Good Indian By B.m. Bower potx

Table of ContentsBowman’s Concise Guide to Technical & Academic Writing Introduction From Chapter 3: Style From Chapter 6: Sentence Structure 300 Days of Better Writing Introduction Day

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Your Writing Companion

Writing Tips for a Year

300 Days of Better Writing

Zen Comma

Precise Edit Training Manual

Bang! Writing with Impact

Which Word Do I Use? A Quickie Guide to the Most Confusing Word Pairs

Table of Contents

Bowman’s Concise Guide to Technical & Academic Writing

Introduction

From Chapter 3: Style

From Chapter 6: Sentence Structure

300 Days of Better Writing

Introduction

Day 1: Use the rhetorical subject as the grammatical subject

Day 2: Place a comma before a conjunction that joins two independent clauses

Day 3: Be concise

Day 4: Avoid over-generalizing

Day 5: Finish sentences with the most important information

Day 6: Place ending punctuation inside the quotation marks

Day 7: Use you only when you are writing to or about the reader.

Day 8: Limit adjective use

Zen Comma

Introduction

Sample Chapter Structure

Comma Topics in Zen Comma

2 Commas When Joining Sentences

Bang! Writing with Impact

Introduction

Sample Strategies for Impact

5 Emphasize alternatives by adding the conjunctions “or” or “nor” between all items in a series

19 Emphasize a particular characteristic by pairing it with its opposite

39 Attack the credibility of your critics to emphasize the superiority of your ideas

58 Increase reader engagement by omitting the conclusion to a logical argument

96 Provide a summary of previous content to emphasize how it relates to the next topic

Precise Edit Training Manual

Introduction

It Is What It Is (Starting sentences with it)

Which Word Do I Use?

That vs Which

Good vs Well

Information about these 5 Guides

Technical writing is an approach to presenting information to a defined reader in an objective,

direct, easy-to-understand manner Technical writing is a strategy for providing what the reader needs in a manner that the reader can most easily use it In other words, technical writing is good writing

Technical writing follows several principles

• The reader is more important than the writer

• The style must be consistent with the purpose

• Clear, simple writing increases understanding

• Logical organization shows how ideas connect

• The reader needs to know how to find information

• Information sources must be given credit

• Correct grammar, punctuation, and word choice enhance credibility.The purpose of this book is to help you implement these principles and write well.

From Chapter 3: Style

B Language Complexity

Some writers use simple, straightforward sentences with few modifying phrases and clauses Others use complex sentences with many modifiers, interjected descriptions, and multiple clauses and phrases

Example B.1, simple sentence: “Lisa bought a red car.”

This simple sentence contains a simple subject (Lisa) and a simple predicate with an object (bought a red car) This sentence has two modifying words (a, red) but no other phrases or

clauses

Example B.2, moderately complex sentence: “When the day ended, Lisa, a sales clerk at the

downtown market, bought a red car.”

This moderately complex sentence has an introductory descriptive clause (when the day ended),

a simple subject (Lisa), an appositive for the subject (a sales clerk at the downtown market), and

a simple predicate with an object (bought a red car).

Example B.3, very complex sentence: “When the day ended, which couldn’t have happened

soon enough, given the type of day she had had, Lisa, a sales clerk at the downtown market, a grimy, dark nook in an old building, bought what she mistakenly thought was a new, or, at the worst, slightly used, red car.”

This very complex sentence has an introductory descriptive clause (when the day ended), a description of the introductory clause (which couldn’t have happened soon enough), a

description of the description of the introductory clause (given the type of day she had had), a subject (Lisa), an appositive for the subject (a sales clerk at the downtown market), a description

of the appositive for the subject (a grimy, dark nook), and a description of the description of the appositive for the subject (in an old building) And then we finally get to the predicate, which is

similarly complicated

As these three examples show, the two key features of language complexity are

1 the number of descriptive phases and clauses and

2 the levels of description (such as description of description)

A careful writer considers sentence complexity in light of the readers’ needs Simple sentences can be read quickly and understood easily As sentences become more complex, they contain more information and “flavor,” but they require more work from the readers and increase the potential for misunderstanding

As with all style issues, the level of language complexity needs to fit the readers’ needs Simple sentences are the most easy to understand They present minimal information in a

straightforward manner, with no interruptions in the main thought being communicated On the other hand, using too many simple sentences, or a string of simple sentences, makes the writing appear amateurish

