Writing Readable Sentences

Writing Readable Sentences discusses some three dozen guidelines for writing clear and exact sentences so the reader does not have to guess and read between the lines. The book does not focus on grammar but on increasing clarity through the elimination of logical disconnects caused by the wrong words, too many words or not enough words, and poorly located words. The guidelines, which are grouped into six broad categories, emerged during a review of papers written by university students. These papers included grammatical errors to be sure—subject-verb agreement and the like—but other issues that were not related to grammar, such as an incomplete subject or a poor verb choice, much more often caused confusion and even complete bewilderment. For each guideline, the handbook includes examples of problematic sentences taken from the student papers (with the problematic text in the sentence underlined in most cases), and the same sentences rewritten to address the problem. At the end of the book, there are exercises in applying the guidelines and “school solutions.” The six categories are: First Things First: Pay Close Attention to the Subject(s) and Verb(s); Construct Graspable Sentences that Unite and Advance the Message; Eliminate (or Minimize) Readers’ Uncertainty; Eliminate (or Minimize) Discrepancies; Use Word Combinations That Are Clear and Make Sense; and Be Concise and Improve Readability.