In school, you’ve probably run into the word “syntax” more than a few times. I’m willing to bet you forgot what it meant. I’m saying this because I forgot what it meant until it was recently discussed in my class.
Thus, I’m descending upon my readers, wielding the knowledge sword of truth, screaming, “YOU GON’ LEARN TODAY!”
(Reader screams)
To simply put, a syntax is the way you choose words and phrases to best convey your meaning. It’s how we learned how to form coherent sentences in elementary school. The most common syntax is placing your subject first, then your verb, finishing with your direct object. Here’s an example: “I jumped on the tampoline.” If you said, “Jumped on the trampoline, did I,” I would question if you’re Yoda in disguise.
Your audience plays an incredibly important role when you utilize a certain syntax. While listening to my lecture, I wrote down what I thought was important information to share with y’all.
- Your overall goal is CLARITY. If they can’t understand what you’re saying, you’re wasting your time along with theirs.
- SIMPLER IS BETTER. I know y’all keep a thesaurus tab open, hoping to put in a big fancy word to impress your teacher. Go back to the pond if you’re going to keep being a silly little goose. Do you even know what it means? Resist the urge to use hefty words when you can just as easily get your point across with simpler ones. Here’s an example given by my professor: Orthography vs. correct spelling. Orthography means correct spelling, but it’s a word that a lot of readers wouldn’t understand. Instead, use correct spelling.
- BE INCLUSIVE. Keep in mind that your readers might not have English as their native tongue. They might not know the ins and outs of our weird slang and idioms. A common idiom would be, “Feeling under the weather.” If you’re writing to an audience you KNOW would understand the meaning of that idiom, then you can use it. Otherwise, say, “[Subject] is not feeling well.” My professor also made a good point about being careful using words with a double meaning. Her example was right vs. correct. Right can mean the direction or being correct. If you mean to say you are correct, use the literal word.
This class has taught me so much about being an advocate for the reader. It’s not shameful to “dumb-down” your writing. You’re giving your readers a chance when using simplicity. It also makes you a better communicator and writer.
See you next week!
~Servus~
