Writing: Sentence Clarity
What sentence-clarity items test
These questions ask you to choose the clearest, most concise version of a sentence, or to identify the flaw in a given sentence. Correctness matters, but so do directness and placement of information.
Concepts to master:
- Active voice: name the actor and the action-"The detective interviewed the witness," not "The witness was interviewed." Passive is acceptable only when the actor is unknown or irrelevant.
- Agreement: the verb agrees with the true subject even when a phrase sits between them ("The box of reports was sealed").
- Modifier placement: put a modifier next to the word it describes. A sentence opening with a modifying phrase must have that phrase's actor as its subject.
- Pronoun reference: every it, they, this, which must point to one clear noun.
- Parallelism: list items take the same form ("interviewing, collecting, and documenting").
- Conciseness: cut redundancy (past history, end result, advance planning, mutual cooperation) and wordy formulas (due to the fact that → because; in the event that → if).
- Completeness: avoid fragments and run-ons, and do not delete information the original conveyed.
Traps. The longest, most formal-sounding option is often wordy and awkward; some options fix grammar but change meaning; some attach a which clause to the wrong noun; some leave a dangling modifier that sounds fine until you ask "who?"
Worked example. "Having completed the investigation, the report was submitted by the detective." The opening phrase describes the detective, but the subject is the report-a dangling modifier. Revision: "After completing the investigation, the detective submitted the report." Same facts, clear actor, correct attachment.
Rule of thumb. Prefer the version with a clear actor, a direct verb, and modifiers touching what they modify-and choose the shortest option that keeps all the original information.