Kashfah Khan Chowdhury

BUS 251
Chapter-3
Construction of clear sentences
and paragraphs
Grouping and ordering the information:
information in each sentence and the order of the
information.
Be familiar with different sentence structures.:
clauses, phrases.
Conscious control of information in your
sentence.
Clear, concise sentence.
Adaptation is critical.


Sentence design
Sentence design: Example
Bill Jones is a drill press operator. He has been
employed by Allied Manufacturing. He has been
employed by the company for 15 years. He is
retiring. He is retiring on June 15.
Bill Jones, a drill press operator who has been
with Allied manufacturing for 15 years, will be
retiring on June 15.
Bill Jones will be retiring on June 15. He has
been a drill press operator with Allied
Manufacturing for 15 years.
Use short sentences
Simple, efficient sentence over long, complex
sentence.
Short sentence prevents miscommunication.
The number of words in a short sentence vary
according to readers. For a middle-level reader
the number of words in a short sentence is 16-18
words.
Avoid excessive use of short sentence. Some
messages need explanations for clear
communication.
Short sentences emphasizes contents.
2 ways of shortening sentences:
Use short sentences
1. Limit sentence content
- Make separate sentences.
- When necessary and thoughts are interrelated.
2. Use words economically
- Choose shorter words without loss of meaning, avoid
cluttering phrases: In the event payment is not made
by January, operations will cease. Or; If payment is
not made by January, operations will cease.
- Eliminate surplus words: The machines that were
damaged by the fire were repaired. Or; The machines
damaged by the fire were repaired.





Use short sentences
- Avoid roundabout ways of saying things: The union
is involved in the task of reviewing the seniority
provision of the contract. Or; The union is
reviewing the seniority provision of the contract.
- Avoid repetition of words and ideas: In my opinion,
I think the plan is sound. Or; I think the plan is
sound.

All parts of sentence should form one clear
thought.
Unity of a sentence is violated by 3 categories:
1. Unrelated ideas: planning two or more ideas in
one sentence that do not go together. E.g. Mr.
Jordan is our sales manager, and he has a
degree in law.
You should- i) put the ideas in different
sentences (Mr. Jordan is our sales manager. He
has a law degree.), ii) make one of the ideas
subordinate to the other (Mr. Jordan, our sales
manager, has a law degree.), iii) add words that
show relationship (Mr. Jordan has a law degree
but he is our sales manager).
Give unity to the sentences
2. Excessive detail: putting too much information in
a single sentence can hide the central idea.

3. Illogical constructions: active and passive voice
in a single sentence. E.g. First we cut prices, and
then the quality was reduced. A unified sentence
should be- First we cut prices, and then we
reduced quality.
Give unity to the sentences
Paragraphs are important for clear
communication.
Organization is the main purpose of
paragraphing.
It requires logical thinking.

1. Paragraph unity: a paragraph should cover one
topic or express one idea. Paragraph unity
concerns a narrow topic.

2. Keep paragraphs short: readers prefer reading
short paragraphs. Organization is better
reflected in short paragraphs. 8 lines is a good
average length but length can vary according to
need. E.g. One line paragraphs are used in
business messages.
Paragraph design
3. Make good use of topic sentences: topic
sentence can come in the beginning or end or
middle of a paragraph. Not every paragraph
must have a topic sentence.

4. Make paragraphs coherent: maintain a logical
order of the paragraphs. Repetition of key
words help in connecting thoughts. Use
transitional words (in spite of, in contrast,
however) and pronouns (this, that, these) to
connect thoughts.

Paragraph design