The success of any piece of writing depends on the strength of its prose. Nothing can weaken or undermine a writer’s expression than sloppy writing. Here are some surefire ways in which you can strengthen your writing and dazzle your readers.
Good prose is dependent on sentences that are clear and crisp. When writing, pay particular attention to syntax, the pattern or formation of phrases and sentences. Are the sentences grammatically correct, do they follow a pattern of logic, do they reflect what you mean in a comprehensive manner?
Sharpen your prose with sentence variation. Be conscious of sentence length and the power it has in creating or articulating meaning or evoking a response from your readers. Prose that consists of short sentences can sound monotone and boring. Likewise, too many long sentences in close proximity can also be distracting and difficult to read. Unless you are purposely reaching for a certain effect, such as recreating the swift nature of an action or a character’s mental acuity, then enliven your prose with sentences that vary in length and complexity. Short, mid, or long sentences written in close proximity also create a rhymic pattern that makes it easier to read.
Sentence variation can also involve syntactical differences. For instance, vary the complexity of your sentences from the simple subject-verb-object agreement (“The boy ate the apple”) by using modifiers (“The boy, who used to live next door to me, ate the apple”) or dependent-independent clauses (“Since I used to live next door to him, I recognized the boy who ate the apple”). Your sentences can be even more complex: “As I crossed the yard on my first day of school, I recognized the boy who used to live next door to me; he was eating an apple.” Sentence lengths can be determined by how much information you want to include as long as you follow the grammatical rules of syntax.
Watch out for passivity or passive constructions in your writing. A passive verb construction, such as the use of the verb “to be” and a past participle, makes the subjects in your sentence(s) passive or indirectly involved in the action. For instance, instead of writing “The documents were shredded all night,” your sentence instead should read: “We shredded documents all night.” Logic is defied since the subject in the former sentence (“documents”) corresponds with a passive verb agreement (“were shredded”). Documents obviously can’t shred themselves, therefore the subject (“we”), who is committing the act (“shredded”), needs to be identified either with a pronoun, noun, or proper name.
When writing, concretize your language. Concretions allow the writer to get her meaning or images across in a precise and imaginative way. For instance, use stronger verbs when describing an action. Instead of “The man walked aimlessly across the street,” write: “The man strolled across the street.”
Particularize your nouns as well. Instead of “The tree in my backyard…” write: “The maple in my backyard…”
Onomatopoeias are also useful in enlivening prose. An onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like it’s description, for instance: “meow,” “plosh,” “splash,” “boom,” etc. So when describing something that has a sound effect, use an onomatopoeia: “the thunder boomed in the distance” or “the children ploshed in the water.”
Modifiers or adjectives are also useful when describing something, especially when you are describing a sense-sight, touch, scent, taste, sound. Use modifiers to describe any of the senses: sight: “his dark and mottled skin,” “the sky was the color of gunmetal”; touch: “the cat’s fur was soft,” “the prickly grass”; scent: “the rancid odor of urine,” “the floral scent of her perfume”; taste: “the soup was too salty,” “the apple was sweet”; sound: “the thunderous orchestra,” “the mellificent nightgale.” Let the reader see, hear, taste, touch, and smell the world you are creating in your prose. Make it real.
Your writing can be strengthened by stylistic choices, as well. Style isn’t something that can be taught since each writer has her own particular way of expressing herself. But there are certain guidelines you can follow to make your writing snappy. For instance, it’s best to be as moderate as possible when it comes to adverbs. Adverbs are words that describe an adjective or verb-“very,” “sluggishly,” “rapidly,” etc. It’s best to avoid adverbs if it is redundant (“very big” instead of “big” or “bigger” and “biggest” when making a comparison) or if a stronger verb can get your meaning across in a better way. This is not to suggest that you should never use adverbs. They can be useful, especially when you use them for effect. But unless you are not striving to achieve a certain effect-evoking a particular idea or image in your prose-or if you don’t need to clarify meaning, then it is best to avoid them. The best way to determine whether an adverb is necessary is to rewrite a passage without them, then determine which ones add clarity and which ones are redundant.
Attack wordiness or pretentiousness in your prose. Wordiness is another form of redundancy. A lot of student writers will use wordiness to pad their writing in order to meet a paper length requirement. Instead, what it does is make their prose flat and repetitive. An example of wordiness follows:
Incorrect: “I really enjoy skateboarding. One of the reasons why I enjoy skateboarding is because it is fun. The reason why it is fun is because it is fast and unpredictable and can be as exciting as a ride on a rollercoaster.”
Revision: “I enjoy skateboarding because it is fast, fun, and unpredictable, and can be as exciting as a rollercoaster ride.”
Pretentiousness has as much to do with the writer wanting to show off her vocabulary as it has to do with her wanting to get her ideas across. Avoid sounding pretentious by choosing words that are simple and clear. This does not mean that you shouldn’t broaden your vocabulary, since varying your word choices also avoids repetition. But pretentiousness doesn’t clarify your prose so much as makes it confusing and lifeless. For instance,
Example: “Jane’s oblique colloquy discombobulated Ted.”
Revision: “Jane’s rambling speech confused Ted.”
If your intent is to portray a narrator’s pretensions, such as Vladimir Nabokov’s Humbert Humbert in the novel Lolita, then using pretentious language can be used to that effect. Again, style can go a long way in determining when and how to break the rules.
Also, vary your word choices. As I stated before, having a large vocabulary at your disposal can also be useful in creating strong prose. If you notice that you are using a particular word repetitively, vary it with its synonyms. Rhyming can also effect the strength of your prose. Many writers don’t consciously set out to rhyme, but they do it nonetheless. An example of rhyming includes: “After being prosecuted for the crime, Danny was sentenced to do time.” Rhyming, unless in poetic form, tends to distract the ear and create an unintentional rhythmic pattern in your prose. Both word repetition and rhyming are examples of why the thesaurus is a writer’s best friend. By knowing the synonyms (as well as antonyms) of a particular word you’ll be able to write prose that isn’t repetitive or that doesn’t rhyme.
Also watch out for alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of sounds or of similar sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables, such as “the big ball bobbed up and down in the breaking waves.” While alliteration is used prominently in rhymed or verse poetry, it’s best to avoid it while writing prose unless, again, you intend to use it for effect.
Another stylistic choice is the use of poetic tropes, such as similes, metaphors, personifications, and analogies. A simile is the comparison of two things by using the words “like” or “as.” A metaphor directly compares two or more things using the verb “to be.” Personification is a figure of speech which lends human qualities and attributes to inanimate objects. Analogies compare two different ideas or things that are similar in some ways, but dissimilar in others. Examples of a simile, metaphor, personification, and analogy are as follows:
Simile: “The clouds look like great tufts of cotton floating in the sky.”
Metaphor: “A man’s home is his castle.”
Personification: “The mountain glowered in the distance.”
Analogy: “Some people suggest that running a government is similar to running a business because they both require visionary leaders to create new policies or business plans.
These are just some of the ways in which you can punch up your prose. By using these grammatical and stylistic choices, even when penning an essay, you’ll create prose that is lively, engaging, and recognizable.
