Spice it Up People!

Essays. E-mails. Letters. No matter which method you choose, it is unavoidable to escape the written language in today’s society. We use these forms of communication plus more on a daily basis, so it baffles me when I read my peers’ work and struggle to get through it. Unclear, boring, or ineffective, it amazes me how many people fail to write strong, grammatically correct sentences. At this point in our lives, we have been accustomed to formal writing for well over a decade. Effective writing has been a factor in almost every major mile stone in our lives thus far whether it is the SATs or a final exam. Writing even helped to determine how we are here today; it was an essay that helped secure our acceptance at this very institution. Why then are so many intelligent people capable of putting others to sleep with their writing?

In order to avoid being the cause for an epidemic of naps, continue reading to get some helpful tips about how to spice up your writing. Implement these suggestions in your everyday writing and before you know it, people will be lined up to read what you have to say.

Vary your sentences.

Sentences that sound alike and are unvaried in structure will bore readers. Sentence variety is essential in order to ensure that you maintain the audience’s attention.

-Alternate short and long sentences
· A string of short sentences sounds choppy but long, complicated sentences tend to confuse readers because there is too much information to take in. A balance between the two is necessary to keep readers’ on their toes.

Example:

The Winslow family visited Canada and Alaska last summer to find some Native American art. In Anchorage stores they found some excellent examples of soapstone carvings.

Possible Revision:

The Winslow family visited Canada and Alaska last summer to find some Native American art, such as soapstone carvings and wall hangings. Anchorage stores had many soapstone items available. (Purdue Owl)

-Vary sentence openings

· Do not always start with the subject; shift word order for emphasis.
· Adjust sentence openings to the tone and emphasis of the sentence.

Example:

The biggest coincidence that day happened when Sam and I ended up sitting next to each other at the soccer game.

Possible Revision:

Coincidentally, Sam and I ended up sitting right next to each other at the soccer game.

*A good rule of thumb to follow: a string of sentences should never sound alike.

Combine sentences with Conjunctions.

-Use conjunctions like and, but, or, nor, yet, for, so to eliminate choppy sentences.

Choppy sentence: Molly likes the color blue. Sandra likes purple.
Improved sentence: Molly likes the color blue and Sandra likes purple.

Choppy sentence: She was the smallest girl on the team. She was the fastest player.
Improved sentence: She was the smallest girl on the team, yet she was the fastest player.

Link sentences through Subordination.

Subordination means to combine two sentences so that one is the main idea and the other is no longer a complete sentence. This is the clearest way to show how two ideas are related and helps to reduce the number of short, choppy sentences. You may subordinate with:

(1) Adjective Clause—who, whom, which, that, when, or where
(2) Adverb Clause—when, if, because, although
(3) Noun Clause—who, that, what, whatever

Example:

The campus parking problem is getting worse. The university is not building any new garages.

Revision:
The campus parking problem is getting worse because the university is not building any new garages. (Purdue Owl)

Use Reduction.

-Eliminate needless words
-Try not to repeat the same word too often

Use Parallel Structure.

-Use the same grammatical form for each item when coordinating or comparing:

Not Parallel:
They tried singing and to dance.

Parallel:
They tried singing and dancing.
They tried to sing and to dance. (English Simplified)

When you have finished writing, do not be in such a rush to turn it in. Take your time to carefully review what you have written to check for mistakes, repetition, or various improvements that could be made. You have taken the time to write it already, so take a few more minutes to make sure it is perfect!

Read paper aloud.
Reading aloud is a great way to catch mistakes. When people read aloud, they are able to hear what they are saying. Reading silently makes you more likely to skim it and overlook simple errors.

Have someone peer edit.
In most cases when we write, other people will be reading it. Since this is already the case, it is helpful to get a second opinion before you turn in your work. A peer edit is helpful because writers can get a sense of how audiences will respond to their writing.

Are you bored?
If you are bored by your own writing then you can guarantee that others will be. Use the tips above to help add some variety to your writing.

Come back to it later.
When you work at something for a long period of time, it is easy to become unfocused. There may be times when you feel frustrated that you cannot put into words all that you need to say. When this occurs, take a step back and return to it later. A mental break allows you to recharge and generate new ideas.

I hope these tips will be useful to you and help you to see that writing does not have to be boring. With the right techniques, writing can be enjoyable for both the writer and reader.

Happy writing!

Resources:

"Effective Sentences." Higgins, Blanche Ellsworth and John A. English Simplified. Pearson Education, Inc., 2007. 20-22.

The Owl at Purdue. 2009. 27 April 2009 .