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| Ossanna, Lia. "Screenshot of modifier definition." 9/15/15 via https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#hl=en&q=modifier |
Often I leave out needed works because their presence is implied, and in their absence, the sentence still makes sense. Because I do not speak with perfect grammar on a daily basis, when I leave out needed words it doesn't necessarily sound strange to me. However, once I see the correction, I understand the subtle change the presence of that word made.
I have the most trouble with modifiers. I never had a strong background in grammar, so for a long time I didn't know what a modifier even was, much less where it should be placed or when one was needed. I realize that often I place clauses between the subject and verb, which disrupts the flow of the sentence. I found I also struggle with splitting infinitives, and often place a modifier between "to" and a verb. This sounds natural to me, probably because I've been doing it my entire life.
When I write my first draft, my sentences are unnecessarily long. Some of those sentences I can spot when I begin to revise, but some sentences slip past me. The advice on how to simplify sentence structure and reduce phrases to single words will be most useful. Often when I think I am varying my sentence structure to keep the writing interesting, really I am just being too complicated and wordy.
I need to work on precision of language. I gravitate towards abstract nouns because they are common buzzwords and phrases, like the example "the environment and world peace." The list of standard idioms is also very useful. I use some of the unidiomatic phrases without realizing it, such as using "preferable than" rather than "preferable to."
REFLECTION
It's definitely easier to spot wordy sentences in someone else's writing than it is for me to spot them in my own. This is because those words come from my head, so they sound much more natural to me. But wordy sentences are quite awkward and changing them around is an important part of the revision process.
Sentences missing needed words are also much easier for me to find in another's work than my own. Similar to wordy sentences, these phrases sound normal to me, but are sometimes confusing for the reader. And while I could mostly figure out what the sentence meant, the writing would still have a much more polished feel with all needed words added.
Exact words are more important than I thought. There were some places in Gabee's QRG where the general phrases used were too vague for me to understand the full context of what she was discussing. Although it takes longer, and usually more words to write with precision, it makes the difference between mediocre writing and good writing. Precision allows the writer to expand further on his/her ideas and really get to the root of the topic.
I struggled with modifiers. Really, I don't think they were on my mind while I was peer editing these articles, so I didn't spot any. Part of this is probably because I'm still very unfamiliar with misused modifiers, and part of this might be because these writers have a better grasp on the concept and weren't making those mistakes.
Here is an example of a wordy sentence from Stef's article: "Parents also have been involved in this debate due to them being the providers and dictators of what goes into their children’s mouths."
I suggested that she change the phrase "due to them being the providers and dictators of what..." to "since they provide and dictate what..." This way, the language is more concise, and the sentence is no longer in passive tone.
REFLECTION
It's definitely easier to spot wordy sentences in someone else's writing than it is for me to spot them in my own. This is because those words come from my head, so they sound much more natural to me. But wordy sentences are quite awkward and changing them around is an important part of the revision process.
Sentences missing needed words are also much easier for me to find in another's work than my own. Similar to wordy sentences, these phrases sound normal to me, but are sometimes confusing for the reader. And while I could mostly figure out what the sentence meant, the writing would still have a much more polished feel with all needed words added.
Exact words are more important than I thought. There were some places in Gabee's QRG where the general phrases used were too vague for me to understand the full context of what she was discussing. Although it takes longer, and usually more words to write with precision, it makes the difference between mediocre writing and good writing. Precision allows the writer to expand further on his/her ideas and really get to the root of the topic.
I struggled with modifiers. Really, I don't think they were on my mind while I was peer editing these articles, so I didn't spot any. Part of this is probably because I'm still very unfamiliar with misused modifiers, and part of this might be because these writers have a better grasp on the concept and weren't making those mistakes.
Here is an example of a wordy sentence from Stef's article: "Parents also have been involved in this debate due to them being the providers and dictators of what goes into their children’s mouths."
I suggested that she change the phrase "due to them being the providers and dictators of what..." to "since they provide and dictate what..." This way, the language is more concise, and the sentence is no longer in passive tone.
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