The success of any writing depends on the speech. Nothing can weaken or impair the expression of a writer, so much as inept writing. Here are some sure-fire ways to strengthen your writing and captivate your readers.
Good prose depends on sentences that are clear and concise. When writing, they pay particular attention to syntax, the pattern or formation of phrases and sentences. Are the sentences grammatical, do they follow a logical pattern, what do you think they are comprehending?
Complete your sentence with a sentence variation. Understand sentence length and the power it has in creating or developing meaning or evoking a response from your readers. Prose that consists of short sentences can sound monotonous and boring. Similarly, many and long sentences in close proximity can also be distracting and difficult to read. Unless you are deliberately aiming at some effect, such as reviving the quick nature of the action or the keenness of the mind, you will enliven your speech with sentences varying in length and complexity. Short, medium, or long sentences written in close proximity also create a rhythmic pattern that makes it easier to read.
Sentence variation may also involve syntactic differences. For example, it varies the complexity of your sentences from the subject of the verb with simple agreement (“The boy ate the apple”) to the adjectives (“The boy who lived next to me ate an apple”); dependent-independent clause (“Because I used to live next to him, I recognized a boy who ate badly”). Your sentences can be even more complicated: “As in the first day of school passed before dark and mottled skin” “the sky was the color of gunmetal”; touch: “the cat’s hair was soft”, “the grass was shaggy”; the rancid smell of urine, “the flowery smell of his perfume”; taste: “the soup was too salty”, “the apple was sweet”; sound: “the thunderous orchestra,” “the honeyed nightgale.” Let the reader see, hear, taste, touch, and smell the world you create in your speech. Make it true.
Your writing choices can be reinforced, too. Style is not something that can be taught, as each writer has his own way of expressing himself. But there are certain tips you can follow to make your writing snappy. For example, it is best to come up with adverbs rather than moderate. Adverbs are words that describe an adjective or a verb, “too much,” “slowly,” “quickly,” etc. It’s best to avoid adverbs if they’re redundant (“biggest” instead of “big” or “biggest” and “biggest.” making a comparison) or if a stronger word can get your meaning across better. This isn’t to suggest you should never use adverbs. They can be useful, especially when you use it for effect. But unless you are trying to provoke a certain idea or image in your speech, or if you do not need to clarify the meaning, it is best to judge whether the adverb is necessary, and then to what clarity to be added, and which are superfluous.
An attack of verbosity or arrogance in your speech. Talk is another form of distraction. Many student writers will use word for code writing to meet the paper length requirement. But what he does do is flat and repetitive prose. An example of the word follows:
Correct: “I really enjoy skateboarding. One of the reasons why I enjoy skateboarding is because it’s fun. The reason why it’s fun is because it’s fast and crazy and it can be as exciting as riding a rollercoaster.”
Revision: “I enjoy skateboarding because it’s fast, fun, and adventurous, and it can be exciting to ride a skateboard.”
It has as much to do with a writer wanting to show off their vocabulary as it does with wanting to convey their ideas. Avoid being pretentious by choosing simple and clear words. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t expand your vocabulary, since your different word choices also avoid repetition. But arrogance does not so much clarify your speech as it makes it confusing and lifeless. For example,
Example: “Everywhere Jane talks to Ted is broken.”
Revision: “John’s vague speech confused Ted.”
If your intention is to portray the narrator’s pretensions, such as Vladimir Nabokov’s Humbert Humbert in The Novel Lolita, then using fictional words can be used for this purpose. Also, style can go a long way in determining when and how to break the rules.
Again, your choice of speech varies. As I said before, having a large vocabulary at your disposal is also useful in creating a free speech. If you use a particular word repetitively, vary it with synonyms. Rimming can also enhance the power of your speech. Many writers don’t consciously go for rhymes, but they do it anyway. An example of the rhyme included: “After the crime, Danny was sentenced to do time.” Rhyming, except in poetics, tends to distract the ear and create a rhythmic pattern in your prose. Both word repetition and rhyming are examples of why thesaurus is a writer’s friend. By knowing the synonyms (or antonyms) of a particular word, you will be able to write a sentence that is not repeated or has no meter.
Also beware of alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of stressed sounds or similar sounds at the beginning of words or syllables, such as “The great ball bobbed up and down in the breaking waves.” Since alliteration is used prominently in a rhyming poem or verse, it is best to avoid it while writing prose, unless you want to use it again for effect.
Another writing choice is the use of poetic tropes, such as similes, metaphors, personifications, and analogies. Similar is the comparison of two things by using the noun like or like. A translation directly compares two or more words using the word “to be.” Personification is figures of speech which gives human qualities and gives inanimate things. Analogies compare two different ideas, or similar in some way, but unlike in others. The following are examples of simile, metaphor, personification, similes;
Similar to: “Great crested clouds floating in the sky.”
Metaphor: “A man’s house is his castle.”
Personification: “The mountain was burning in the distance.”
Analogy: “Some suggest that running a successful business is similar to running a business because both require visionary leaders to create new plans or business plans.
Here are some ways you can spice up your prose. By using these grammar and writing choices, even when closing an essay, you’ll create lively, relatable, and relatable prose.
