Clarity Part 2

In this blog post, I will once again discuss my weaknesses in writing clearly, directly related to sections of Rules for Writers.

Rejon. "Bocomo Missouri Pond Rejon's Parents." 04/24/10 via Clipart. Public Domain Dedication License

The first section on clarity I read over had to do with misuse of words, which is a problem I find myself struggling with on the rare occasion. The section just reminded me to be wary of certain words that I use that I think are synonymous to what I mean, but carry slightly different meanings, altering what I communicate.

Second, I read through a section on writing clearly, that discussed revising language that could potentially be offensive. Although this may not be an issue that I tend to struggle with, I feel it can be a trap that many can fall into unknowingly. Accidentally using offensive language without the intent of offending others can happen, and being aware of this is important.

For my third section I examined a portion of text that dealt with simplifying sentence structure. I think this might be the most important lesson for me to learn, and to integrate into my QRG. Often my sentence structure is overly complicated and confusing, especially for the less formal genre and style of a QRG. Learning to simplify my sentence structure by learning what types of words create extra words will make my QRG more straightforwards and clear for the audience.

Finally, I learned how to vary my sentence openers. Just learning how to maneuver certain phrases and words in my sentence structure to create clear and creative openers was a valuable lesson. This will be implemented into my QRG throughout, I am sure.






After editing my draft most of what I assumed in my earlier discussion was confirmed. While the two first sections I read were very useful lessons, they were not applicable to my draft, as I did not misuse words or use any offensive language. The second two portions I read were very helpful for my draft, and lead to key edits. Organizing my sentence structure, and streamlining it for clarity is important in the QRG genre. In the same way, I shuffled sentence order around to create more unique openers, that were easier to read and transitioned smoother.

An example from my draft is the sentence "However, he is by no means the only cyclist who participated in illegal conduct to enhance his performance." Previous to reviewing how to create unique sentence openers this sentence read, "He is by no means, however, the only cyclist who participated in illegal conduct to enhance his performance." After the edit the transition is smoother and the sentence as a whole has more flow, making it easier to read, helping the reader get down to the point the sentence communicates more easily.

Another example from my draft is the sentence "The data paired video footage of Froome’s race with corresponding information on Froome’s bodily and physiological functions during his cycling." Previous to editing this sentence read, "The released data paired some video footage of Froome’s cycling race with corresponding information related to Froome’s bodily and physiological functions during his cycling race." Clearly there are many unnecessary words here, due to a complicated sentence structure. However, after reading on eliminating unnecessary words, I was able to streamline the sentence and make its point more direct and clear.