Sentence snapshot¶
Readers¶
Clear, concise, comprehensible, sentences that mean something to them.
“What’s important to my Reader?” not just, “What will get his attention”
Main point and peripheral Info¶
Mindset of all the distinct pieces of information in the sentence
Don’t cram too much
Consider what you can do without
Phrases¶
Look for the headword
Modifiers¶
Attached to the correct element of the sentence
Relative Clauses¶
An adjective with a subject and a word
Headed by a relative pronoun
Tells us something about the antecedent
Squeeze information from sentences into an adjective. Good - but when fits
Adverbial¶
Legit way to modify the target constiteuent
Add info that does not derived from the modified itself
Seek first for specific verb that conveys the meaning directly
Time¶
Associate time elements with specific action
Infinitive phrases¶
Intention
Purpose
Also can reduce clauses
Tense, aspect of future¶
Correct verb from
Modal verbs¶
Permission
Ability
Possibility
Certainty: Certain, probable, possible, impossible
Obligation and freedom: tell or advise. Instructions, requests, suggestions, invitations
Not report but simply talk about possibility and probability
Note: The “…ould” part is not past, but rather less direct and more polite
Fill in the coordination blanks¶
Spot where the reader has to fill in the coordination blanks. Find relations instead of never ending “and” which is tiering (“and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow”). Relations however put cognitive load
Original:\
Hershey’s once called its candy bar the “Great American Chocolate Bar.” And Hershey, Pennsylvania, may just be the Great American Small Town. It has clean, tree-lined streets, and it has magnificent gardens. You can also find museums and a seventy-six-acre amusement park, not to mention a school for underprivileged children. The aroma from the chocolate factory is pervasive. For this reason, there is no pollution to smell. Founded by candy magnate Milton Snavely Hershey, the little paradise reportedly has no jail. It does not have poverty. It has a definite surplus of chocolate. For sure.
Edited:\
Hershey’s once called its candy bar the “Great American Chocolate Bar.” And Hershey, Pennsylvania, may just be the Great American Small Town. Not only it has clean, tree-lined streets, but it also magnificent gardens. You can also find museums and a seventy-six-acre amusement park, not to mention a school for underprivileged children. Because the aroma from the chocolate factory is pervasive. For this reason, there is no pollution to smell. Founded by candy magnate Milton Snavely Hershey, the little paradise reportedly has no jail. It does not have poverty. It has a definite surplus of chocolate. For sure.
Prepositions¶
Make relationships more specific between and among sentence parts,
Establish points of reference for readers, like road signs on a highway.
???? See the writers option ????How, why, when, where, and indicate such adverbial concepts as manner, reason, likeness, and condition
Substitutes clause can be more concise
Clarify (substitute coordination)
Pairs imply balanced opposites or complete coverage of a subject (from..to)
Strengthen a series relationship (with x, with y, with z)
Heighten relationship between sentences
“The writers options” suggests to think about prepositional phrases and infinitive phrases together, same class of options
When you tell about your job at the Taco Bell near the mall outside of town, argue for or against prayer in public school, brag that your new computer can play chess like a master, or explain how scientists turn saltwater into fuel by a new chemical process—you’re using prepositions.
Accurate Meaning¶
Grammatical Meaning
Lexical Meaning
Grammatical signals
Concise¶
Omit words already mentioned earlier in the paragraph/sentence (unless repetition intended)
Omit needless words
Gerund, verbal nouns
Noun substitutions
Can repeat only relevant part of the subject
Some lawyers are arrogant, some simply reserved. (Only “some” is repeated)
Types¶
Declarative
Imperative
Interrogative
Inverted
Complex
Compound
Subordinate (conditional) Parenthetical attribution