Incomplete sentences

Do not leave any sentences incomplete. If you don’t know how to end a sentence, then don’t write anything at all. For example, do not write:

People work hard every day and are usually…

When a sentence is incomplete, it sends a very bad message to the reader—it signals that you lack the grammar and vocabulary to express your thoughts. There are two ways of avoiding this problem. First, you can eliminate the sentence entirely: don’t write anything! Second, you can simplify:

People work hard every day.

It’s true that the sentence above is not a brilliant display of academic writing; however, at least it is complete.

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Eliminating "of"s

Simplifying your writing will often make it sound more natural. You can do this by eliminating the preposition of whenever possible. For example, here are two phrases that are perfect candidates for this kind of simplification:

durability of product
process of manufacturing

There’s no good reason to use of if you can simplify by using one word as an adjective:

product durability
manufacturing process

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However

Do not use the word however to connect two separate sentences—this is not possible. For example, the following sentence is incorrect:

Leather shoes are expensive however they will last a long time if we take care of them properly.

There are two possible corrections:

Leather shoes are expensive. However, they will last a long time if we take care of them properly.
Leather shoes are expensive; however, they will last a long time if we take care of them properly.

Notice that we use however as a transitional phrase at or near the beginning of a sentence. We also use it after a semicolon (;) to introduce a contrasting idea.

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Three useful phrases for the TOEFL essay

Here are three phrases well worth memorizing:

have a direct effect on something
have an impact on something
to play a role in something

And here’s how they are used:

Tax policy has a direct effect on a country’s economy.
Continued climate change will have a lasting impact on the planet.
Teachers play a very important role in the education of our children.

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Affect vs. Effect

Be sure not to confuse affect and effect. Affect is a verb; effect is a noun. Examples:

Dr. Searle’s philosophy course had a profound effect on my worldview.

Dr. Searle’s philosophy course profoundly affected my worldview.

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Transitional phrase problem

One student recently wrote an essay that contained four body paragraphs. Here’s how each paragraph began:

Body paragraph 1: To begin with, performance-enhancing drugs...
Body paragraph 2: If harmful drugs were allowed in sports...
Body paragraph 3: Second, while it is true that athletes...
Body paragraph 4: Finally, there are ethical implications...

Do you see what the problem is? Here’s a hint: transitional phrases. One potential problem is that the second paragraph doesn’t begin with a transitional phrase. The main problem, however, is that the writer begins the third paragraph with the transitional phrase second. (Second should be used to introduce the writer’s second main point, not the third one.) It’s essential that transitional phrases are used in the proper order. Correct is this:

Body paragraph 1: To begin with, performance-enhancing drugs...
Body paragraph 2: Second of all, if harmful drugs were allowed in sports...
Body paragraph 3: Third, while it is true that athletes...
Body paragraph 4: Finally, there are ethical implications...

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A one-sentence paragraph?

Here is a paragraph from an essay:

Spending billions of dollars on a Mars expedition is counterproductive; it is something we cannot afford, especially because we have more urgent problems to tackle.

Here is another paragraph:

Moreover, because the benefits of a Mars mission both vague and undefined, it is important to consider whether the risks of such a mission are worth really taking.”

The problem is that a one- or two-sentence paragraph is not possible. A one-sentence paragraph is simply not enough to develop an idea fully. A Short Guide to College Writing gives students excellent advice about paragraph length: “Although a paragraph can contain any number of sentences, two is probably too few, and ten might be too many.”

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