For technical manuals, lists of instructions, user guides, and other documents that present single action steps, stick with simple sentences For most other types of documents, the writer can

present more complex information and create better reader interest and engagement by using a mix of simple and moderately complex sentences If your goal is reader understanding and interest, avoid very complex sentences Overall, you will communicate best by

• using a mix of simple and moderately complex sentences,

• limiting the number of descriptive phrases,

• presenting only one descriptive phrase at a time, and

• avoiding descriptions of descriptions

Sentence structure will be addressed in greater detail in Chapter 6, Sentence Structure

C Objectivity

Feelings, emotions, opinions, and beliefs are called, collectively, individual perspective An

individual perspective indicates the perspective of one person: the writer In all forms of

technical writing, your individual perspective is inappropriate

Think about your reader Your reader is seeking believable, credible information Your opinions, etc are not believable, credible information They only apply to you; they do not apply to your reader

The most obvious cases are sentence that contain such phrases as I feel that, I believe, and in my

opinion If you can express the idea as a fact, do so If you cannot express the idea without those

phrases, remove the sentence entirely

Writers also interject their individual perspectives by using particular words and by making judgments, as explained below

1 Word choice: Writers damage the objectivity of their writing (and its value) by using

adjectives and adverbs that indicate an individual perspective For example, these two sentences contain opinions:

Example C.1: “The marketing plan indicates exciting opportunities for the company.”

Example C.2: “The friendly sales associates will greet our valued customers by name.”

In these samples, the words indicating the individual perspective are exciting, friendly, and

valued.

Some words indicate individual perspectives with greater subtlety through their connotative meanings The connotation of a word implies more than the objective meaning of the word This not only increases the likelihood for misunderstanding but also reflects the writer’s opinion For example:

Example C.3: “Rescue crews sorted through the carnage from the plane crash.”

Here, carnage implies the writer’s impression of the scene It evokes visions of war, of disaster, and of tragedy A more objective word is wreckage.

2 Moral Judgments and Persuasion: A writer expresses an individual perspective by using

such words as should, must, and ought to (The technical term for this type of word is modal

auxiliary.) In most cases, writers use these words to persuade the reader to act or think in a

specific manner This is a problem for several reasons

First, these words will always create conflict with the reader They communicate your belief that you have the right to tell the reader what to do The reader is unlikely to share that belief

Second, they state an opinion as a moral judgment Moral or otherwise, an opinion is still just that: an opinion The reader will recognize that you are providing your opinion and can,

therefore, reject your ideas Third, they disrespect the reader They communicate that you don’t trust the reader to decide what to do

As a persuasion technique, this rarely works In technical writing, it is inappropriate A better approach is to state ideas as facts and to connect the facts to a desired outcome A reader can argue against, or simply reject, your opinions easily However, the reader cannot argue against objective facts In the following examples, example C.4a communicates an opinion, and example C.4b communicates a fact

Example C.4a: “The WHO should provide funding for sanitation projects in third-world

countries This will reduce the incidence of diarrhea in third world countries.”

Example C.4b: “The WHO will reduce the incidence of diarrhea in third world countries by

providing funding for sanitation projects.”

Example C.4a makes a moral judgment In the writer’s opinion, the WHO will do the “morally right” thing by providing funding Example C.4b provides a fact The reduction in incidences of

diarrhea will occur if the WHO provides funding Moral judgments create conflict Facts

persuade

3 Personal Pronouns: Writing in an objective style does not mean avoiding I and we These

personal pronouns are acceptable if you are describing your actions or processes You can write

“We did this” or “I did that.” This approach is preferable to writing such artificial phrases as “the

author of this report found ” The reader knows that you are the author Use I.

When you write I or we, examine your sentence critically and ask what you are communicating

If you are communicating a fact, the personal pronoun is acceptable If you are communicating

an opinion, it is not

4 Describing Opinions: At times, you may need to provide opinions, feelings, and beliefs It is

possible to do so in an objective manner Although you don’t want to offer your own individual perspective, you can describe the individual perspective of others For example, rather than stating

“I believe the president is doing a good job,”

you can state

“22% of survey respondents believed the president is doing a good job”

or

“The president believed he was doing a good job.”

