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Common Writing Issues: Enhancing Clarity and Engagement

Effective writing requires attention to language choices, audience connection, and sentence structure. Common pitfalls include overusing vague terms like "get" that lack impact, alienating readers with the word "you," and relying on superlatives that generalize too much. Additionally, vague words like "this" or "that" need context for clarity. Using semi-colons presents challenges, as they join two sentences, yet can confuse readers. Understanding these nuances will improve your writing by making it clearer and more engaging for your audience.

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Common Writing Issues: Enhancing Clarity and Engagement

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  1. Some Common Problems Eng.111 Fall 2011

  2. Get • “Get” is pedestrian. Using “get” is cheap; it says next to nothing. • Try “have” or “became”: • He got mad at the dog. • She gets sick in the winter.

  3. You • “You” is a problem. It alienates the audience by telling them what they are thinking, feeling or doing. • When you declare war on a country… • When you are black… • When you hate gay people…

  4. Superlatives • This also alienates your audience by over-generalizing or being exclusive or too inclusive. • Try using degrees of speech or making a caveat. • Everyone knows all of Steinbeck’s writing is the best ever-written.

  5. Indefinite stuff • “This” is often empty unless accompanied by a defining statement. (Same goes for “that” and “these”/ “those”) • This means that I love ice cream. • That will lead to certain destruction.

  6. Semi-colons • Semi-colons tie two complete sentences together; however, they are difficult to use correctly. (Okay, that’s a little contrived; give me a break….) • Semi-colons tie two sentences together. They are difficult to use. • Semi-colons tie sentences together, and they are difficult to use. • Semi-colons are a difficult way to tie two sentences together.

  7. You thought it was over, but it’s not. • In most cases, you need a comma before “but.” This is especially true when the second clause of the sentence is in opposition to the first. • Dustin is a great guy but sometimes he acts like a jerk.

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