Salient Points of Sentence Construction

  Introduction 

            Effective writing is an important skill in academic, professional, technical, and business communication. The main purpose of professional writing is to communicate specific ideas clearly to the reader. According to Meenakshi Raman and Sangeeta Sharma, effective writing can be improved through the careful selection of words and phrases, grammatically and logically correct sentences, and well-developed writing.

1. Prefer Short Sentences

            Short sentences generally communicate ideas more clearly than very long sentences. When too many ideas are placed in one sentence, the reader may become confused.

For example:

Long sentence: The members of the management are unable to see their way through the crisis that has affected the company, although they are keeping it secret because they believe that this is necessary to protect the company's image.

            Such a sentence contains too much information and is difficult to understand at one reading.

            Therefore, the writer should limit the amount of information in each sentence. However, this does not mean that every sentence must be short. Long sentences may be necessary when expressing complex ideas, summarizing, combining ideas, or making lists.

2. Maintain a Proper Mix of Short and Long Sentences

            Although short sentences are generally easier to understand, using only short sentences can make writing jerky, monotonous, and elementary.

            Therefore, effective writing requires a judicious mixture of short, medium, and long sentences. A longer sentence can be used when ideas are closely connected, while shorter sentences can be used to give the reader a break.

            It is suggested that medium-length sentences of about twenty words are useful for linking ideas, although there is no fixed rule about sentence length.

• Use the length of the sentence according to the complexity of the idea.

3. Break Long and Overloaded Sentences

            A sentence containing too much information should be divided into two or three shorter sentences if the ideas are not closely connected. This makes the meaning clearer and more precise.

Example:

Original: The experiment was over. I completed the report. I shut down the power supply. I submitted the report to the instructor. I left the laboratory.

This series is choppy and disconnected.

Revised: I completed the report as soon as the experiment was over. After shutting down the power supply, I submitted the report to my instructor.

        The revised version connects the ideas smoothly while avoiding unnecessary short sentences.

4. Achieve Economy of Words

        A good sentence should express an idea in the fewest necessary words. Economy saves the reader's time and makes the writing clearer and more interesting.

Example:

Wordy: I take this opportunity to tell you that you are an excellent leader.

Economical: You are an excellent leader.

        The unnecessary opening phrase does not add any information, so it should be removed.

5. Avoid Cluttering Phrases

        Some phrases make sentences unnecessarily long without adding meaning. These should be replaced by shorter and simpler expressions. 

Cluttering phrase	Better substitute
Owing to the fact	Because
Under the circumstances in which	When
For the reason that	Since
On the occasion of	When
In the meantime	Meanwhile
With a view to	To
In very few cases	Seldom
There is a chance that	May

For example:

Wordy: The company is not prepared to expand at this point of time.

Better: The company is not prepared to expand now.

6. Avoid Pleonasm or Redundant Phrases 

        Pleonasm means using unnecessary words that do not add anything to the meaning of a sentence.

For example:

return back → return

future plans → plans

true facts → facts

past history → history

free gift → gift

sudden crisis → crisis

7. Avoid Circuitous or Roundabout Expressions

        A circuitous sentence expresses an idea indirectly and uses more words than necessary. Technical and business writing should be direct and crisp.

For example:

Roundabout: If there are any points on which you require explanation or further details, we shall be glad to furnish such additional details as may be required by telephone.

Direct: If you have any questions, please contact us over telephone.

The second sentence communicates the same message more directly.

8. Avoid Needless Repetition

Repeating a word or idea unnecessarily makes a sentence longer without improving its meaning.

Example:

Repetitive: I was born in summer, the month of July.

Better: I was born in July.

Similarly:

Repetitive: Please let me know your future plans.

Better: Please let me know your plans.

            The word future is unnecessary because plans naturally refer to the future.

9. Ensure Clarity and Avoid Ambiguity 

        A sentence should have one clear meaning. Ambiguity occurs when a sentence can be understood in more than one way.

For example:

"If the child does not like spinach, try boiling it with milk."

            Here, the word “it” can refer either to the child or spinach. The intended meaning is therefore unclear.

10. Maintain Logical connection between Ideas

            The parts of a sentence should be logically connected. When ideas are closely related, they may be joined through suitable conjunctions, clauses, or phrases. When they are not closely related, they should be separated into different sentences.

                A sentence should therefore have a clear sequence of thought so that the reader can easily understand the relationship between its ideas. The book's examples show that well-linked sentences provide a smoother flow of thought than a series of disconnected sentences.

Conclusion

            The main purpose of sentence construction in technical and professional writing is to make communication clear, direct, precise, and easy to understand. Short sentences should generally be preferred, but they should be combined with longer sentences when the ideas require them. Unnecessary words, repetition, cluttering phrases, roundabout expressions, and ambiguity should be removed. Thus, an effective sentence is one that communicates the intended meaning clearly while taking as little of the reader's time as possible.

*****

Reference:
Raman, Meenakshi, and Sangeeta Sharma. Technical Communication: Principles and Practice. 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2015.