In this way, you are simply providing the facts about others’ opinions That other people believe, feel, etc this way is a fact Technical writing is not about you, but it can be about other people

From Chapter 6: Sentence Structure

A The Subject-Verb-Object Structure

Every sentence has two basic parts, the subject and verb Many sentences contain a third basic part, the object Together, these three parts contain the main message in a sentence, and they answer the readers’ question: Who did what to whom? This means that they need to be as

obvious as possible to the reader Every sentence editing strategy springs from this concept.Once you have identified the meaningful subject (section 4.A), meaningful action (section 4.B), and object, you can apply the S-V-O strategies below

1 Place the verb as close to the subject as possible The subject and verb are the two most

important words in a sentence When the verb immediately follows the subject, the reader will connect the verb to the subject and understand the main point of the sentence In example A.1a, the verb is separated from the subject In example A.1b, the main verb is next to the subject, and the sentence is easier to understand

Example A.1a: Any checking account established by persons living outside the United States

and not registered with the banking commission falls under international regulations

In example A.1a, the subject and main verb are account and falls, respectively 15 words of

description separate the subject and verb, including three more verbs This sentence has two potential problems First, the separating words interrupt the main point of the sentence, which reduces the emphasis on the main point Second, with three other verbs before the main verb, the reader may associate the wrong verb with the subject, causing the reader to misunderstand the main point entirely

Examples A.1b and A.1c fix this problem by placing the main verb immediately after the subject

Example A.1b: Any checking account falls under international regulations if it is established by

persons living outside the United States and not registered with the banking commission

Example A.1c: If a checking account is established by persons living outside the United States

and is not registered with the banking commission, it falls under international regulations

2 Place the main subject and verb at the beginning of the main sentence: Once the subject

and main verb are together, move them to the beginning of the main sentence This strategy is called “front loading” because it “loads” the beginning of the sentence with the most important information By using this strategy, you immediately answer “Who did what to whom?” as seen

in example A.2

Example A.2: Submarine eruptions create new islands through the gradual, though sometimes

drastic, buildup of lava flows and other eruptive matter

Even if the reader becomes confused with all the description, the reader will understand the main message This strategy does not require every sentence to begin with the subject and verb, which would produce the “washboard effect” (section 6.B) Rather, it applies to the beginning of the main sentence

Example A.3: By using quantitative research methodologies, researchers attempt to identify

common themes and patterns exhibited by the study population

In example A.3, the sentence begins with a descriptive phrase The main sentence begins with

researchers attempt, which are the subject and verb Indeed, readers expect to find the subject

immediately after an introductory description If the subject is not there, the sentence will seem awkward, and the reader may be confused

3 Limit the number of subject–verb pairs: Every complete sentence has a main subject–verb

pair A simple sentence has subject–verb pair, but a complex sentence may have several Each additional subject–verb pair increases the level of complexity and increases the potential for confusion Example A.4 has five subject–verb pairs

Example A.4a: When engineers envision the required component they will use to perform a

function, they consider how the component fits within a comprehensive system within which components interact and both enable and limit other components

As the number of subject–verb pairs increases, the reader becomes more likely to identify the wrong pair as the main subject and verb Limit the main sentence to no more than two pairs and any introduction to no more than one pair Example A.4b follows this guideline

Example A.4b: When engineers envision the component needed to perform a function, they

consider how the component will fit within a comprehensive system They determine how the various components will interact and enable and limit other components

This does not apply to subject–verb pairs within a series The parallel structure of a series

prevents reader confusion

Example A.4c: When engineers envision the required component, they consider what function

the component will perform, how the component fits within a comprehensive systems, and how the components interact

4 Keep subject–verb pairs separate: As noted previously, a sentence may have more than one

subject-verb pair To improve the potential for reader understanding, keep the subject–verb pairs separate, i.e., write only one at a time

Example A.5a has three subject–verb pairs but does not follow this strategy

Example A.5a: The business owners we serve through a comprehensive set of tools our experts

created attain greater financial stability.

In this sample, I underlined the main subject–verb pair and put the other two pairs in italics The

main subject in Example A.5a is business owners However, before reaching the main verb,

attain, the sentence has two more subject–verb pairs, we serve and experts created Restructuring

this sentence graphically helps demonstrate how two subject–verb pairs are embedded in the main pair

The business owners

we serve

experts created

attain greater financial stability

Figure 1 Embedded subject–verb pairs

To follow the one-at-a-time strategy, we can restructure the sentence as follows

Example A.5b: Using a comprehensive set of tools our experts created, we help business

owners attain greater financial stability.

