Sentence Clarity

Go from old to new information: which of the following is the clearest one?

• The paper is blue and green (new). There is a piece of paper on the desk (old).

• The rapid disappearance of the Indian culture (new) is the topic of a recent movie I saw (old).

• In the last part of the speech (old), Lincoln claims that God gave the Civil War to both North and South as punishment for slavery (new).

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.2

CCSS.RI.7.2

CCSS.RI.8.2

CCSS.RL.7.2

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

Avoid multiple negatives: which of the following is the clearest one?

• People pay more attention to commercials with human interest stories than to other kinds of commercials.

• The secret cave did not have none of the treasures they wanted.

• The star couldn’t sing no more after the matinee performance.

Placement of subordinate clauses: which of the following is the clearest one?

• Industrial spying, because of the growing use of computers to store and process corporate information, is increasing rapidly.

• Larry’s wedding coordinator, who planned his last eight ceremonies, is hiring more staff.

• Sarah, who just won a trillion dollars, says that her name means “princess” in English.

Tags

CCSS.L.6.2A

CCSS.L.7.1A

CCSS.L.9-10.1B

Avoid unclear pronoun references: which of the following is the clearest one?

• Roger refused to defuse the explosive postage stamp, which angered all the postal workers.

• Olivia worked in a national forest last summer, which may be her career choice.

• Because Ethan is less interested in the environment than in economic development. He sometimes neglects it.

Tags

CCSS.L.3.1A

CCSS.L.6.1A

CCSS.L.6.1C

CCSS.L.6.1D

Go from old to new information: what is the correct order?

• New - New

• Old - Old

• New - Old

• Old - New

Avoid multiple negatives: what is the correct rule?

• Use negatives as much as possible.

• Put 100 negatives in one sentence.

• Use affirmative forms rather than several negatives.

Tags

CCSS.L.1.1J

CCSS.L.2.1F

CCSS.L.4.1C

Placement of subordinate clauses: what is the correct rule?

• Put subordinate clauses anywhere you want.

• Avoid interrupting the main clause with a subordinate clause if it will cause confusion.

• Subordinate clauses only can go before the main clause.

Tags

CCSS.L.3.1A

Avoid unclear pronoun references: what is the correct rule?

• This, he, that, she, they, it, and we are useful pronouns for referring back to something previously mentioned.

• One pronoun refers to many nouns.

• Should not be careful about pronoun references.

Tags

CCSS.L.3.1A

CCSS.L.6.1A

CCSS.L.6.1C

CCSS.L.6.1D

What is the cutest animal in the world?

• Dog

• Cat

• Rabbit

• Panda

Go from old to new information: is this sentence written correctly?

• No

• Yes

• I don't know

Tags

CCSS.RI.11-12.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5