Clarity, Part 1

Rules for Writers provides an entire section on how to clarify one's writing. I felt strong in a few areas but I chose Mixed Construction, Variety, Wordy Sentences and Appropriate Language to write about because I struggle with these the most.

Unknown. "Man sitting at draft board" 1936 via National Archives and Records Administration Free License

1. Mixed Construction- Mixed Sentences typically have a mixture of tenses or an illogical flow to its sentence structure. Reading through this particular section I was surprised to find a lot of word cutting techniques discussed. Instead of adding words, the sentences used as examples were lacking flowery prose or ornate detail but instead got to the point. I really enjoyed reading about how to avoid certain sentence construction based around a certain word because I tend to fall into those traps.

2. Variety- Changing up sentence openings or how a sentence is structured can create an ever changing and fun read for the reader instead of monotony of simple sentences. In this section, I learned how to invert sentences. It wasn't that I didn't know how to invert sentences but I never thought to use it as a way to break the boring monotony of compound sentences I like to write in. Inverting my sentences is a way I can keep my readers interested in what I have to say.

3. Wordy Sentences- This word cutting portion of the clarity chapter was the most helpful section I read. After finishing a draft, I typically have way more words than necessary in every sentence I draft. Typically, the conflicting language throws readers off so learning how to get rid of repetitious words in my sentences and reducing clauses into words is a way to keep my readers on track.

4. Appropriate Language- This section can be boiled down to knowing who the audience is you are writing for and how to address this audience. Selecting how formal to write, word choice and selecting a voice that is courteous to all readers are the most important topics in this section. Translating these three topics into my writing will be helpful when developing a clear voice in my QRG.

Reflection-
I peer edited Clay and Scott's rough draft of their QRG. Clay did a good job of varying his sentences throughout his rough draft. Clay also did an excellent job of not using a lot of jargon while talking about internet security, "The NSA has repeatedly found monitoring people without their knowledge". Using simple words, Clay explains an event in his controversy that inherently is complicated in a simplified knowledge. This is a great use of appropriate language. Now, here is a sentence out of Scott's rough draft, "So with all of the many issues facing humanity, it isn’t really a surprise that not many people feel very strongly about space exploration, and those who do, and put it in the jumble of other issues often suggest that the money is being sent to a non-vital program, while other programs are given very little to do ‘more important’ work". Obviously, he is providing a lot good points but he isn't providing them in way that is clear to his reader. He is way too wordy so splitting up the sentence into two sentences will be more clear.