Again, the main subject–verb pair is underlined and the other two pairs are italicized Each pair

ends before another begins In this revision, the main subject–verb pair changes from business

owners attain to we help, which makes us (or we) responsible for the result: business owners attain greater financial stability If we want to keep the focus on the business owners (i.e., the

meaningful subject), we use business owners as the grammatical subject One possible revision is

as follows

Example A.5c: Business owners attain greater financial stability by using the comprehensive set

of tools our experts created

5 Summary of S-V-O strategies: This section has provided a lot of information In summary,

these are the key strategies for using the basic Subject-Verb-Object sentence strategy

1 Use the S-V-O sentence structure: meaningful subject + meaningful action + object

2 Place the verb as close to the subject as possible

3 Place the main subject and verb at the beginning of the main sentence

4 Limit the number of subject–verb pairs

5 Keep subject–verb pairs separate

When you follow these five strategies, you will solve most problems with sentence structure and reader understanding

Back to top

I NTRODUCTION

Welcome to 300 Days of Better Writing This writing guide provides you with 300 strategies for

writing clearly, effectively, and correctly This is a great companion to our Precise Edit Training

Manual, although each book can be used independently Whether you read one new tip a day,

read them all at once, or find a specific topic you need, this guide will help you write better

How this guide is organized

This guide loosely follows the organization of the tips in our Writing Tips for a Year series We

distributed the editing, writing, and mechanics tips so you won’t receive tips of the same type all

at once Broad writing topics (e.g., paragraph structure) are broken into individual strategies These are also distributed throughout the tips so that you have time to learn, practice, and master one strategy before learning a new strategy on the same broad topic

Day 1: Use the rhetorical subject as the grammatical subject.

Every complete sentence needs a subject The subject is the Thing, Idea, Person, or Place (TIPP) that “does” the main verb Consider the sentence “Tom loves Julie.” The main verb here is

“loves,” and the subject is “Tom.”

Another name for the subject of a sentence is “grammatical subject.” In the previous example,

“Tom” is the grammatical subject because “Tom” is the subject of the sentence

Sometimes, though, the “doer” of the main action is not the grammatical subject Consider this sentence: “Finding a solution is our greatest concern.” In this example, “Finding a solution” is the grammatical subject of the verb “is.”

However, we need to ask, “What’s the action being described by this sentence?” The main action

is finding a solution Then we ask, “Who is doing this action?” The answer is “We are.” “We,” therefore, is the rhetorical subject The TIPP that does the main action is the rhetorical subject, whether or not it is the grammatical subject

For clear and effective writing, the rhetorical subject should be used as the grammatical subject Based on this, the example sentence can be revised as follows: “We are most concerned with finding a solution.”

Day 2: Place a comma before a conjunction that joins two independent

clauses.

The term “independent clause” refers to a complete sentence, whether it stands alone or is part of

a longer sentence It has a grammatical subject and a main verb, at a minimum

Consider the sentence, “Tom loves Julie, and Julie loves Frank.” This has two independent clauses The first is “Tom loves Julie,” and the second is “Julie loves Frank.” The two clauses are joined by “and,” so you need a comma before the “and.”

Whenever you join two independent clauses by a conjunction (and, but, or, yet, so, for, nor), put

a comma in front of the conjunction

Consider the sentence “Mary winked at me, and Bob sighed.” If you leave out the comma before

“and,” the reader will have to decide whether Mary winked at only me or if she winked at me and Bob Only when the reader gets to “sighed” will he or she realize that Mary is winking at me and that Bob is the person sighing This makes the sentence confusing, and the reader may have

to re-read it to understand its meaning

That comma makes the sentence clear

Day 3: Be concise.

“Good things, when short, are twice as good.” (Baltasar Gracian)

Although this quote could be applied to many things, Gracian refers specifically to writing His point, and it’s a good one, is that texts written simply and briefly are superior to texts written in a lengthy and grandiose style Longer does not mean better In fact, the opposite is generally true

A writer who intentionally lengthens his or her documents will not produce good writing, and the reader will most likely be turned off However, this does not mean that short is better, either The point is for everything you write to add value to the reader

When we talk about economical writing, we echo Gracian Say what you have to say, but say it simply, clearly, and briefly Then stop

Day 4: Avoid over-generalizing.

