Here's another fast and effective way to make your writing clearer and more effective: ditch those squinting modifiers. What-ing whats? I know. Though I've encountered this phenomenon in the wild many times, I didn't know there was a name for when a modifier can do its job for both parts of a sentence. It's called the squinting modifier, and I reckon that's because you have to look really close to figure out the context of the statement so you know what phrase it's aligned with.
Here are some examples of this "goes both ways" situation:
Writers who use visual verbs often engage readers better.
Does often apply to the writers or to the frequency of engagement?
Possible fixes:
- Writers who use visual verbs engage readers better.
- Visual verbs engage readers more.
Investing time in prewriting clearly improves your draft.
Does clearly apply to the quality of your prewrite or the quality of your draft?
Possible fixes:
- Clearly, investing in prewriting improves you draft.
- Investing in prewriting improves your draft.
Revising quickly makes your writing more effective.
Does quickly relate to how rapidly you revise or how fast the quality of your work improves?
Possible fixes:
- Revising makes your writing more effective fast.
- One quick way to better your writing is to do more revision.
Squinting modifiers are sneaky little cusses because we don't recognize them when we're writing. We're just jettig along with all the context in the world and it makes sense to us. They can even be difficult to identify when revising, again, because we're so clear on what we mean. So look for mid-sentence modifiers when reviewing your work, of course, but also ask someone else to read over it. Chances are they'll have an easier time finding them for you.