Writing with good style
Effective writing requires a good knowledge of appropriate writing style, and
a sound understanding of how to avoid poor writing style.
General principles
First, let’s consider some general principles that can guide your writing,
whatever the discipline and whatever the purpose. The following seven points of
style can be useful in the preparation of any piece of written work.
1. Be clear
- In general, keep sentences short and convey a single point in each sentence
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2. Be concise
- Where possible, use shorter words and phrases
- Write succinctly, to the point and without unnecessary
verbosity
- Use the fewest number of words
Read your text over carefully and, for each sentence, ask, "Do I need
every word?", "Are there redundant words or phrases?".
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3. Enjoy precision
- Familiarise yourself with the scientific terms and expressions in your
field
- Check that your written work communicates the meaning
that you intend
- Check that you mean what you are communicating in your written work
- Check word usage. Effective writing is writing that
says precisely what the writer means and means precisely what the writer intended.
Consult a dictionary to check the meaning of any words about which you are unsure,
and use a thesaurus cautiously, always checking the meaning of synonyms in a dictionary
before using them in your written work.
- Be particularly careful with words that have a specific meaning in particular
disciplines
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4. Be consistent
- Use terms consistently throughout your essay or report (keeping in mind
the importance of literary variation; see below)
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5. Be accurate
- State measurements using the correct notations and symbols
- Report your statistics correctly and using APA style
- Make sure that your language conveys when a fact is a fact and when a
possibility or hypothesis is being put forward
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6. Check disciplinary expectations
- Different styles of writing are used in different disciplines
- The differences are particularly pronounced in written
work prepared for different purposes. So, for example, a piece of written work
that is about a technical subject or a laboratory report in a scientific discipline
is very different in style from a sociology or fine arts essay.
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7. Be honest
- Reference all sources of information
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Those seven points can be most helpful when you are writing an essay, a laboratory
report, or some other written assignment.
Some specific issues
Beyond those general principles outlined above, however, there are many issues
that, for the person who is keen to write well, are also important issues to bear
in mind. The first of these are expressed as a recommendation for what you should
aim to avoid.
1. Avoid excessively long compounds
Often writers use a string of adjectives before a noun. Such strings reduce
clarity.
- For example, in the sentence
A new type motor skills college performance test
it is unclear whether there is a new motor skills test or college performance
test.
Rewriting this sentence, in the following way,
A new kind of motor skills test used in colleges
can help to clarify its meaning
2. Avoid wordy phrases
Very long phrases take the focus from the intended meaning.
So, for each of the phrases below, an alternative can be used that gives more
focus (without altering the meaning).
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Wordy phrase
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Preferable alternative
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a considerable amount
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much
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a majority of
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most
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a number of
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many
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are of the same opinion
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agree
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at this point in time
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now
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based on the fact that
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because
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despite the fact that
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although
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in many cases
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often
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in the event that
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if
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on a daily basis
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daily
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take into consideration
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consider
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through the use of
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by
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3. Avoid oxymorons
An oxymoron refers to the conjoining of contradictory or incongruous terms.
- For example, in each of the phrases listed below, the words
contradict or are inconsistent.
only choice
thoroughly inadequate
important trivia
pretty ugly
may certainly
strongly suggests
4. Avoid excessively long sentences
Long sentences can be difficult to read. Of course, some brilliant writers
deliberately use long sentences. A hallmark of Marcel Proust’s writing, for
example, are his long and often very convoluted sentences. Few of us, however,
can claim to write like Proust.
In general terms, shorter sentences are more effective. Readers typically read
all the way to the full stop before pausing to absorb what they have read. For
that reason, long sentences can strain their memories. So, many readers regard
long sentences as hard work.
To shorten long sentences,
- sort out the different ideas
- have only one or two ideas in each sentence
- locatet the qualifications and modifications of ideas into separate sentences
- locate conditions attached to the main ideas into separate
sentences
- locate explanations into separate sentences
- For example,
Freud’s theory of personality development involves 5 stages, the oral
period, the anal period, the phallic period, the latency period and the genital
period, each of which the child must pass through in order to fully develop and
if they do not pass through each stage successfully then they may become fixated,
which can later be manifested as immature behaviour.
By shortening the sentence, and therefore writing separate sentences for each
of the ideas, the above paragraph, rewritten below, reads more easily.
Freud’s theory of personality development involves 5 stages. These are
the oral period, the anal period, the phallic period, the latency period and the
genital period. The child must pass through each stage in order to fully develop.
If they do not pass through each stage successfully then they may become fixated,
which can later be manifested as immature behaviour.
5. Avoid changing the structure of ideas
Adhering to a consistent structure helps to highlight the equivalence of ideas.
