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Joseph Kim
Shunming Wu
Prof. Justice
ENGL 393
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Awkwardness
Awkwardness in any writing that strikes reader as awkward, that is, as forced or
unnatural. Awkwardness in writing impedes reader’s understanding. There is no single rule or
technique to correct awkward phrasing. A writer must develop an “ear” for what sounds right
and be willing to reword a sentence until it sounds smooth, clear, and direct. However, remember
that writing is often overcomplicated.
Eliminating Awkwardness
The following checklist will help you smooth out most awkward passages
Examples
Awkward: Taking life a day at a time is how I think it should be done to be happy.
Better: Taking life one day at a time will make you happy.
Awkward: The article sums it up pretty well regarding what her plan is about.
Better: The article summarizes her plan well. Or, The article presents an effective summary
of her plan.
Awkward: The fact that we don’t eat a balanced diet is our biggest health problem and that
we don’t get enough exercise is also a big issue.
So, the sentence is about poor diet and lack of exercise(noun). What do these things do? We
don’t just want to say they “are” an issue. “Are” does not convey action and is a weak verb in
this context. What do poor diet and lack of exercise do? They contribute to or result in or
case (possible verb) our greatest health problems.
Better: Poor diet and lack of exercise contribute to our greatest health problems
Etymology
Dictionary of Word origins says “Awkward” was coined in the 1300s in Scotland and
northern England, where it meant “turned in the wrong direction.” It was used as an adverb
white it first showed up in writing but today, however, the adverbial form is “awkwardly,”
while “awkward” is an adjective. The “clumsy” sense of “awkward” showed up around the
1520s and over the years, the adjective “awkward” has taken on many other senses. People
started using the word to describe an ungainly person and eventually the adjective has been
used to describe among other things. Specifically, with writing, awkward was used by
writers/readers to express the reading was uncomfortable, having no flow or a good
understanding of what the writer was conveying to give accurate criticism.
References
Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman. “The Awkwardness of ‘Awkward.’”
Grammarphobia, 21 Sept. 2016
Mike Markel and Stuart A Selber. Technical Communication(12th Edition), 2018