Style

Avoid Unnecessary Shifts in Point of View

Creative Challenges - consistent point of view, first person, inconsistent pronouns, perspective, point of view, second person, shift in point of view, third person

Although there are occasions when a shift in point of view is appropriate, unnecessary and inconsistent shifts—especially within a sentence—are distracting to the reader and can cause a confusing change in perspective.

How can you correct an unnecessary shift in point of view?

In a passage where an unnecessary shift has been noted, go through and highlight each of the point of view words.
Change the point of view of the inconsistent pronouns to align them with the primary point of view that has already been established.

Avoid Unnecessary Shifts in Verb Tense

Creative Challenges - change, coherence, distracting, example, future, irregular verb, paper, paragraph, past, present, primary tense, reader, sentence, shift, tense, time, time perspective, verb tense

Why is it important to avoid unnecessary shifts in verb tense?

The verb tense expresses a sense of time in a sentence, paragraph, paper, or longer work. Generally, the writer should establish the time perspective (past, present, or future) in the opening sentence and maintain that tense consistently throughout his or her work.

Although there are occasions when a shift in tense is appropriate, unnecessary and inconsistent shifts—especially within a sentence—are distracting to the reader and can cause a break in overall coherence.

Run-on Sentences

What is a run-on sentence?

A run-on (or fused) sentence consists of two or more independent clauses that have been joined without appropriate punctuation or coordinating words. Dividing a run-on sentence into concise, meaningful units can help to clarify your message.

How might this run-on sentence be divided?

Locate the fused independent clauses; it may help to underline the subject-verb pairs.
Draw a vertical line (or lines) on your paper to separate the independent clauses.

Clarify Vague Pronoun References

Creative Challenges - antecedent, as, clarity, it, noun, pronoun, replace, special, that, this, which

What is a vague pronoun reference?

A pronoun is a part of speech that can replace a noun; its antecedent is the person, place, or thing to which the pronoun refers. A vague pronoun reference might include words such as it, that, this, and which, and can leave the reader wondering what or to whom the pronoun refers. Writers who strive for clarity in their work should be certain that each pronoun has a specific antecedent.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Creative Challenges - action, agreement, correspond, person, plural, sentence, singular, subject, subject-verb, verb, verb changes

What is subject-verb agreement?

In a sentence, the form of the verb changes, or is conjugated, to reflect the relationship between the subject and the action being performed. To bring the subject and verb into agreement, they must correspond in number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, or third).

Cliché

Creative Challenges - cliches; overused phrases; combining; different context; compelling message; original

Cliché is an overused word, phrase or opinion. “As luck would have it, at the drop of a hat I was at my wits’ end.” What does this sentence say? Anything? Nothing? Nothing new—this sentence contains three clichés strung together. Just as you want to avoid archaic and discipline-specific language (jargon), you also want to ...

Jargon

Creative Challenges - jargon; clarity; group-specific language; familiar; audience; discourse community; language; complex terms

Have you ever read the first few sentences of a scholarly article and been so annoyed by the denseness of the writing? Take this line for example: “On the contrary, I proffer that the ontological necessity to determine the nature of dwelling resides within the viewer.” What does this mean? I have no idea, either. That’s because I’m not a philosopher, and “ontological” is a term that is not used very often outside of philosophical endeavors.

Perhaps the most important aspect of writing is clarity. You’re writing to communicate a message, yes? Don’t you want your message to be received? Well, writing with obscure or group-specific language will often muddle your point. Use words with which you’re familiar—and, more importantly, words with which your audience will be familiar.

Archaism

Creative Challenges - Archaisms; out-of-style; word; phrase; whilst; thusly; thou; writing style; artificial; audience; diction; suited; voice

An archaism refers to an out-of-style word or phrase, such as “whilst,” “thusly,” or “thou.” When cultivating your own personal writing style, it’s important that you avoid sounding artificial. And one surefire way to sound artificial is to produce stilted writing by loading your paper with old theatrical-sounding words. Here are some archaisms commonly found in student writing (ones to avoid):

Thusly: You can use “thus” in writing, but be careful not to overuse it. Constantly repeating the word “thus” can make your writing sound unnatural. Try varying your transitional language by incorporating phrases like “as such,” “as a result,” or “in effect.” “Thusly,” however, should never be used. When have you ever heard that word used in modern-day society?

Academic Language vs. Colloquial Language

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 by Brianna Jerman

Creative Challenges - academic, Academic language, audience, broad audience, clarity, clear, college-level, colloquial diction, communicate, direct, expectation, grammar, language, Organize, shift, speaking, word choice, writing

In what ways have you fulfilled the assignment requirements as they relate to audience, appropriate persona/tone, and rhetorical stance? Why is this word choice/diction inappropriate (conversational) for your audience? What might be more appropriate?

For students and teachers alike, most writing occurs in non-academic settings—notes, e-mails, Facebook posts, blogs, shopping lists, etc. In these writing settings, it is perfectly fine to “write as you speak,” using a conversational tone and slang terms.

Figurative Language

What is Figurative Language? It’s the use of words in nonliteral ways: Personification & Metaphor Examples: “Your government is working night and day to repel this virus, and we will succeed, just as this country has seen off every alien invader for the last thousand years” (Boris Johnson) a tool writers, speakers, knowledge workers . ...

Avoid Unnecessary Shifts in Point of View

How can you correct an unnecessary shift in point of view?

Avoid Unnecessary Shifts in Verb Tense

Why is it important to avoid unnecessary shifts in verb tense?