Avoid Lengthy Subjects in Academic Writing

Academic writing can surely be daunting for a lot of researchers. Communicating major concepts of your research work with precision is never that straightforward. Any level of ambiguity can have dire consequences that include rejection by the publisher. That’s why it is paramount for a researcher to be well-versed with the fundamental rules of grammar and sentence structure. Eliminating lengthy subjects in sentences is a great place to begin your journey towards publication success.

The Significance of Subject-Verb Agreement

Constructing effective sentences is crucial in all types of formal writing. It’s vital to recognize that every sentence has a subject and a predicate. The subject is the noun executing an action and the predicate is the verb explaining that action. In formal writing, subject-verb agreement gives your ideas clarity and showcases your writing acumen.

Given below is an example of subject-verb agreement. The verb is in bold and the subject is italicized.

The CEO of the organization gave her employees a bonus.

In the above example, it’s evident that the person executing the action is “The CEO of the organization,” and the action executed is the verb “gave,” the past verb form of “to give.” If the subject and verb did not agree, the sentence would’ve appeared awkward and unclear. Now, let’s figure out why lengthy subjects can be a problem.

The Adverse Impact of Lengthy Subjects

Given its formal nature, academic writing must be crystal clear. Lengthy subjects can make the writing unclear. Here are three sentences with lengthy subjects:

• The best advantage presented to the staff of the L1 and L2 shop floors was the specialized management programs.
• For Stella to take me to my parents’ home town on our anniversary was truly thoughtful.
• To be able to go to the concert on my birthday was really heartening.

The common thread with all the examples is that the subject is too long and the predicate shorter in comparison. A lengthier subject naturally results in prolonging the time it takes to get to the crux. All three sentences must be restructured to have better clarity and to make them easier to read.

Here are the revised versions with effective sentence structures:

• The best advantage presented to the staff of the L1 and L2 shop floors was the specialized management programs.
  • Revised version: The specialized management programs were the best advantage presented to the staff of the L1 and L2 shop floors.

• For Stella to take me to my parents’ home town on our anniversary was truly thoughtful.
  • Revised Version: It was truly thoughtful of Stella to take me to my parents’ home town on our anniversary.
• To be able to go to the concert on my birthday was really heartening.
  • Revised Version: It was really heartening to go to the concert on my birthday.

A Step Closer to Becoming a Superior Writer

Were you able to identify the dissimilarities between all the above examples? Do you believe you have a clear understanding of how the restructured sentences are easier to comprehend? If your instinct says “yes,” then you’re already on the right track to becoming a superior academic writer. It’s essential to recognize the principles of writing, which include rules of grammar. Once your fundamentals are solid, you will surely be able to express your original ideas with clarity. That will, inevitably, result in long-term publication success.

How to eliminate lengthy subjects in formal writing? It would be great if you could share your thoughts and recommendations in the comments segment below.

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