The Order of Words
When you think of word order - the way words come together in phrases or clauses - think of how you can control it to bring your writing alive. Good writers master grammar in order to control their words, and meaning is their target. In a given paragraph, they may use an expression that is technically a dangling construction but nevertheless communicate their meaning clearly. A dangling construction fails to make clear who is doing what.
For example, here's the masterful English writer William Hazlitt beginning the third paragraph of his essay on Sir James Mackintosh:
To consider him in the last point of view first. As a political partisan, he is rather the lecturer than the advocate.
The first sentence doesn't show who is clearly doing the considering.
The most common word-order change made by editors is to bring together subjects and verbs which have been seperated.
Original: Professor Rending, in approaching his subject, stumbled in circles, like a drunk.
Revision: In approaching his subject, Professor Rending stumbled in circles, like a drunk.
Placing words in a different order can make the sentence more clear to the reader.
(by: Morgan Williams)
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When writing papers I find myself trying to properly place words in the right.It sometimes becomes confusing because even though the sentence sounds right to me it is often a incorrect sentence and the words are misplaced. I have learned from Macrorie that as a editor i must bring together the subjects and verbs to clearly state who is doing what.
ReplyDeleteConnecting subjects and verbs is such a crucial component of good writing. When sentences are littered with extra clauses, phrases, and modifiers it can interrupt the flow of the sentence. Description is added but it is done at the expense of the simple, basic meaning being conveyed. Sometimes, these clause, phrases, and modifiers would be better off omitted, but at other times, the descriptions they offer are necessary to help convey the meaning. In this case, simple modifications such as the one demonstrated in the article (the sentence about Professor Reading) are efficient and practical ways to make writing both decisive and descriptive - both of which are necessary for effective writing.
ReplyDeleteWhen constructing a paper for a specific class and or paper, I focus extremely hard on making sure the subjects and verbs align. Sentence structure is very important for the writer to convey his idea, and the reader to understand the exact point being made. Macrorie emphasizes the importance of being clear and concise with the subject and verb obviously stating "who" is doing what. Without proper formulated sentences the reader becomes distracted, and eventually lost.
ReplyDeleteProper structure of your writing will clearly state who is doing what. The reader will be able to easily keep up. Also, good grades will reflect.
Making a sentence flow is one of my most difficult things to do when it comes to writing. Macrorie makes it clear that without sentence structure, readers have to slow down and can cause confusion. After reading the article, i can not agree more with what Macrorie says. Even from reading the "original" sentences to the revised it is clear on how to be a more organized writer.
ReplyDeleteWriting papers is one of the most difficult task that is always asked of me in college. When I write a paper creating sentences that flow can be difficult. When I write a sentence I look at it and it sounds correct but in actuality its incorrect.Through reviewing this article Macrorie stresses sentence structure which is very important to master grammar.
ReplyDeleteIve never had trouble with placing words in the correct order in order to make sense. However one of my biggest problems is how to make my sentences flow. Sometimes i think my thoughts move so quickly i try to get them out of my head and on paper and forget all about sentence structure which leads to a bumpy sentences. There have even been times in the past where ive writtin a paper and the teacher put a question mark next to one of my sentences because they were confused as to what i meant. I do feel like alot of the exercises we do in class will help me correct this problem.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that I find myself recreating a sentence in my mind that I just wrote. While reading, I look at sentences and see if some of them can be written in a different order. Like the example with Professor Reading. The order of words in a sentence can change its meaning and may interrupt the flow of a sentence. We do not read like robots, therefore we should not write like them. It is essential for sentences to flow throughout a paper. In fact, to help a paper flow even more is to have great grammar skills. Knowing how to link verbs, subjects, etc. in a sentence can sometimes be difficult. When the person writing the paper figures out the correct order to structure a sentence, the paper will then flow correctly.
ReplyDeleteAs a future educator, the connection of subject and verb is a very important factor that must be taught in the classroom. Many people, including myself, find themselves creating sentences that do not flow together properly. To ensure students learn how to write correctly, this concept should be taught at a young age. The example that was provided in this article with the Original and Revision gives a clearer understanding of word order.
ReplyDeleteplacing words in a understandable and correct form is only a problem for me when i decide not to proofread my writing. Sometimes when i am free writing i get caught up in the ideas and what i want to put into the paper or story that i loose track of what is going on. A revision of the work done is always a great way to eliminate the mistakes of improper word usage and bad sentences.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to writing, I write how I talk and most of the time I know that is not good. But I know that these habits have to stop. I am planning on teaching in the future and I know that it is important to teach the correct way to write setences and I want to be able to teach grammer the proper way.
ReplyDeleteWhen I write papers a lot of the times the sentence I wrote doesn't make sense to me, so I change it to make sound right. By doing that I get points taken off my paper and it hurts my grade. Papers of any sort are my biggest weakness. So this is why people and I should be taught correct grammer.
ReplyDeleteWhen I write papers I notice that I tend to write how I talk rather than using proper grammar which makes me need to rearrange some of the words in my sentences during the proof-reading process. I feel that knowing proper grammar early on is a good thing and would impact the way you talk, which would help the way one writes. I feel that grammar is something that children should be taught very early when they are learning how to speak or not to long after they learn to speak. To aid this, I feel that baby talk does not help a child at all and can possibly hurt them in the long run.
ReplyDeleteCreating sentence structure and making sure that it flows is very hard to do. Making sure verbs and subjects are placed in the right places can be a difficult task. Creating bumpy sentence structure can force a reader to slow their pace and many times get them confused. Teaching yourself on how to write fluid sentence structures is very important. Often what I am thinking in my head doesn't always come out the way I want it to on paper. Also when I get in the zone I sometimes write as if I was having a conversation like many of my fellow classmates have discussed. This is a habit that needs to be broken.
ReplyDeleteSubject and verb agreement can be difficult when writing critical and effective papers within college. However, it is also crucially important to create grammatically correct sentence structures. Which at times, I really find it difficult to do. Creating sentences with the correct order of words, can be very tricky in writing. It is tricky for me because my speaking dialogue is different than that of my writing. So I find it very hard to differentiate between the to when I a m writing papers. This article was very a very useful tool, in showing examples of the topic at hand.
ReplyDeleteThis is a subject that tends to get lost after high school. The most crucial part of your paper is getting the words to flow in a certain order. If your sentence structure is wrong than the reader can't understand your point, which takes away from the voice of the paper. The verb and subject in a sentence has to make sense. While doing a paper you never what the meaning to get in lost or you can't inform the reader of the information you are trying to give them.
ReplyDeleteWord order is extremely important in articulating one's thoughts. When an individual writes, often times different phrases or ideas arise than those that we normally use in conversation. While this is not necessarilly a bad thing, it can result in awkward phrasing or ineffective communication.
ReplyDeleteI think that word order is very important in writing. I often write they way that I speak and talk and it comes out confusing and does not sound right when I go back and re-read what I have written. No I am working on to try and write where it is less confusing and the sentences make more sense.
ReplyDeleteUsually when I am writing a paper, I always read over it, again and again to make sure the paper flow. I also check to make sure that I am writing the way I speak. There have been times where I have read over something and said to myself if I was talking to someone I would never but the words in this order.
ReplyDelete