How to Improve
Sentence Clarity

In writing, clarity is king. You could have the most brilliant idea in the world, but if your reader has to re-read your sentence three times to understand it, you've lost them.

Muddy writing isn't just annoying; it creates a barrier between you and your audience. Whether you're drafting a business proposal or a creative story, the goal is effortless reading.

Fortunately, clarity isn't a magical talent—it's a mechanical skill. Here are four practical techniques to declutter your sentences and make your meaning crystal clear.

1. Keep the Subject and Verb Close

The subject (who) and the verb (action) are the anchors of your sentence. When you separate them with long, winding descriptive phrases, the reader forgets who is doing what.

2. Limit "Zombie Nouns" (Nominalizations)

Zombie nouns are verbs that have been turned into nouns (e.g., "decision" instead of "decide," "analysis" instead of "analyze"). They suck the life out of your sentences and require extra words to support them.

The Fix: Find the hidden verb and set it free.

3. Beware of "Smothered Verbs"

Often, we smother a strong verb with a weak one. Phrases like "give consideration to," "make an adjustment," or "is in violation of" are bloated.

Just use the verb itself: consider, adjust, violate.

4. Prune Prepositional Phrases

Strings of prepositions (of, in, to, for, with) can make a sentence feel disjointed and choppy.

Conclusion

Improving clarity is essentially an exercise in subtraction. It’s about removing the barriers—the zombie nouns, the gap between subjects and verbs, and the unnecessary prepositions—that stand between your reader and your message.