1_22 / 11

ПОСОБИЕ ПО АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ ДЛЯ СТУДЕНТОВ ГУМАНИТАРНЫХ ВУЗОВ

11

Sentences and Paragraphs

Sentences should be clear and concise. Longer sentences may often be necessary, but a good test is to go back over the material and see how many sentences can be cut down. Mixing long and short sentences improves the rhythm.

The typical paragraph should normally include only one idea. As a general prac­tice, it ought to be no longer than six or eight lines. If necessary, a longer paragraph may be used, but brevity is preferable. Writing that goes on and on without a pause is hard on the reader.

Word Length

Word length is a good gauge of readability, and every writer should aim to be read. In readable writing, most words are short. A message containing an average of 1,5 syllables per word is considered to be very readable.

Don't try to show off your knowledge by using long, complicated words. Remem­ber that Lincoln's Gettysburg Adress consisted of 267 words, 202 of which had only one syllable.

Notes

Gettysburg Address — Геттисбергское послание. Самая известная речь прези­дента Линкольна, которую он произнес 19 ноября 1863 г. Речь заканчивалась словами о том, что демократия представляет собой "власть народа, волей народа, для народа"("...government of the people, by the people, for the people...")

Эта речь полностью высечена на пьедестале памятника Линкольну в г. Ва-шинтоне.

Words and word-combinations

1. concise — краткий; выразительный

2. preferable — предпочтительный

3. gauge — мера, критерий

Word choice

Writers who are college-educated often forget that words common to their vocab­ulary are not readily understood by large segments of the general public.

If your target audience is the general public, remember that a short Anglo-Saxon word is more understandable than a longer one derived from French, Greek, or Latin. The words on the left are better than the words on the right:

buy purchase

home residence

hire employ

try endeavor

total aggregate