Week Three
- Syntax: The arrangement of words in a sentence
- Being verbs=passive
- Intransitive verbs= more active
- Transitive verbs= most active
- Syntax can set the tone, the speed, or it can emphasize certain areas.
- The construction and length of these sentences determines the factors listed above
- Fan Boys (For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)
- Subordinating Conjunctions- a conjunction that connects subordinate words, phrases, or clauses to some other sentence element(ex. if, as, so, unless, although, when)
- Compound Sentence- sentence of two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined by a conjunction or conjunctions
- Complex Sentence- has one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses
- Simple Sentence- A sentence having no coordinate or subordinate clauses
- Independent Clause- A group of words made up of a subjectand a predicate. An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence.
Clarity
- be clear in thoughts and words- say what you mean
- rely on good strong verbs, don’t always lean towards formal
- keep major aspects clear
The Plain Style
- Don’t always need to write formally, but you should never rely on plain style
- Find a voice and stick with it
- Don’t fear plainness, sometimes it makes for a better essay
Concision
- Avoid being to ‘wordy’
- A few strong verbs are better then lots of weak ones
- Use an active voice not a passive voice,
- be suspicious of adverbs
- cut out empty words and phrases
Rhetoric
- simple can be the best choice sometimes
- parallelism, done well, can add grace and power to a passage
- repetition drives home an idea
- don't change tenses in a writing
- the rule of three
- easy on the humor
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