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Writing with Clarity

Sarah Mottaghinejad

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Grammar

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5 C’s of Communication

  • Clear
  • Cohesive
  • Complete
  • Concise
  • Concrete

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Clarity

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Clarity

  • Minimize the number of ideas in a sentence.
  • Omit things that obscure your message.
  • Use facts and figures.
  • Make the most important message the most important.

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Lately, most movies I've seen have been merely second-rate entertainment, but occasionally there are some with worthwhile themes. The rapid disappearance of the Indian culture is the topic of a recent movie I saw.

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Lately, most movies I've seen have been merely second-rate entertainment, but occasionally there are some with worthwhile themes. One recent movie I saw was about the rapid disappearance of the Indian culture.

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A decision was reached to postpone the vote.

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The committee decided to postpone the vote.

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In Florida, where the threat of hurricanes is an annual event, we learned that it is important to become aware of the warning signs. There are precautions to take, and deciding when to take shelter is important.

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In Florida, where the threat of hurricanes is an annual event, we learned that it is important to become aware of the warning signs, to decide what precautions to take, and to know when to seek shelter.

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Cohesiveness

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Cohesiveness

  • Lead readers through your information in a logical way.
  • Keep your ideas focused on your message.
  • Use thesis statements and topic sentences.

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I like autumn. Autumn is a sad time of the year. The leaves turn bright shades of red. The weather is mild. I can't help thinking ahead to the winter. Ice storms will surely blow through here. That will be the season of chapped faces, too many layers of clothes to put on, and days when I'll have to shovel heaps of snow from my car's windshield.

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I like autumn, and yet autumn is a sad time of the year, too. The leaves turn bright shades of red and the weather is mild, but I can't help thinking ahead to the winter and the ice storms that will surely blow through here. In addition, that will be the season of chapped faces, too many layers of clothes to put on, and days when I'll have to shovel heaps of snow from my car's windshield.

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It might seem instinctive to hide any flaws—limitations with

your research to protect yourself from criticism.

A student needs to highlight any problems she encountered during the investigation phase, any restrictions with your approach.

Graders are expecting pupils to engage with obstacles. Draw attention to the kind of impact barriers may have had on their exam.

Be careful that you do not overemphasize the constraints. Overemphasizing the constraints could undermine the reliability and validity of their conclusions. Overemphasizing the constraints could undermine their character as a researcher.

Breakout

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Completeness

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Completeness

  • Include enough information to support your thesis/topic sentence.
  • Summarize your main idea at the end of the paragraph.
    • Lead readers to the next idea.

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Please attend our in-service meeting on Thursday at 5 p.m. The meeting will end by 6:30 p.m.

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Concision

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Concision

  • Use fewer words.
  • Edit your work.
  • Avoid repetition .
  • Limit yourself to one thought per sentence.
  • Remove deadwood.

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The politician talked about several of the merits of after-school programs in his speech.

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The politician touted after-school programs in his speech.

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Our website has made available many of the things you can use for making a decision on the best dentist.

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Our website presents criteria for choosing the best dentist.

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Many have made the wise observation that when a stone is in motion rolling down a hill or incline that that moving stone is not as likely to be covered all over with the kind of thick green moss that grows on stationary unmoving things and becomes a nuisance and suggests that those things haven’t moved in a long time and probably won’t move any time soon.

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A rolling stone gathers no moss.

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The Paramedic Method

After reviewing the results of your previous research, and in light of the relevant information found within the context of the study, there is ample evidence for making important, significant changes to our operating procedures.

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Concreteness

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Concreteness

  • Simplify complex ideas.
  • Build mental pictures.
  • Remove room for interpretation.

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By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Engage in a reflective conversation regarding the theory and research of higher education teaching.
  • Describe different approaches to teaching and learning.
  • Design a class lesson plan that includes learning goals and objectives, teaching strategies and assessment.
  • Design a semester-long course that reflects a coherent pedagogy and achieves course objectives.
  • Design a teaching packet that includes a teaching philosophy, a syllabus plan, and a lesson plan.
  • Participate in a teaching evaluation process as both the observer and the instructor.

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Concreteness

Abstract

  • vehicle
  • soon

Concrete

  • 2010 Toyota Prius
  • by April 30th

Less Abstract

  • car
  • within the month