Good Writing Part 4 ~ Unity - Basic Writing Skills

-
Good writing has four major characteristics: conciseness (economy), clarity, variety, and unity

4. Unity

Be sure that every part of a sentence is related to one main idea. Correct a lack of unity by breaking a sentence into shorter sentences or by subordinating one part of a sentence to a main part.

LACKING UNITY: The cockroach is a survivor, and the body can survive for weeks if the head is carefully removed.
HAVING UNITY: The cockroach is a survivor. The body can survive for weeks if the head is carefully removed.

LACKING UNITY: The ancestors of the horse were only a foot tall, and modern Percherons may stand over five feet at the shoulders.
HAVING UNITY: Although the ancestors of the horse were only a foot tall, modern Percherons may stand over five feet at the shoulders.

Overlapping Construction
Avoid a series of that, which, or who clauses. Too many make a sentence unwieldy.

UNWIELDY: In the 1860s, a New York firm offered a prize which would be awarded for a satisfactory substitute for ivory which was used in the manufacture of billiard balls which were in demand because of the growing popularity of billiards.

MANAGEABLE: In the 1860s, a New York firm offered a prize for an ivory substitute. Ivory had been used in the manufacture of billiard balls for the increasingly popular game of billiards.

Parallel Structure
Be sure items are parallel. Ordinarily, and and but connect like grammatical elements—for example, two or more nouns, verbs, adjectives, phrases, or clauses.

NOT PARALLEL: At camp, we most enjoyed swimming, hiking, and how to play volleyball.
PARALLEL: At camp, we most enjoyed swimming, hiking, and playing volleyball.

NOT PARALLEL: Our dog Jolly is tiny, a rich brown coat, and a perky disposition.
PARALLEL: Our dog Jolly is tiny, wears a rich brown coat, and has a perky disposition.

NOT PARALLEL: A good driver obeys the speed limit, is alert, and she takes no risks on the road.
PARALLEL: A good driver obeys the speed limit, is alert, and takes no risks on the road



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Closest Family Member - IELTS Speaking Part 2 & Band 8.0+ Sample Answer (Part 5)

-
Describe a family member you are closest to You should say: who this person is; describe some things you have done together; and explain why you like this person. Band 9.0 Sample Answer I’m grateful to have such a supportive and caring family who are always there for me no matter what. We have 5 members in the house that’s always full of laughter : my parents, my two sisters and me. Even though I l ove them all to the moon and back , my younger sister, Jade, is the one that’s closest to me. Jade is seven years younger than me, which might create some sense of generation gap, yet, we still get along well , or at least most of the time. She is in high school now and has a dream of becoming a doctor one day. In term of appearance, we have little in common . By that I mean while I’m kind of tall, she’s relatively short; while I take after my father, she’s my mom’s splitting image . Same thing with our characteristics. I am people-oriented and a true ...
See more »

Rail Networks ~ Table Types - Writing Task 1

-
Image
The table below gives information about the underground railway systems in six cities. The table shows data about the underground rail networks in six major cities. The table compares the six networks in terms of their age, size and the number of people who use them each year. It is clear that the three oldest underground systems are larger and serve significantly more passengers than the newer systems. The London underground is the oldest system, having opened in 1863. It is also the largest system, with 394 kilometres of route. The second largest system, in Paris, is only about half the size of the London underground, with 199 kilometres of route. However, it serves more people per year. While only third in terms of size, the Tokyo system is easily the most used, with 1927 million passengers per year. Of the three newer networks, the Washington DC underground is the most extensive, with 126 kilometres of route, compared to only 11 kilometres and 28 kilometres for the...
See more »

DESCRIBING DATA - Writing Tips

-
Image
When describing data, or anything for that matter, it is important to include details and comments on what is significant, to show that you are aware of which features are critically important and require comment. Descriptions are not very useful unless they are detailed. Details need also to be put into perspective – compared and contrasted with something (a shared standard or reference point); or located during or over a particular period of time. Making comments demonstrates that the significance of trends, or of what is being described, is appreciated. It also helps the reader to appreciate the importance of these trends. In describing data there are several aspects to consider: 1. Organisation of good description of data - how to construct a complete description 2. Language choices in descriptions of data - language choice enables variety 3. Register - formal and informal language choices 4. Prepositions of Time – there are several prepositions (at, in, ...
See more »