1. Effective Written Communication
grammar, punctuation, and clarity
Pat Brans (pdbrans@gmail.com)

2. Grammar and Punctuation
• Check verb tenses and conjugation.
• Think of punctuation as a way of signalling pauses
to the reader.

3. Clarity
Revise your work to remove clutter.
Maintain unity of voice, tense, and mood.
Build strong sentences.
Use the known-new principle.
Use meta-discourse to help the reader follow you.

4. Cutting clutter
Clutter is unnecessary words or sentences that the
reader has to filter out to get to the meaning.
Clutter is the use of a complicated or obscure word
when a simpler word will do the trick.
Don’t make the reader work to understand what
you’re trying to say.

5. Common causes for clutter
Clutter results when the writer:
lacks vocabulary,
puts in extra words and sentences to reach a
minimum word count,
is too lazy to re-read and re-work,
doesn’t think somebody else will really read the work,
is not interested in improving his or her writing.

6. Re-read and revise to cut clutter
Everybody includes unnecessary words in early
drafts.
By re-reading and re-working, you can make your
writing stronger and more concise
Look closely and cut everything you don’t need,
but don’t cut needed details.

7. Use short, simple words
numerous
utilize
initial
remainder
sufficient
attempt
try this:
many
use
first
rest
enough
try
Instead of:

8. Watch out for “that”
x He thought that he was late.
✓ He thought he was late.
✓ He took the tram that came to the Palais
de Justice.
x Everytime that he was in hurry, he
forgot to stamp his ticket.
✓ Everytime he was in a hurry, he forgot
to stamp his ticket.

9. Remove unnecessary adverbs
Instead of:
x rapidly sprint
Just say:
✓ sprint
x loudly shouted ✓ shouted
x clumsily stumbled ✓ stumbled
x happily smiled ✓ smiled

10. Don’t overuse qualifiers
x very
x so
x quite
x just
x slightly
x sort of
x a bit
x kind of
x rather x a little
x really
x pretty
x extremely
x merely
x somewhat

11. Don’t overuse qualifiers
x Carlos was extremely tired.
✓ Carlos was exhausted.
x The rugby player was very big.
✓ The rugby player was huge.
x He was totally awesome.
✓ He was awesome.

12. Cut out the noun implied by the
adjective
x Her eyes were a blue color.
✓ Her eyes were blue.
x The school was a rectangular shape.
✓ The school was rectangular.
x He arrived at a late time.
✓ He arrived late.

13. Don’t label your thoughts as beliefs
x I think ...
x I believe ...
x I realize ...
x In my opinion ...
x I feel ... x I suppose ...

14. Avoid starting sentences with “there”
x There are three men standing at the door.
✓ Three men are standing at the door.
Avoid using the passive voice
x The problem was solved by three people.
✓ Three people solved the problem.

15. Cutting clutter
Clutter is the use of a complicated or obscure word
when a simpler word will do the trick.
Don’t make the reader work to understand what
you’re trying to say.

16. Build strong sentences
When we read, we want to know who did what to whom.
• Don’t overuse passive voice.
• Avoid sentences that start with “there is” or “there
are.”
In both the cases you deprive the reader of this
information.
Put strength in the verbs. Instead of saying “he went
quickly”, try saying “he ran” or “he dashed.”

17. Unity
Unity of voice: How are you addressing the reader?
Unity of tense: Are you in the present, past, future,
or conditional?
Unity of mood: Are you casual, formal, funny, or
scientific? Who is your reader? Be consistent.

18. Unity of voice
x We should avoid switching voice in the middle
of your sentence.
✓ One should avoid switching voice in the
middle of one’s sentence.
✓ You should avoid switching voice in the
middle of your sentence.
✓ We should avoid switching voice in the middle
of our sentences.
✓ Avoid switching voice in the middle of a
sentence.

19. Unity of tense
x He presented a set of slides. He says it’s
important to stay in one tense.
✓ He presented a set of slides. He said it’s
important to stay in one tense.
✓ He presented a set of slides. He said it was
important to stay in one tense.
✓ He presents a set of slides. He says it’s
important to stay in one tense.
✓ During his slide presentation he said it’s
important to stay in one tense.

20. Unity of mood
x This book has been written against a
background of both reckless optimism and
reckless despair. It holds that Progress and
Doom are two sides of the same medal; that both
are articles of superstition, not of faith.
In conclusion, that's all I'm gonna say cuz I
finished the 500 word essay 4 my teacher.
➡ Lack of unity of mood sometimes reveals
plagiarism. A student copies something very
serious and dry and then changes moods.

21. Meta Discussion
The lead
The ending
Transitional tags

22. The lead
Pay careful attention to the first paragraph - and
even the first sentence.
This is where you hook the reader.
From Seven Habits of Highly Effective People:
“In all my years working with people I have discovered one thing ...”

23. The lead
Also pay careful attention to your ending
paragraph.
Yes, food allergies are on the rise. Statistics show that they have
doubled in the past ten years and scientists fear that this increase
shows no signs of abating. But now you know how to reduce the risk of
your child developing a food allergy, so hopefully your child will not be
one of these statistics.

24. Transitional tags
But
Yet
However
Still
Nevertheless
Instead
Thus
Therefore
Subsequently
Consequently
Furthermore
Moreover
Nonetheless
What’s more
Otherwise

25. Parallelism
Use parallel structures across bullet points and in
series.
Use the same voice and the same kind of
sentences.
Repeat words for emphasis.
Try to use series of 3 in “or” and “and” series.

26. Bad
The following should be considered for any business:
Supply chain management
A good sales force is necessary
Don’t forget to do a lot of marketing

27. Good
The following should be considered for any business:
Supply chain management
Sales
Marketing

28. Good
Any business should recognise that:
Supply chain management is helpful.
A good sales force is necessary.
Marketing is nice to have.

29. Good
When running a business:
Set up supply chain management,
Set up your sales force,
and don’t forget to do a lot of marketing.

30. Paragraphs
Paragraphs provide a visual landmark.
They allow the reader to see how you group your
ideas.
They are best when short - but not too short. You
should have at least three or four sentences per
paragraph on average.

31. Avoiding sexism
x Think about your best friend. You should give
him a card for his birthday.
✓ Think about your best friend. You should give
him or her a card for his or her birthday.
✓ Think about your best friend. You should give
them a card for their birthday.
✓ Think about your best friends. You should
give them cards for their birthday.

32. Effective Written Communication
grammar, punctuation, and clarity
Pat Brans (pdbrans@gmail.com)