Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mahrer, K. D. Search for Related Content

Clearer sentences—Part 2

University of Denver, Colorado, U.S.

Corresponding author: K. Mahrer, kmahrer@du.edu

The first 20% of the full text of this article appears below.

My last column began a two-part series on clearer sentences based on Joseph M. Williams' vade mecum STYLE Toward Clarity and Grace. Part 1 introduced and developed Williams' first two principles of clear writing: subjects=characters and verbs=their actions. In clear sentences, the subjects and verbs overlay the characters and actions.

	Subject and characters

 
There are many types of characters. The most important and clearest are direct agents, the obvious source of the action: We initiated this project ...

Sometimes the subjects name a means by which an unstated character performs an action: Studies of fault traps show that ... which really means: People who study fault traps, find that ...

("Studies" takes the role of a character and that's clear enough). In poor sentences, however, characters are typically not explicit, and a review is required to bring them to light. In extreme cases, the characters may be so deeply buried below the surface that only the authors can revise and extract them from obscurity. The reconstruction of these sentences is the bane of all reviewers and editors.

	Verbs and action

 
"Action" means more than physical movement; it includes mental processes, feeling, relationships, etc. The following four-sentence progression becomes clearer as the verbs become more specific. Note also the improved clarity when the subject aligns with the character.

There has been . . . [Full Text of this Article]