How to Write Great Essays

CORRECTING AMBIGUOUS LANGUAGE
Ambiguous:
When doing the laundry, the phone rang.
Clear:
The phone rang when I was doing the laundry.
Ambiguous:
She almost waited an hour for her friend.
Clear:
She waited almost an hour for her friend.
Ambiguous:
I told her I’d give her a ring tomorrow.
Clear:
I told her I’d call her tomorrow.
Ambiguous:
A speeding motorist hit a student who was jogging through the park in
her blue sedan.
Clear:
A speeding motorist in a blue sedan hit a student who was jogging through
the park.
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Clarity  CHAPTER 2 
HOW TO WRITE GREAT ESSAYS

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M
O D I F I E R S
A
D D
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R E C I S I O N
Clarity in essay writing also involves the thoughtful use of modifiers, which make your point
clear and add meaning and originality to your piece. One way to accomplish this is to use pow-
erful and specific adjectives and adverbs. Consider the difference between these sets of sentences:
Sentence A:
My grandmother put on her sweater.
Sentence B:
My grandmother put on her cashmere sweater.
Sentence A:
The football team practiced in the rain.
Sentence B: 
The football team practiced in the torrential downpour.
In both cases, sentence B allows you to hear the “voice” and impressions of the writer,
giving a more accurate and interesting picture of the action. The first sentences are dull,
and don’t give the reader much information.
The right modifiers (adjectives and adverbs) can also get your message across in fewer,
more accurate words. This is critical in an essay with a specified length. You don’t want to
sacrifice unique details, but sometimes one word will do the job better than a few. For exam-
ple, Chihuahua can take the place of little dog; exhausted can take the place of really tired;
and late can take the place of somewhat behind schedule.