We’ve all been there. We’re in an appointment, trying to point out to a writer why a certain sentence just doesn’t make sense. But we can’t think of the term for what is wrong with the sentence, so we just end up saying something like: the wording is decreasing flow. In our minds, we’ve told the author exactly what we mean; there’s something wrong with the way the sentence is composed that has made it disjointed, clunky, and therefore, really confusing. The wording might be so muddled we’re completely confused as to the meaning of the sentence, or it might just sound a little funny to our ear. Either way, our vague explanation of what is wrong has most likely not hitting home with the writer, nor has it given any indication of what they can do to improve their writing in this specific sentence, or for next time they’re writing.
Both of these matters fall under the realm of syntax, which contributes greatly to the understandability of a given sentence. Syntax, as explained by the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition) is “the collective term we use to denote all the rules governing how words are arranged into sentences” (p. 291). There are many syntax rules, and admittedly, they can be very confusing. These rules range from the literal order of every word within a sentence, to a how negatives should be used within a sentence.
Even though the memorization of these rules can seem daunting, since most American schools do not name the grammar and style rules that are taught, we just internalize and learn to use them throughout our writing through trial and error. But, utilizing a style guide, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, can help us to both understand the rules that we know so deeply that it gives us that twinge of “huh, that doesn’t seem right” and to give a name to the ugliest of problems that we come across as tutors.
Here are a couple of examples of syntax issues that CMOS 17 can clear up:
The Ellipsis:
In syntax, this does not always refer to the three dots that we associate with words being left out. However, a syntactical ellipsis does still refer to words that are omitted but can still be understood by a reader through context. Chicago Manual of Style claims that our ability to understand the sentence, though some words are left out, is due to a “shared idiomatic knowledge” and “context” clues (p. 297). However, this might contribute to a feeling of “that looks weird” when we’re in a tutoring appointment, because the context might seem appropriate in dialogue or speech, but we usually try to be more formal in our writing.
For example, if a writer were to ask in a paper, “three or four?” rather than “Were there three or four?” We’d probably advise them to use the latter, because it sounds more professional and gives the reader the entire context. This takes out any room for misunderstanding.
Expletives:
In this context, we’re not referencing swear words. In this case, expletives refer to a word that has no vocabulary meaning but is used in a structural role as a noun element. The most common expletives are ‘it’ and ‘there’. The overuse of expletives is a very common culprit of moments of wordiness within a sentence. Take this sentence, for example. “It is the governor who signs or vetoes bills.” That seems wordy, and actually, overly formal. Instead, we can take out the expletive here and just say, “The governor signs or vetoes bills.” This makes the sentence less clunky.
Overall:
Overall, brushing up on grammar and style rules using a style guide can be really helpful to our ability to use precise language as tutors. The more we understand the rules, the more easily we can pass them on and help writers to understand the comments that we are making. This also helps writers in their ability to transfer skills, because they might have an easier time remembering a specific rule than trying to replicate how you suggested to edit their sentence that had poor “flow.”
All students at DePaul have access to style guides like the Chicago Manual of Style. If you would like to use these tools to help your language precision during appointments, but don’t know how to access them, you can always use the library resources on DePaul’s website and consult a librarian!
“Syntax.” Section. In The Chicago Manual of Style, 291–305. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2017.