Construction of Clear Sentences

and Paragraphs
Session- 3
 Adaptation

• Sentences should be adapted to readers

• Use simpler sentences for those able to understand

less

• Use familiar words

• Use concrete language

 Arranging sentences for clarity
This letter is being
distributed with enrolment
confirmation sheets, which
are to serve as a final
check on the correctness of
the registration of the
students and are to be used
later when obtaining
semester grades from the
regline system, which are to
be available after two
weeks after the term
officially ends
This letter is being distributed
with enrolment confirmation
sheet. This sheet will serve
now as a final check on
student registration. Later,
the codes on it will used to
access course grades though
the regline system; the
grades will be available after
two weeks the term officially
ends.
 Using shorter sentences
• Along the lines- like
• At the present time- now
• For the purpose of- for
• For the reason that – because/ since
• In accordance with- by
• In the near future- soon
• With regard to- about
 Emphasis on short sentence

• More words, greater the possibility of

misunderstanding
• Middle-level adult: 16-18 words per sentence
• Be cautious about overuse of short sentences
Use words economically
Limit the content of the sentence
 Emphasis on short sentence
Example:
• The company lost money last year. The loss of
occurred in spite of record sale.
• Although the company enjoyed record sales
last year, it lost money.
 Limit sentence content
• Mentally select the units
• Combine thoughts
• Eliminate surplus words
• Avoid roundabout ways of saying things
• Avoid repetition of ideas- redundancies
• Avoid cluttering phrases-
confused/disordered/jumbled
 at the present time
For the reason that
In the near future
Along the lines of
 Emphasize on sentence designing
• Give right emphasis to content
• Shorter sentence emphasizes content
• When two ideas are there in a sentence, emphasize
accordingly
• Sentence should have unity of thought
 Ideas should be related. Putting two or more ideas is not
grammatically wrong, but the ideas must have a reason for
being together
 Avoid excessive detail. It tends to hide the central thought
 Form grammatically correct sentences
 Exercise: Make it concise
1. We expect to deliver the good in the event that we
receive the money.
2. In accordance with their plans, company officials
sold the machinery.
3. This policy exists for the purpose of preventing
dishonesty.
4. The sales people who were most successful received
the best rewards.
5. The reader will note that this area ranks in the top
five percent in per capita income.
6. Our new coats are made of a fabric that is of the
wrinkle resistant variety.
 Designing a paragraph
• It requires ability to organize and relate information
• Involves logic and imagination
• Unity of idea
• Short paragraphs helps to organize a plan better
• Average length- 8 lines, although not standardized
• Every paragraph must have a topic sentence
• Many facts could also make a paragraph
 Making good use of topic sentence
• Topic sentence expresses the main idea of a
paragraph.
• Not every paragraph must have a topic sentence.
• Using topic sentence gives you the central idea and
helps you to check the paragraph unity.
• Placement of the topic sentence depends on the
content.
• Ensure that the each paragraph moves in a flow
 Exercise: Form better a paragraph-

“Jennifer has a good knowledge of office

procedures. She works hard. She has
performed her job well. She is pleasant most
of the time, but she had a bad temper, which
has led to many personal problems with the
work group. Although I cannot recommend
her for promotion, I approve a 5 percent raise
for her.”
Assignment-Critical Thinking Exercise, Q.No-
42, 43 & 44