News for International Journalists: Three English Grammar Hacks to Meet Editors’ English Writing Style Demands

Grammar is about more than just accuracy! It also gives you the tools to develop a journalistic English writing style that will please editors and help you get published.

So what kind of style are editors looking for?

I'm going to reveal three ways you can use grammar for direct, simple, concise and engaging writing. Are you ready?

1. Why is the following sentence not direct enough?

Because, as the glaciers melt, the rock once held together by ice becomes unstable?(subordinate clause), climbing trails up to the Matterhorn have had to close?(main clause).?To give you clue, consider the order of the clauses…

The writer has used a long subordinate clause to explain WHY something has happened before telling the reader WHAT has happened in the main clause. It would help the reader to know what has happened first, so what would be better?

How about switching the two clauses around?

Climbing trails up to the Matterhorn have had to close?(main clause)?because, as the glaciers melt, the rock once held together by ice becomes unstable?(subordinate clause).?Why is this better?

This is more direct and easier to read.?So the first grammar tip is to use main clauses before subordinate clauses to be direct.?Now let’s look at keeping your writing simple.

2. Why does the following sentence structure lack readability?

In Switzerland, at 3,000m (9,800ft) above sea level, you expect to see ice, but above the village of Les Diablerets, where cable car company Glacier 3000 operates, there are now huge areas of bare rock.

This is an effort to read because there are three clauses in a long sentence with too many ideas. Where are the three clauses? And how can we rewrite this to boost readability?

1)????In Switzerland, at 3,000m (9,800ft) above sea level,?You expect to see ice

2)????but above the village of Les Diablerets, there are now huge areas of bare rock.

3)????where cable car company Glacier 3000 operates

Let’s cut the sentence in two:

In Switzerland, at 3,000m (9,800ft) above sea level, you expect to see ice. But above the village of Les Diablerets, where cable car company Glacier 3000 operates, there are now huge areas of bare rock.

Now, it’s easier to read with one clause in the first sentence and two clauses in the second one. And if your teacher told you never to start a sentence with?And?(I’ve just done it) or?But?(in our rewritten sentence above)…

Your teacher was referring to more formal writing, but it’s generally fine to do this in journalism.?The second grammar hack is to reduce the number of clauses in your sentences to keep them simple and easier to understand.?Now, how can grammar help you to be concise and engaging?

Knowing different word forms allows you to choose between them. Are you going to favour nouns or verbs in journalism?

To answer this question, what do you think is wrong with the following sentence?

The cinema has?seating accommodation?for 500 (7 words).

It’s a bit wordy and might turn off people who find it slightly pompous. How can we do better?

If we change the two nouns (in bold), how can we come up with a shorter, livelier sentence?

The cinema seats 500 (4 words).

Here we binned three unnecessary words, including the abstract word?accommodation?(too much abstraction will send your readers to sleep). And how did our grammar knowledge help us?

We knew the verb?to?seat, so we used it instead of the noun?seating. And this allowed us to get rid of some unwanted fluff in the sentence. What’s the third grammar lesson?

Use lots of strong verbs instead of abstract, wordy noun phrases.?This will keep your writing alive and captivate your audience.

You see?! Grammar is about more than just writing correctly. How would you describe the role grammar plays in writing?

??Share your thoughts in the comments??

PS:?Want to know how my programme helps non-native journalists develop a readable and engaging writing style in English? Message me, and I'll be happy to send you info about it :)