- For example, in the sentence
Freud posited that there are many defense mechanisms, such as repression, the
displacement of feelings, projection, and regressing back to childhood.
the change in the way that the last of the ideas is expressed (regressing back
to childhood) distracts the reader’s attention from the point that is being
made, which is the list of the defense mechanisms.
In contrast, if the sentence is reworded as
Freud posited that there are many defense mechanisms, such as repression, displacement,
projection, and regression.
the sentence stresses for the reader that the writer is talking about the same
type of things.
6. Avoid randomly ordering ideas
It is much easier to follow what a writer is saying if the ideas are ordered
logically or chronologically.
- For example, the following sentence,
Before you start writing your answers, read the questions carefully.
is more difficult to follow than
Read the questions carefully before you start writing your answers.
In other words, because the readers are meant to read the questions before they
start writing any answers, the instructions should reflect the order in which
things are to be done.
7. Avoid non-specific referents
Nonspecific referents present problems for clarity of writing.
- For example, in the sentences,
Engineering students sometimes have difficulty writing essays. In particular,
they dislike essays about historical topics. These require additional attention.
The word "these" constitutes a nonspecific referent. It is not clear
to what it refers. You might assume that "these" refers to "essays
about historical topics". While that is possible, it could also refer to
"Engineering students". All sentences should be clear.
To increase the clarity in this example, "engineering students" should
replace "these".
8. Avoid run-on sentences
Run-on sentences are sentences that should be divided, but which
have been simply run-on, and are joined with a comma or a conjunction.
- For example, the first of the following is a run-on sentence
and is therefore incorrect. The second is correct
 Learning
to write effectively can take some time, it is a worthwhile endeavour and you
should try it.
 Learning
to write effectively can take some time; it is a worthwhile endeavour. You should
try it.
9. Avoid tautologies
Tautology, according to Fowler’s Modern English Usage, is literally,
saying the same thing, that is, as one has already said.
The following table provides a list of widely used tautological expressions
that are best eliminated from your writing.
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Replace the following
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with the following
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actual fact
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fact
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close proximity
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close
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consensus of opinion
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consensus
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new initiative
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initiative
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reason why
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reason
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Having identified several potential problems for good writing style, or things
to be avoided, we next outline some additional issues that good writing style
will pay attention to.
1. Use relational words carefully
As the label implies, relational words describe the relations between
things. In general, the relation should be identified within the same sentence
- For example,
On average, males are heavier than females
or
Psychology is similar to psychiatry in some respects. Psychology is
different from anatomy in many ways
2. Use comparatives and superlatives appropriately
Comparatives are used to compare two things. Often comparatives are
formed by adding "er" to the adjective.
- For example,
The males are heavier than the females
Always use "less" for amount and "fewer" for number.
- For example,
There is less milk and butter and fewer eggs in the organs cake
than in the chocolate cake
Superlatives refer to comparatives involving "most". According
to Partridge’s Usage and Abusage, superlatives must be used only when
there are three or more persons or things.
- For example,
while one would say, She is the older of the two sisters
one would need to say, She is the oldest of the three children
or She is the tallest of them all.
3. Accentuate the positive
It is generally easier to understand things expressed positively .
- For example,
Calculate the average weight for all the males under 50 years
rather than expressed in a negative way,
Calculate the average weight for all the males, except those who are not younger
than 50.
4. Use literary variation
Provide interest for your reader by varying the construction you use. It is
rather boring to read the same verb, phrase, or clause over and over.
- For example,
Bloggs et al (1920) found that …. Dubbing et al (1980) found that ….
and Harrison (2000) found that …….
Introduce variation in construction.
- For example,
Bloggs et al (1920) found that ….. Dubbing et al (1980) also established
that ….. , and the results of Harrison’s (2000) study were that ……
5. Resist being emphatic with adverbs and adjectives
Use adjectives and adverbs instead to provide precision.
- For example,
instead of a disastrous event, use a disaster;
and rather than numerous examples use the exact number;
and in place of a relatively large effect, use the precise data, 55
percent of the participants.
6. Write with care
A few basic things to keep in mind when writing effectively are split infinitives,
and preposition positions.
An infinitive expresses a verb without any predicate or subject.
- For example, to see, to learn, to write
effectively.
Infinitives should be kept intact.
- For example,
To heavily sigh puts an adverb between the two parts of the infinitive.
It should read, To sigh heavily.
Prepositions are best kept away from the end of a sentence.
- For example,
instead of This is a trial I will not suffer with,
you are best to write, This is a trial with which I will not suffer
- Now that you undestand the general principles and the specific
issues involved in good writing style, you should try the following activity:Good
writing style
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