What is deadwood construction in writing?

useless or burdensome persons or things: He cut the deadwood from his staff. (in writing) unnecessary words, phrases, or exposition; expendable verbiage.

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Similarly, it is asked, what is pretentious language?

: having or showing the unpleasant quality of people who want to be regarded as more impressive, successful, or important than they really are. He's a pretentious snob. a pretentious restaurant/movie. The houses in the neighborhood are large and pretentious. He uses pretentious language.

Likewise, how do you write a clear sentence? 6 Super Simple Tips for Writing Clear Sentences

When you get it right, your content sings.
“It” or “there” + “be” verbs:
Relative clauses:
To write clear sentences, write shorter. Slash your sentences in half. Insert periods instead of commas.
It's unnecessarily long. The main idea gets lost along the way (she can't resist a cozy knit).

One may also ask, what is a vague modifier?

Unclear Modifier. Misplaced modifiers can be words or phrases. A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes, strengthens, or clarifies another word (or group of words) in a sentence. When a modifier is placed in its proper position in a sentence, a sense of clarity is established for the reader.

What is clutter Why must you eliminate clutter in your paper?

Clutter adds stress and sucks up valuable time. The same situation applies to writing. Unnecessary words and redundancies in a page or paragraph obscure its core meaning and interrupt its flow. The essence of your message is buried under all those excess words.

33 Related Question Answers Found

What is a dash example?

Dashes, like commas, semicolons, colons, ellipses, and parentheses, indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an abrupt change of thought. Note how dashes subtly change the tone of the following sentences: Examples: You are the friend, the only friend, who offered to help me.

Is pretentious a negative word?

Generally, being pretentious is the more negative of the two, since it comes with a certain arrogance and an undeserved sense of entitlement.

What is pretentious person?

pretentious. Use the adjective pretentious as a way to criticize people who try to act like they are more important or knowledgeable than they really are.

What is the most pretentious word?

Most Pretentious Words Ever

Methinks. Whenever someone says “methinks,” I picture them in a velvet robe with a glass of Merlot, smirking.
Whilst. There's a reason the word “while” exists.
Per se.
Postmodern.
Milieu.
Paradigm.
Synergy.
Advent.

What does pretentious mean simple?

adjective. characterized by assumption of dignity or importance, especially when exaggerated or undeserved: a pretentious, self-important waiter. making an exaggerated outward show; ostentatious. full of pretense or pretension; having no factual basis; false.

What is a dash mark called?

A dash is a little horizontal line that floats in the middle of a line of text (not at the bottom: that's an underscore). It's longer than a hyphen and is commonly used to indicate a range or a pause. Dashes are used to separate groups of words, not to separate parts of words like a hyphen does.

What is a dash called?

The Dash. The dash (—), also called the em dash, is the long horizontal bar, much longer than a hyphen. Few keyboards have a dash, but a word processor can usually produce one in one way or another.

What is pretentious writing?

Pretentious writing is often inadvertent and usually stems from a misconception that the use of large and complex words or phrases makes the writer sound knowledgeable. Unfortunately, rather than the writer sounding smarter, pretentious writing often obscures meaning.

What is a modifier in grammar?

In grammar, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure. Typically the modifier can be removed without affecting the grammar of the sentence. For example, in the English sentence This is a red ball, the adjective red is a modifier, modifying the noun ball.

What is a misplaced modifier example?

A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is improperly separated from the word it modifies / describes. Because of the separation, sentences with this error often sound awkward, ridiculous, or confusing. Furthermore, they can be downright illogical. Example.

How do you use that as a conjunction?

That can be used in the following ways:

as a determiner (followed by a noun): Give me that hammer.
as a demonstrative pronoun (without a following noun): Who gave you that?
as a conjunction (connecting two clauses): I didn't know that she was married.

What is the rule for fixing misplaced modifiers?

Correcting Misplaced Modifiers

To correct the misplaced modifier problem, one should place single word adjectives before the word they modify and adjective phrases or clauses right after the word they modify. In the following examples, adjective phrases were placed right after the word they modify to avoid ambiguity.

How do you correct a dangling modifier in a sentence?

Most cases of dangling modifiers can be fixed by identifying the subject you want to modify, making sure it's present, and placing the modifier immediately before or after it in the sentence: “Walking into the room, they encountered an overpowering smell.”

How do you use whom in a sentence?

Whom should be used to refer to the object of a verb or preposition. When in doubt, try this simple trick: If you can replace the word with “he”' or “'she,” use who. If you can replace it with “him” or “her,” use whom. Who should be used to refer to the subject of a sentence.

What is parallel structure example?

Parallel structure (also called parallelism) is the repetition of a chosen grammatical form within a sentence. By making each compared item or idea in your sentence follow the same grammatical pattern, you create a parallel construction. Example Not Parallel: Ellen likes hiking, the rodeo, and to take afternoon naps.

What is faulty parallelism?

Faulty parallelism is a construction in which two or more parts of a sentence are equivalent in meaning but not grammatically similar in form.

What is an example of clarity?

The definition of clarity is the quality or condition of being clear or easy to understand. The air at the top of a mountain on a clear day is an example of clarity. Easy to follow directions are an example of clarity.