PRINCIPLES OF CLEAR AND EFFECTIVE WRITING

Principle # 1: Think first, then write

Article:

CLOUD CLASSIFICATION

Clouds are classified according to how they are formed. There are two basic types: (1)
Clouds formed by rising currents are piled up and puffy. They are called cumulus which means ‘piled up or
accumulated’. (2) Clouds formed when a layer of air is cooled below the saturation point without vertical
movement are in sheets of fog-like layers. They are called stratus, meaning ‘sheet-like or layered’.
Clouds are further classified by altitude into four families: high clouds, middle clouds, low
clouds and towering clouds. The bases of the latter may be as low as the typical low clouds, but the tops
may be at 75, 000 feet.
High clouds are composed almost directly of tiny ice crystals. Their bases average about
20, 000 feet above the earth. Three types exist: (1) cirrus clouds – thin, wispy and feathery – are composed
entirely of ice crystals. Cirrus clouds usually form at 25, 000 feet above where the temperature is always far
below freezing. These clouds are frequently blown about into feathery strands called ‘mare tails’; (2)
cirrocumulus clouds, generally forming at 20, 000 to 25, 000 feet, are rarely seen. These thin, patchy clouds
often form wavelike patterns. These are true mockerel sky not to be confused with altocumulus rolls. They
are often rippled and always too thin to show shadows: (3) cirrostratus clouds form at the same altitude as
cirrocumulus. These are thin sheets that look like3 fine veils of torn, wind-blown patches of gauze. Because
they are made of ice crystals, cirrostratus clouds form large halos, or ikuminous circles, around the sun and
moon.
Middle clouds are basically stratus and cumulus. Their bases average about 10, 000 feet
above the earth. Altostratus clouds are dense veils or sheets of gray or blue. They often appear fibrous or
lightly striped. The sun or moon does not form a halo, as with higher, ice crystal cirrostratus, but appears as
if seen through frosted glass. Altocumulus clouds are patches or layers of puffy or roll-l like clouds, gray or
whitish. They resemble cirrocumulus, but the puffs or rolls are larger and made of water ‘droplets’, not ice
crystals. Through altocumulus, the sun often produces a corona or disk, generally pale blue or yellow inside.
The corona’s color and spread distinguish it from the cirrostratus halo – a larger ring, covering much more of
the sky.
Low clouds have bases that range in height from near the earth’s surface to 6,500 feet.
There are three main kinds: stratus, nimbostratus and stratocumulus. Stratus is low, quite uniform sheet- like
fog. Dull-gray stratus clouds often make a heavy, leaden sky. Only fine drizzle can fall from true stratus
clouds, because there is little or no vertical movement in them. Nimbostratus clouds are the true rain clouds.
Darker than ordinary stratus, they have a wet look, and streaks of rain often extend to the ground. There are
often accompanied by low scud clouds (fractostratus) when the wind is strong. Stratocumulus clouds are
irregular masses spread out in a rolling or puffy layer. Gray with darker shading, stratocumulus clouds do not
produce rain but sometimes change into nimbostratus, which do. The rolls and masses then fuse together
and the lower surface becomes indistinct with rain.
Cumulonimbus clouds are the familiar thunder heads. Bases may almost touch the
ground; violent updrafts may carry the tops to 75, 000 feet. Winds aloft often mold the tops into a flat anvil-
like form. In their most violent form, these clouds produce tornadoes. Cumulus clouds are puffy, cauliflower-
like. Shapes constantly change. Over land, cumulus usually forms by day in rising warm air, and disappear
at night. They mean fair weather unless they pile up into cumulonimbus. Cumulus and cumulonimbus are
both clouds of vertical development, unlike layered clouds described previously. Clouds of a cumulus type
result from strong vertical currents. They form at almost any altitude, with bases sometimes as high as 14,
000 feet.

Example:

Outline:
Title: Cloud Classification

I. According to how they are formed

A. Cumulus
B. Stratus
 II. According to their altitude

A. High clouds
1. cirrus
2. cirrocumulus
3. cirrostratus

B. Middle clouds
1. altostratus
2. altocumulus

C. Low clouds
1. stratus
2. nimbostratus
3. stratocumulus

D. Towering clouds (Cumulonimbus)

Principle # 2: Use simple, short and familiar words.

Examples:
1. primitive – simple
2. subjective – bias
3. conjecture – guess
4. famished – hungry
5. monumental – big

Principle # 3: Get straight to the point!

1) Avoid using euphemism or genteelism

Examples:
1. poor health – malnourished
2. parted ways, separated – divorced
3. special child – autistic
4. G. R. O. (Guest Relation Officer) – whore
5. not-so-good-looking - ugly

2) Avoid using roundabout phrasing.

Examples:
1. for the reason that – because
2. confidently assure – promise
3. of very importance – important
4. within a brief preceding time – just
5. very great praise – honor

3) Avoid using words with overlapping meaning

Examples:
1. excessively too much – too much
2. intelligent genius - intelligent
3. sad blues - sad
4. professionally expert - expert
5. deep profoundness - deep

4) Avoid or minimize the use of verbal deadwood.

