STYLE

7 Simples Rules of Thumb for Creating Clear and Graceful Sentences

Grammar is about rules; style is about choices. In this lesson, we’re concerned with the
choices you make at the sentence level: What choices do you need to make? What are some
criteria for making them?
The following stylistic rules of thumb are exactly that: rules of thumb, not ironclad laws.
Use them to help you make smart choices; and if you believe that the thought you want to express
would be more effectively communicated by breaking a rule than by following it, then — by all
means — break it!

1. Eliminate wordiness.

WORDINESS: when there are words in your sentences that don’t add anything to the
sentences’ meaning; wordy is the opposite of concise.

Examples

wordy: The dogs who were barking outside in the alley next to my house kept me up and
awake all night long.

not wordy: The barking dogs in the alley kept me up all night.

wordy: My sister is a nice, kind person who cannot understand or comprehend how other
people in our town can be so mean and cruel to people.

not wordy: My sister is a nice person who cannot understand how others can be so mean.

wordy: The struggle for liberty and freedom is a struggle that has gone on for a very long
time indeed.

not wordy: The struggle for liberty has gone on for a long time.

2. To express actions and conditions, use specific verbs, adverbs, or adjectives rather than
abstract nouns.

The term ACTION here includes physical actions, like walking, speaking, sleeping,
raining, developing, etc., and also non-physical actions, like believing, meaning,
representing, conceptualizing, etc.
The term CONDITION refers to a “state of being,” as in “The sun is larger than the
moon,” or “Tim is angry,” or “Calculus is a challenging subject.”
ABSTRACT NOUNS are verbs turned into nouns: e.g., the noun “investment” from the
verb “to invest;” the noun “interpretation” from “to interpret;” “sight” from “to see;” etc.

Examples

abstract: We had a discussion of the matter.

revised: We discussed the matter.

abstract: A review was done of the relevant regulations.

revised: The team reviewed the relevant regulations.

abstract: The intention of the committee is the improvement of the company morale.
revised: The committee intended to improve company morale.

3. When it is appropriate, make the subjects of your verb the agents of the action the verb
describes.

VERB: A word that describes an action or condition.

SUBJECT: The word or phrase in the sentence that names who or what is doing/being
that the verb describes.
AGENT: The actual who or what named by the subject. Here are some examples of
sentences where subject and agent match:

“Elvis recorded ‘Blue Suede Shoes.’”

Subject = the word “Elvis”
Agent =

“The balance between liberty and equality is difficult to maintain.”

Subject = the phrase “the balance between liberty and equality”
Agent =
The idea of a balance
between two other ideas,
liberty and equality
Notice, however, that subjects and agents can be mismatched:

“‘Blue Suede Shoes’ was recorded by Elvis”

The agent of the action described the verb “recorded” remains this guy 
However, the subject of this sentence is not “Elvis” but “’Blue Suede
Shoes.’”

“It is a difficult to maintain a balance between liberty and equality.”

The agent of the action described by the verb “to maintain” remains the idea of a balance
between two other ideas, liberty and equality. Howeve, the subject of the sentence has
now become an ambiguous “it.”

So: As a general rule, try to keep subjects and agents matched.

Examples

mismatched: The case was vigorously prosecuted by the District Attorney.

matched: The District Attorney vigorously prosecuted the case.

mismatched: A decision on the part of the Dean in regard to the funding by the
Department must be made for there to be adequate staff preparation.
matched: The Dean must decide on the Department’s funding if the staff is to prepare
adequately.

mismatched: The Bunsen burner was lit.

matched: Todd lid the Bunsen burner.1

1
Note that in a lab report (i.e., the place where you’re most likely to be talking about lighting Bunsen burners), it is
the mismatched sentence — “The Bunsen burner was lit” — that would likely be the preferred one. Why? Because
the validity of scientific experiments depends upon their being replicable: It shouldn’t matter whether Todd lights
the Bunsen burner, or Maria lights it, or James lights it — anyone should be able to get the same results. The style
reflects these underlying epistemological values: By taking the human agent out of the picture, the mismatched
sentence focuses our attention on the experimental process.
4. Use the beginning of your sentences to refer to (a) what you’ve already mentioned or (b)
knowledge that you can assume you and your reader readily share.

example: Jon Stewart is perhaps the most accomplished satirist working today. Satire, as
mentioned previously, attacks those in power in the name of truth.

revised: Satire attacks those in power in the name of truth. Perhaps the most
accomplished satirist working today is Jon Stewart.

example: The huge number of wounded and dead in World War I exceeded all the other
wars in European history. One of the reasons for the lingering animosity between some
nations today is the memory of this terrible carnage.

revised: Of all the wars in European history up to that point, none exceeded World War I in
the huge number of wounded and dead. The memory of this terrible carnage is one of the
reasons for the animosity between some European nations today.

5. Put your most important ideas at the end of your sentence, as well as the information
you intend to develop in the next sentence.

example: I crashed the car last Saturday afternoon, on my way home from a trip to the
supermarket and the Laundromat. I escaped without a scratch, though the car was totaled.

revised: Last Saturday afternoon, on my way home from a trip to the supermarket and the
Laundromat, I crashed the car. The car was totaled, but I escaped without a scratch.

example: President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, while watching a
play at Ford’s Theater. The nation was shocked by this act of violence.

revised: On April 14, 1865, while watching a play at Ford’s Theater, President Abraham
Lincoln was assassinated. This act of violence shocked the nation.

6. Don’t write all short or all long sentences. Vary them.

This one’s fairly self-explanatory. It can be hard on the ear/brain to take in long strings of long
sentences or long strings of short ones. So mix it up. If you see a long string of long sentences,
see if you can break some of them down into shorter sentences — without, of course, damaging
their meaning. And if you see long strings of short sentences, see if you can combine some of
them into longer sentences — again, without damaging their meaning.
7. If your sentences are feeling tangled, observe this rule: The greater the logical
complexity of the thought is, the simpler the syntax of the sentences expressing it ought to
be.

EXAMPLE

Democracy has been around since the time of Socrates and has continued into the present
day, in countries such as the United States, where the citizens hold power under a free electoral
system. Though democracy operates differently in different places, all democracies have two
characteristic features, which are that all citizens have equal access to power, and that all citizens
enjoy universally recognized liberties, including freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and
freedom of speech.

REVISED

Democracy has been around since the time of Socrates. It continues to thrive today.
Democracy operates differently in different places. However, all democracies have two
characteristic features. First, all citizens have equal access to power. Second, all citizens enjoy
universally recognized liberties. These liberties include freedom of thought, freedom of
expression, and freedom of speech.