EXERCISE 17: Revise to Create Proper Emphasis
and Increase Clarity
Barry, a sales manager for a large printer, explains, “I’m always wordy.
I find myself writing run-on sentences and I don’t use modifiers well.”
Take a look at Barry’s E-mail draft asking his sales staff for their
analysis of why sales are down.
After looking thoroughly at your reports on last month’s sales calls
describing who you saw and what objections to closing the sales were
raised, and reviewing those special and extraordinary events such as the
blizzard in the upper Midwest, as well as standard events such as President’s
Day, there seems to be no clear or definitive reason why sales are
down. In anticipation of our next regular meeting, I would like to solicit
your good ideas about what’s going wrong and what we all and each of
us can do to impact it. (Two sentences of sixty-one and thirty-two words
average forty-six-and-a-half words.)
You’ll note that Barry’s E-mail is long and unclear. You’ll also note
many modifying words and phrases. As you work to revise it, follow
the steps that have been outlined thus far in this chapter:
1. Look for compound sentences. If you find one, consider breaking
the sentence into two or more separate units.
2. In complicated sentences, consider how many separate thoughts
and ideas are being expressed. Can any be eliminated? Are
any redundant? Can separate thoughts be written as separate
sentences?
3. Think about Barry’s use of adverbs, adjectives, and modifying
phrases. Are they needed? Or are they diminishing the impact of
his verbs and nouns, and thus should be eliminated?
4. Decide if the ideas expressed in the modifying phrases are
important. If they are, are there more precise words that can
substitute for the longer phrases?
How did you do? Following the steps above, start by looking for compound
sentences. Are there any coordinating conjunctions (one of the
BOY’S FAN words)? No, there aren’t.
EXERCISE 17: Revise to Create Proper Emphasis
and Increase Clarity
Barry, a sales manager for a large printer, explains, “I’m always wordy.
I find myself writing run-on sentences and I don’t use modifiers well.”
Take a look at Barry’s E-mail draft asking his sales staff for their
analysis of why sales are down.
After looking thoroughly at your reports on last month’s sales calls
describing who you saw and what objections to closing the sales were
raised, and reviewing those special and extraordinary events such as the
blizzard in the upper Midwest, as well as standard events such as President’s
Day, there seems to be no clear or definitive reason why sales are
down. In anticipation of our next regular meeting, I would like to solicit
your good ideas about what’s going wrong and what we all and each of
us can do to impact it. (Two sentences of sixty-one and thirty-two words
average forty-six-and-a-half words.)
You’ll note that Barry’s E-mail is long and unclear. You’ll also note
many modifying words and phrases. As you work to revise it, follow
the steps that have been outlined thus far in this chapter:
1. Look for compound sentences. If you find one, consider breaking
the sentence into two or more separate units.
2. In complicated sentences, consider how many separate thoughts
and ideas are being expressed. Can any be eliminated? Are
any redundant? Can separate thoughts be written as separate
sentences?
3. Think about Barry’s use of adverbs, adjectives, and modifying
phrases. Are they needed? Or are they diminishing the impact of
his verbs and nouns, and thus should be eliminated?
4. Decide if the ideas expressed in the modifying phrases are
important. If they are, are there more precise words that can
substitute for the longer phrases?
How did you do? Following the steps above, start by looking for compound
sentences. Are there any coordinating conjunctions (one of the
BOY’S FAN words)? No, there aren’t.
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