Examples:
1. It is of very importance that we should really make our surroundings clean.
 • It is important that we should make our surroundings clean.

2. Like all other people, we must have the courage to face our difficulties in life.
• We must have the courage to face our difficulties in life.

3. A soul mate, nonetheless, in its obviously truest sense, is a “mate of the soul”.
• A soul mate, in its truest sense, is a “mate of the soul”.

4. Now, it’s about time to clarify what soul mate really means to people like us.
• It’s about time to clarify what soul mate really means to us.

5. Therefore, we should be aware that a karmic partner is often mistaken for a soul mate.
• A karmic partner is often mistaken for a soul mate.

Principle # 4: Use specific, concrete language.

Example:
1. Vague: He will visit his parents in Bicol someday.
Precise: He will visit his parents in Virac, Catanduanes on December 23, 2008.

2. Vague: The meeting was held at the center of the campus.

Precise: The PTA meeting was held at the CSC Covered Court.

3. Vague: Her temperature is very high.

Precise: Her body temperature is 39. 5 °C.

4. Vague: The fire in the area just happened a while ago.

Precise: The fire in the parking area just happened 30 minutes ago.

5. Vague: The students of the first section study their lessons in different subjects during
vacant time.
Precise: The students of IV-Einstein study their lessons in different subjects during 8:30
– 9:30 in the morning.

Principle # 5: Avoid using jargon or too many technical terms.

Examples:
1. The sanitary expert has not received his salary yet.
• The janitor has not received his salary yet.

2. Baby Patricia’s baby cheerer wasn’t around this morning.

• Baby Patricia’s ‘yaya’ wasn’t around this morning.

3. The computer administrator has not yet come to the president’s office.
• The clerk has not yet come to the president’s office.

4. She wanted to help those who are living in a public land.

• She wanted to help those who are living in a squatter’s area.

5. The historical architecture of the family was built since 1940.

• The ancestral house of the family was built since 1940.

Principle # 6: Be careful when using idioms.

Examples:
1. head over heels – completely
2. a fish out of water – feels uncomfortable in unfamiliar surroundings or company
 3. stand by – sustain, maintain, support
4. down to earth – humble
5. red-letter day – joyful occasion

Principle # 7: Keep your sentences short.

• Longer sentences are often harder to understand.

• Use longer sentences to expound your ideas or to emphasize a point.
• Average sentence length for most newspapers is only about 17-20
words.

Principle # 8: Prefer the active voice to the passive voice.

Examples:
1. Catanduanes State Colleges celebrated their foundation day.

2. Jose Rizal’s humanism is in keeping with the spirit of our time.

3. The Philippines leads in the use of geothermal power.

4. The Philippines has all the assets to become a developed nation.

Exception:
5. The kidnappers shot the archeologist, Jackie Smith.
• Jackie Smith, an archeologist, was shot by the kidnappers.

Principle # 9: Avoid dangling modifiers.

Examples:
1. Butterflies flit and glide from flower to flower, with bright-colored wings and slender
bodies.
• With bright-colored wings and slender bodies, butterflies flit and glide from flower
to flower.

2. Sally Ride has the wit and courage to overcome difficulties who became America’s first
woman astronaut.
• Sally Ride, who became America’s first woman astronaut, has the wit and
courage to overcome difficulties.

3. He takes great delight in the hard outdoor life, physically and mentally alert.
• Physically and mentally alert, he takes great delight in the hard outdoor life.

4. After spending a week in my grandparent’s house, grandmother made me a beautiful

cloth.
• Grandmother made me a beautiful cloth, after I spent a week in my grandparent’s
house.

5. Reading silently my lessons, my friend called me outside.

• My friend called me outside while I was reading my lessons.

Principle # 10: Keep your paragraphs short.

 • Long paragraphs often result in huge masses of gray on the printed
page which are not fun to read.
• On the average, keep your paragraphs three to four sentences. Make
sure that each paragraph conveys only one main idea or thought.

Principle # 11: Arrange your material logically.

• A good writer is one who recognizes that one of his/her responsibilities

is to arrange the information in a way that readers can easily follow the flow of
thought.

Principle # 12: Strive for a smooth flow of ideas.

Example:
1. It is a privilege to express one’s ideas about certain lifestyles, beliefs, needs and
goals without fear of censorship as long as the rules governing libel and personal
attacks are observed. Furthermore, it is the freedom to offer the community the right
financial statistics instead of a “doctored” data.

2. The seed begins to sprout or germinate. Subsequently, the roots develop.

3. Even though he did not treat you so well, you must pay tribute to him. Besides, he is
still your grandfather.

4. Filipinos are kind to all guests. They make them feel comfortable and give them the
best of their beddings, food, and cloth. In other words, Filipinos are hospitable.

5. She still wants to pursue her studies although she is already disabled.

Principle # 13: Review your grammar.

Principle # 14: Revise and sharpen.