[研究生入学考试]写作教程第一册 第三单元课本ppt.ppt

Unit 3 The Better Word Unit Three The Better Word A correct word is not necessarily a good one. By a better word, we mean a word that is concise, precise and effective. Conciseness A sentence should contain no unnecessary words. If the idea is fully expressed, the few words are used, the better. But one often uses more words than necessary, so it is a good habit to reread what has been written and remove extraneous words so as to make every word to have to be there. Wordy It was blue in color. It was small in size. Mary is a quiet and careful woman. He returned in the early part of the month of August. P31 a. Redundancy may result when modifiers are used that do not add to the meaning of the sentence. Poor We really need to listen to what he would say. Better We need to listen to what he would say. P31 More examples: Poor I was simply too tired to clean the house after working for a whole day. Better I was too tired to clean the house after working for a whole day. P31 b. Redundancy may occur from redundant phrasing ( i.e. spelling out the meaning of a word or phrase that can and should stand alone) Poor The criticisms I will make are major ones which ought to be given careful consideration because of their importance. Better The criticisms I will make are major ones. P31 More examples: Poor Over the years, she became suspicious that she was being exploited P31 c. Redundancy may result if the writer fails to use pronouns in reference to previous noun phrases. Poor The volunteers in the fire department deserve a lot of credit. The volunteer firemen answer alarms any time in all kinds of weather. Better The volunteer firemen deserve a lot of credit because they answer alarms any time in all kinds of weather. P31 More examples: Poor: In large cities school teachers are usually paid higher wages than the teachers of a school in a smaller town. P31 d. Redundancy may occur when words or phrases are awkwardly inserted rather than implied