One of my favorite expressions as a kid was, “Oh, yeah? Prove it.” (I was a precocious child.) Over-generalizing means making a general statement or reaching a conclusion from a very limited number of examples When you over-generalize, you invite your reader to ask, “Oh, yeah? Prove it.”

If you base an argument, concept, fact, idea, etc on your over-generalized statement, the reader can discredit everything you have written The reader only needs one example to prove you wrong

Here’s the tip that accompanies “avoid over-generalization”: When you make a general

statement, make sure it’s true in EVERY case

Some examples of over-generalizing are:

• “As everyone knows ”

• “She was always smiling.”

• “People loved her cooking.”

• “This is the most exciting movie.”

• “The stores in this town are no good.”

• “Text books are boring.”

• “People do this when they’re tired.”

• “Men are pigs, but women are angels.”

• “It figures.”

Day 5: Finish sentences with the most important information.

Why finish sentences with the most important information?

• Information at the end of a sentence has the most emphasis, the most impact

• People tend to remember best what they last hear or read

• Information at the end of a sentence serves as a transition to the next sentence When you provide important information, you will likely write more about it or address it in some way

Ask yourself, “What point am I trying to make, or what important idea am I trying to

communicate, in this sentence?” Revise your sentence to place that information at the end

Day 6: Place ending punctuation inside the quotation marks.

[Note to our friends in Great Britain: reverse the tip in the next paragraph, and you will probably

do fine.]

When providing a direct quote or using quotation marks to indicate that you are writing about a word or phrase, the comma or period that ends the phrase or sentence should be placed inside the final quotation mark [GB: outside the final quotation mark]

Examples:

• John said, “I am in love with Julie.”

• Many people don’t pronounce the final sound of the words “fast,” “quit,” and “stop.”

• When the man shouted “Halt,” I ran away

However, if your final punctuation is a question mark, semi-colon, or colon, and if that

punctuation mark is not part of the quote, then it should go outside

Example:

Did the boss say “fire everyone you can”?

Day 7: Use you only when you are writing to or about the reader.

Writers often use you to express a general observation, but it results in incorrect information Recently, I edited a graduate-level paper that repeatedly used you inappropriately For example,

one sentence said, “When you are in a meeting with your boss, you need to respect his right to express his opinions.” My response was “But I am the boss!”

This statement did not apply to me, so the information in the sentence was incorrect The

principle being expressed might be true, but the delivery was wrong

Here’s another example: “I like this store because they always give you a discount.” My

response was “They never gave one to me!”

Unless you are specifically writing to or about your reader, don’t use you.

Here’s how I revised those two sentences:

“The boss has a right to express his opinions in meetings.”

“I like this store because they always give me a discount.”

Day 8: Limit adjective use.

Adjectives can be useful (such as the one I just used: “useful”), but when you string them

together, they can bore, confuse, and turn off your readers

Consider this sentence: “The big, green, hairy, smelly monster crept out from under the small, afraid, whimpering boy’s bed.”

This has three problems First, it is boring The point is that a monster crept All those extra words detract from the significance of this event Second, it is complicated Every time the reader finds a new adjective, he or she has to modify his or her mental image of what is

happening Third, it is confusing Is the bed or the child small, afraid, and whimpering?

Here’s our advice, in three parts:

• Find one word that means what you are trying to say, preferably an action verb or

concrete noun instead of an adjective

• If you want to use an adjective before a noun, use only one adjective that means exactly what you are trying to say

• If you want to use adjectives after the noun, don’t use more than two

TOPICS DISCUSSED IN 300 DAYS OF BETTER WRITING

300 Days to Better Writing covers 38 topics, listed below with the number of daily strategies that

address each topic Note: The number of daily strategies below total more than 300 Some

strategies address more than one issue

convincing your reader, 22

dashes and hyphens, 7

descriptions, 33

editing process, 6

engaging readers, 24

formal vs informal tone, 10

getting to the point, 13

HUPAs, 3

impact and emphasis, 30

introductory phrases / clauses, 11

logic / making sense, 6