Avoiding Sentence-level Issues
If you have experience with MLA/APA-style papers, it can be really easy to want to write longer sentences or be expansive with ideas because you’re used to explaining yourself, right? With AP Style, it’s important that ideas are conveyed as concisely as possible. Sentences should each be around 20 words, at most.
To avoid wordy sentences, there are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Avoid passive voice.
Instead of “There is” constructions or sentences that start with the direct object (e.g. The Declaration of Independence was signed by the Founding Fathers), start the sentence with the subject (e.g. The Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. That saves two words and is more understandable to readers).
Once sentences are put into active voice, they can be read more clearly and are a bit more concise.
2. Cut out unnecessary words.
Language can be simplified by only including what’s necessary to properly convey meaning. Words such as “that” (if the sentence makes sense without it), “in order to,” “due to the fact that” and qualifiers like “very” and “really” can be omitted or edited for brevity.
Note: It’s “said” when referencing a source, never “said that.”
Once you’ve written a story, stopping at the sentence level to remove any unnecessary words or shorten longer phrases can ensure your writing is more concise and clear.
3. Ensure sentence clarity.
To do this, avoid confusing sentence structures. Here are some examples of things to watch out for:
A. Sentence fragments
Though shorter sentences most often mean more concise writing, avoid sentence fragments — sentences that don’t contain a subject, verb or any other element that is necessary for it to make sense. For Example: Although the team won the game. Although does not work as a standalone sentence starter and leaves readers waiting for the rest of the sentence, such as Although the team won the game, the final minute had fans on the edge of their seats. Another example: Which was when the grocery stores ran out of toilet paper. What was? There’s no subject in this sentence. Reading sentences aloud and making sure they make sense to the writer and convey a complete thought can be a way to train writers to avoid sentence fragments.
B. Modifiers
Accidentally misplacing or creating dangling modifiers are common grammar mistakes. Dangling modifiers occur when a phrase or clause is placed awkwardly in a sentence and modifies the wrong thing, meaning the action in the sentence is not connected to the subject/person who does the action. Example: Walking home from school, the rain made Jose wet. This sentence makes it sound like the rain was walking home from school, not Jose. Rephrasing the sentence removes the dangling modifier. Two ways to rephrase (though other phrasing is possible): The rain made Jose wet when he was walking home from school, or when walking home from school, Jose was soaked by rain.
C. Comma splices
Comma splices are another common grammar issue. These occur when two independent clauses — parts of a sentence that could be separated into their own sentences — are joined with just a comma. Example: It’s almost midnight, we’ll never get home in time. The comma between the two clauses isn’t quite strong enough to support the sentence and give the clauses the pause they need. To avoid comma splice issues, there are a few solutions: a) add a conjunction: It’s almost midnight, and we’ll never get home in time. b) em dash, or long dash: It’s almost midnight — we’ll never get home in time. c) separate the two sentences: It’s almost midnight. We’ll never get home in time.
Remember: To save your completed answers as a .hp5 file or copy them to your clipboard, click the “reuse” button at the bottom of each exercise.
The next section of the AP Style resources is Punctuation.