometimes make my sentences too wordy. Thus, by eliminating repetition or redundancies within my word choice, I could really improve my writing.
• Using simpler and more concise wording, and making sure that everything that I am saying within my sentences has meaning are a couple more ways I can simplify my writing.

Provide Some Variety-

• Changing and adding variety to the beginning of my sentences could help me. Starting sentences with the same words adds monotony to one's writing. 
• I think a lot of my sentences are too complex. If I were to include shorter sentences throughout my QRG, my audience's experiences while reading my will probably be better, and keep my audience's attention better.
• Trying to invert sentences and their parts could make my writing have more variety.

Choose Appropriate Language-

• This portion of the book made me re-evaluate my writing tone and language. I sometimes sound too formal in my writing. However, a major characteristic of the QRG genre is an informative and understandable style, thus I should probably go back and check over my language usage.
• I feel like I may be using euphemisms and doublespeak, rather than simple english, too much in my writing. Therefore, going back and looking to simplify my word choice and getting straight to the point could benefit my language.

Reflection:

In this post I will discuss what I have learned about my chosen topics from "Clarity" after reading Jessi's and Tyler's drafts of their QRGs.


Jessi definitely did a great job in her execution of providing variety in her writing. The Variety chapter, within the "Clarity" chapter states that too many complex, or even simple, sentences can make one's writing appear tedious to read. For instance in the draft of her QRG Jessi stated that, "Scientifically, McMath is dead. Without life support, she could never function on her own. Dr. David Magnus, a Stanford neurology specialist and author of 'Accepting Brain Death,' claims in a New York Times interview that 'there’s no reported case of a correct diagnosis of a brain death where anybody comes back.'" From this quotation from Jessi's draft, it is clear that she has a good grasp on varying sentences. In this particular instance, Jessi grabbed her audience's attention with a short sentence, but provided more necessary details in a following complex sentence. I learned a lot from Jessi and her ability to effectively use differing sentence lengths.

Looking at Tyler's draft, also further proved some of the suggested aspects of writing found within "Clarity". Like I mentioned above, I typically consider myself to be a verbose writer, who sometimes struggles to find the balance between formality and the informal and informational tone that a QRG requires. I get the sense that Tyler is also a somewhat wordy writer and I informed him of any concerning sentences that seemed to be to complex and long-winded. However, there were moments within Tyler's writing that inspired me and gave me hope that I can get straight to whatever point I want to make, without losing the formal way that I write, for instance Tyler stated, "In short, the controversy here is about the role field experimentation should play in political science research, and what the ethical limits of experimentation can and should be." In this quote, Tyler directly addresses what he wants his audience to see, while still maintaining a formal and intellectual tone. If I can find the balance between being direct and informative, while still writing like myself, like Tyler has done in this example, I think my writing will really be improved.