{"id":7049718,"date":"2026-08-28T05:18:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/investing\/4-great-tips-for-writing-sentences\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T05:18:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:18:17","slug":"4-great-tips-for-writing-sentences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7049718","title":{"rendered":"4 great tips for writing sentences"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

Joe Moran\u2019s First You Write a Sentence<\/a><\/em>\u00a0has some great sentences about sentences.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a sampling of them, sorted by the lesson they suggest.<\/p>\n

\"4<\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/a>1. Slow down<\/h2>\n

Moran writes:<\/p>\n

\n

Most of us, when we write, march too quickly on to the next sentence. To write intelligibly is hard enough, so be sure you have done that first. Fix your sights on making one sane, sound, serviceable sentence. As a farmer must do, hold your nerve and resist the impulse to put your energies into cash crops with quick returns. Have the confidence to leave fields fallow, to wait patiently for the grain to grow and to bear with the dry seasons.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What a great analogy with farming!<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t recommend pausing after every sentence. After all, too many people struggle to complete a first draft. But, at some point, you should pause to review what you have written. Don\u2019t hesitate to throw it out and start over if it doesn\u2019t work. Your second draft is bound to benefit from the ideas \u201cmarinating\u201d in your head.<\/p>\n

<\/a>2. Don\u2019t tax your reader\u2019s memory<\/h2>\n

\u201cA sentence must stick in the mind. It has to be literally memorable, never so intricate that it cannot be absorbed all at once,\u201d says Moran.<\/p>\n

He also says:<\/p>\n

\n

The limit of a spoken sentence is the breath capacity of our lungs. The limit of a written one is the memory capacity of our brains. The full stop at the end of a sentence sets the limit. By the time it arrives, you must still be able to recall the sentence\u2019s beginning. If you can\u2019t keep it all in your head, then maybe those words weren\u2019t meant to be together.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMaybe those words weren\u2019t meant to be together\u201d agrees with my assessment of many complex, long sentences that I read in the fields of investment and wealth management.<\/p>\n

I like using the idea of \u201cmemory capacity\u201d to explain why many long sentences don\u2019t work. I think that some of my clients might understand that better than my babbling about \u201ctoo many dependent clauses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Complex sentences and paragraphs are also a problem when key information is unintentionally omitted. As Moran says, \u201cA readers should not be asked to do the equivalent of lining up all the screws and dowels and puzzling over the instructions, only to find that the Allen key is missing.\u201d Ooh, there\u2019s another analogy that makes me smile.<\/p>\n

<\/a>3. Give gifts<\/h2>\n

Moran says that writing should be \u201can act of generosity, a gift from writer to reader.\u201d So, follow the rules of good gift giving. For starters, \u201cthe gift should never feel like more trouble than it is worth.\u201d Moreover, \u201cthe gift of knowledge that a sentence brings should never have to be bought, as it often is, with the reader\u2019s boredom or confusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Moran\u2019s suggestions, confusion abounds in many examples of financial writing. That\u2019s no gift.<\/p>\n

<\/a>4. Move up and down the ladder<\/h2>\n

Moran uses S.I. Hayakawa\u2019s idea of a ladder of abstraction. Concrete nouns like \u201cchair\u201d and \u201cwall\u201d are on the lowest rung. Abstract nouns\u2014nouns like \u201ctruth\u201d or \u201cknowledge\u201d\u2014are on the top rung.<\/p>\n

Moran says:<\/p>\n

\n

Writing stuck on one rung of the ladder of abstraction is too monotone. Arguments that use only abstract nouns, like truth<\/em> and power<\/em> and knowledge<\/em>, are hard to care about because writing that sidesteps the senses is dull. Sentimental or pious writing also leans on abstractions, replacing difficult feelings with consoling simplifications. When words are too general, they paint inadequate pictures. But writing that describes only the feelable things in front of our faces is also dull, because it does not say why those things should matter to someone else. Writing stuck on the ladder\u2019s middle rungs is worst of all, because here sit words with an illusory concreteness. Keep shinning up and down the ladder, though, and the reader gets the gist in different ways. She grasps big ideas through concrete things, and concrete things through big ideas. The tangible ignites the elusive and both of them shine brighter.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Moran himself seems to have a flair for \u201cshinning up and down the ladder.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I had to return this book to the library before finishing it. I\u2019m definitely re-reserving it. It\u2019s worth reading all the way through.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Disclosure:<\/strong>\u00a0 If you click on an Amazon link in this post and then buy something, I will receive a small commission. I provide links to books only when I believe they have value for my readers.<\/p>\n

The post 4 great tips for writing sentences<\/a> appeared first on Susan Weiner Investment Writing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joe Moran\u2019s First You Write a Sentence\u00a0has some great sentences about sentences. Here\u2019s a sampling of them, sorted by the lesson they suggest. 1. Slow down Moran writes: Most of us, when we write, march too quickly on to the next sentence. To write intelligibly is hard enough, so be sure you have done that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7049719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[2338,40545,3535,2456],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7049718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investing","tag-great","tag-sentences","tag-tips","tag-writing"],"yoast_head":"\n4 great tips for writing sentences - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7049718\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4 great tips for writing sentences - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Joe Moran\u2019s First You Write a Sentence\u00a0has some great sentences about sentences. 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