Clarity, Part 1

For this blog post I will use the Rules for Writers book and read information under the Clarity section.  I will choose four topics in this section in which I can learn more information about them, which can ultimately help me improve my own writing (project 2).

Files, Adam. "Clarity - Zedd". 31 October 2014 via Wikimedia Commons Public Domain 

Topic 1:
The first topic I have chosen to learn more about is "Prefer active verbs".  After reading about which types of verbs are involved in writing (passive or active), I have realized that when I write my rhetorical analysis, it would be better for me to utilize active verbs rather than passive.  I found this information to be helpful from the reading, "Active verbs express meaning more emphatically and vigorously than their weaker counterparts -- forms of the verb be or verbs in the passive voice" (112).  The idea of needing an emphatic meaning in my paper is not a new idea for me, but in previous English classes, I have used a good mix of passive and active verbs.  What is a bit surprising for me is the difference in the use of verbs can change the tone of the paper that someone writes.

Topic 2:
The second topic I have chosen to learn more about is "Emphasize key ideas".  I already knew that placing emphasis on the key ideas in a paper was an important way to get the message across.  What I found surprising was the difference between coordination and subordination.  I did not know the difference between the two and after reading this section, I find that knowing what they mean can help me in my paper.  To summarize, "Coordination draws attention equally to two or more ideas" (141).  "To give unequal emphasis to two or more ideas, express the major idea in an independent clause and place any minor ideas in subordinate clauses or phrases" (142).  After closely reading about the difference between, I now know how to effectively use them in my rhetorical analysis.

Topic 3:
The third topic I have chosen to learn more about is "Provide some variety".  I find that I sometimes follow the PIE method too closely and feel that I have to approach individual paragraphs in my papers a different way.  After reading this section, I found the key takeaways were varying sentence openings, utilize different sentence structures, and occasionally invert sentences.  I found it surprising after reading this section that I could use them in my paper and possibly make my paper seem more appealing to read.

Topic 4:
The last topic that I have chosen to learn more about is "Tighten wordy sentences".  I find that I sometimes use long sentences in my papers.  Not that this information is new to me, but seems a bit more surprising is that, a shorter sentence may actually improve the quality of the information provided in an area of the paper, rather than include long pieces of information that may seem to drag the paper in a more ineffective way.  Simplifying information in a paragraph may not seem like a good approach to presenting a reader with all of the information you want to provide them with, but may be a more useful and concise way to get around the topic in a paper.