Nonfiction books are designed to impart information, some of it technical and/or detailed. Thus, it’s very important to be clear and specific, which means you’ll want to avoid ambiguities that arise from sentences like this:
- “The economy was harmed by low interest rates and high unemployment, a problem that had not occurred before.”
What’s the new problem? Is it low interest? High unemployment? The combination of the two? This sentence is not clear but can easily be rewritten different ways, depending on what it was that “had not occurred before.” For example:
- “The economy was harmed by low interest rates, which had not occurred before, and high unemployment.”
- “The economy was harmed by low interest rates and high unemployment. The second item had not occurred before.”
- “The economy was harmed by low interest rates and high unemployment, neither of which had occurred before.”
- “The economy was harmed by low interest rates and high unemployment, a combination of problems that had not occurred before.”
Now, take a look at the following sentence and see where the meaning becomes muddled:
- “The protestors complain of frequent police brutality, failure to address budgetary problems and the stuffing of the ballot box.”
What’s does “frequent” refer to in this sentence? Police brutality? Failure to address budgetary problems? The stuffing of the ballot box? Or all three? It needs to be more specific. For example:
- “The protestors complain of police brutality, which occurs frequently, as well as failure to address budgetary problems and the stuffing of the ballot box.”
- “The protestors complain of police brutality, failure to address budgetary problems and the stuffing of the ballot box, all of which occur frequently.”
- “The protestors complain of police brutality and failure to address budgetary problems, both of which occur frequently, as well as the stuffing of the ballot box.”
Remember, your goal is to impart information. Be clear and specific so your readers do not have to interpret your message.
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Nadine Taylor and Barry Fox write, ghostwrite, rewrite and edit books in many genres, including health, business, inspiration/ spirituality and memoirs. Their resume is long and varied but there’s one thing that never changes: They love to work with words, creating books that are clear, compelling and pleasurable to read. If you’re interested in writing a book, editing a book and/or publishing a book, you’ve come to the right place!
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