Читать книгу Effective Writing - Elizabeth Manning Murphy - Страница 13

Correct grammar alone will not ensure that a sentence works. Some very long sentences are grammatically correct, but they fail because of their length. Some sentences seem readable until we strike a word or expression that jars or conflicts with the structure of the rest of the sentence. The writer’s aim is to be understood at first reading. It is your responsibility to be clear – not your reader’s task to unscramble your muddled message. Whatever your purpose, to be clear you need to make sure you do not confuse your reader by writing sentences that:

 jar because of inconsistent structure (non-parallelism)

 could have two meanings (ambiguity)

 leave the reader in mid-air (fragments).

There are some extra aspects of writing that you need to be aware of when you write documents that must do a job as quickly and efficiently as possible. These include:

 appropriate length of sentences

 choice of active or passive verbs

 dynamism – action verbs or verbal nouns

 suitable words for the occasion and the audience

 economy of words

 jargon – either avoid or explain it (see Chapter 11, Choosing your words).