English for Careers Chapter 12 Polishing Your Writing

English for Careers

Chapter 12Polishing Your

Writing

English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10th ed. Smith and Moore

© 2010 Pearson Higher Education,Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights

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Your goals for Chapter 12

Write complete and correct sentences.

Write clearly and concisely. Use friendly language in your writing.

Use the grammar, word choices, and punctuation you practiced in Chapters 2-11.



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Writing complete sentencesAre these fragments, run-ons, commas splices, or sentences?Hoping to hear from you for your input.

FragmentI hope to hear from you we need your input.

Run-on



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Fragments, run-ons, commas splices, or sentences?

I hope to hear from you, we need your input.

Comma SpliceI hope to hear from you; we need your input.

Sentence



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To avoid a fragment: Make sure a word group has a subject, a verb, and independence.

If a word group does not contain these elements, it is a fragment.



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To avoid a run-or comma splice:

Separate independent clauses with a period followed by a capital letter.

Join independent clauses with a comma and coordinating conjunction.



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Join independent clauses with a semicolon, either with or without a transitional expression following the semicolon.

Make one of the independent clauses dependent.



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Written workplace communications must be:

Clear Correct Concise Courteous Logical



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Sentence Faults

Result in problems for readers Readers are amused or distracted by errors

Readers have to seek clarifications

Readers feel their time is wasted



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Sentence Faults

Prevent writers from achieving their objectives

Miscommunications happen Frustrations mount The company looks unprofessional

Business suffers



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Sentence fault #1 – sentence length Avoid short “choppy” sentences

combine them Avoid very long sentences try to keep sentences under 25-

30 words Vary sentence length



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Combine choppy sentences. Jane likes to work. Dick Likes to play.

Jane likes to work, but Dick likes to play.

Jane likes to work and Dick likes to play.

Although Jane likes to work, Dick likes to play.



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Combine choppy sentences. The play was long. It was boring. The actors forgot their lines.

The play was long and boring, and the actors forgot their lines.

The play was long and boring. In addition, the actors forgot their lines.



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Beware of “gobbledygook” —long words and long sentences:

Use short instead of long words Eliminate unnecessary words Break up long, complicated sentences

Avoid pompous language



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Clarify gobbledygook

To prevent interference of respiration due to the obstruction of the larynx region, masticate sustenance with absolute thoroughness.

To prevent choking, chew food thoroughly.



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Sentence fault #2—vague pronoun references

Correct pronoun references that create confusion. Joe and Ed are going in his car.

(whose car?)Joe and Ed are going in Ed’s car.



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Correct vague pronoun reference We need a trainer for the dog who speaks German.

(the dog speaks German?) We need a dog trainer who speaks German.



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Sentence fault #3—misplaced words

Avoid misplaced words that create confusion (or unintended amusement) Mom has the recipe for the apple pie, which is in her head.

(she has an apple pie in her head?)

Mom’s apple pie recipe is in her head, not written down.



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Correct misplaced words Joy drove her boyfriend’s car whom she has been dating for three months.

(she’s dating a car?) The car Joy drove belongs to her boyfriend, whom she’s been dating for three months.



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Sentence fault #4—inconsistent word formsUse consistent wording for a series of words or phrases (parallel parts )

Not parallel Americans have a right to live, having liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Parallel Americans have a right to life, to liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness.



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Sentence fault #5—the voice of verbs

Choose the active or passive voice, depending on what you want to emphasize.

ActiveThe senator broke the president’s vase.

PassiveThe vase was broken by the senator.



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Making the choiceActive (direct) The subject does the verb’s action

Use active for most workplace writing

Passive (indirect) The subject receives the action Use passive for tact or emphasis



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Are these sentences active or passive? The soloist sang the aria off-key.Active subject (soloist) did the action (sang)

The aria was sung off-key.Passive aria was sung “by someone” off-key

If inserting “by someone” after the verb makes sense, the voice is passive.



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Active or passive? Antonio forgot to tune the piano.Active subject (Antonio) did the action (forgot)

The piano wasn’t tuned.Passive piano wasn’t tuned “by someone”



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Sentence fault #7—dangling verbals

Don’t let your verbals dangle in public!

Flying overhead, the guide pointed out the rare whooping cranes.

(the guide was flying?) The guide pointed out the rare whooping cranes flying overhead.



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Correct the dangling verbal Smothered in fudge, we ate the delicious sundaes. (we were smothered in fudge?)

Smothered in fudge, the sundaes we ate were delicious.



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Checkpoint

You now know what makes workplace writing work!

Documents

English for Careers Chapter 12 Polishing Your Writing