Clarity, Part 2

In this blog post I will be taking four new topics from the Clarity section in Rules for Writers and discussing what I've learned.

Screenshot from my computer. 9/26/2015

Active verbs

Active verbs are an interesting aspect of writing I often fail to consider. Writing in the passive voice is very natural to me, but I see how writing in the active voice can be more optimal. I really need to train myself to think more in terms of active voice, since that creates an interesting sense of urgency effect in writing.

Variety

Variety is another aspect of writing that I neglect. Switching up the structures of sentences and their lengths are easy ways to add lots of spice to writing. I really just need to keep this in mind when I write, until it becomes natural for me to just switch things up every now and then.

Misplaced modifiers

This is one of my worst enemies when it comes to writing. I'll write a sentence in my head first and then copy it down onto the paper, but it doesn't always translate. Meaning something that makes sense in my head won't always make sense to the reader. Misplaced modifiers can lead to great confusion in the reader, a cardinal sin in writing. I need to pay more attention and make sure my writing is crystal clear.

Shifts

Shifts are another aspect that I need to work on. Making my writing as clear and as smooth as possible is my top priority. Watching my tense shifts is something I rarely pay attention to, it's just something I assume I do. Looking back at my writing I know this is not true! I will pay close attention to that in the future.

Examples from draft

" AI can exist in many different forms and can be used for many different purposes."

This is a great example of where I could incorporate more active verbs. Rather than saying "can exist" and "can be used" I might say "exist" and "is used".

"Would you have guessed that this was written by a computer program? If not, then this computer program would have passed what is called the Turing test. The Turing test is a test where a machine attempts to exhibit intelligence that makes itself indistinguishable from an actual human. The test is simple."

In this instance, I feel like I did a good job of adding variety to my sentences. I have several different kinds of sentences in this short paragraph. I have a question, a couple longer, explanatory sentences, and one short declaration. This type of variety makes reading a piece of writing much more interesting.