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 Misplaced Modifiers:

 Misplaced modifier are words that do not describes the words the  writer intended them to describe. Misplaced modifier often obscure the meaning of a sentence. To avoid them, place words as close as possible to what they describe.

Example: She goes to a school that has about 6,000 people in San Diego.

In this sentence, "that has about 6,000 people" is the modifier, and what it describes is "school" because it is the school that had about 6,000 students.

It is important to put the modifier in the right place, or confusion can result.

    She goes to a school in San Diego, that has about 6,000 people.

    Now the modifier, "that has about 6,000 student." refers to San Diego, which is incorrect.

 Misplaced Words

Tony bought an old car from a crooked dealer with a faulty transmission.          
     (The dealer had a faulty transmission ?)

Correctly Placed Words

Tony bought an old car with a faulty transmission from a crooked dealer.

 Misplaced Words

I nearly earned a hundred dollars last work.
(You just missed earning a hundred dollars, but in fact earned nothing?)

Correctly Placed Words

I earned nearly a hundred dollars last work.
(The meaning-that you earned a little under a hundred dollars-is now clear.)

 Misplaced Words

Bill yelled at the howling dog in his underwear.
(The dog wore underwear?)

Correctly Placed Words

Bill, in his underwear, yelled at the howling dog
(The words describing Bill are placed next to "Bill.")

 Dangling:

 A modifier that opens a sentence must be followed immediately by the word it is meant to describe. Otherwise, the modifier is said to be dangling, and the sentence takes on an unintended meaning. For example:

While smoking a pipe, my dog sat with me by the cracking fire.

The unintended meaning is that the dog was smoking the pipe. What the writer meant, of course, was that he, the write, was smoking the pipe. The dangling modifier could be corrected by placing I, the word being described, directly after the opening modifier and raising as necessary:

While smoking a pipe,I sat with my dog by the cracking fire.

The dandling modifier could also be corrected by placing the subject within the opening word group:

While I was smoking a pipe, my dog sat with me by the cracking fire.

More Example:
Dangling: Swimming at the lake, a rock cut Sue's foot.
Correct:  Swimming at the lake, Sue cut her foot on a rock .or: When Sue was Swimming at the lake, she cut her foot on a rock.

Dangling: While eating my sandwich, five mosquitoes bit me.
Correct:  While I eating my sandwich, five mosquitoes bit me. or: While eating my sandwich, I was bitten by five mosquitoes bit me.

Dangling: Getting out of bed, the tile floor was so could that Yoko shivered all over.
Correct: Getting out of bed, Yoko found the the tile floor so could that she shivered all over.
Or: When Yoko Got out of bed, the tile floor was so could that she shivered all over.

Dangling: To join the team, a C average or better is necessary.
Correct:  To join the team, you must have a a C average or better.
Or: For you to join the team, a C average or better is necessary.

 Parallel Structure:

Words in a a pair or a series should have a parallel structure. By balancing the items in a pair or a series so that they have the dame kind of structure, you will make a sentence clearer and easier to read.

Nonparallel (not balanced):
I resolved to lose weight, to study more, and watching less TV.
Parallel (balanced):
I resolved to lose weight, to study more, and to watch less TV.
(A balanced series of to verbs.)

Nonparallel (not balanced):
A consumer group rates my car as noisy, expensive, and not having much safety.
Parallel (balanced):
A consumer group rates my car as noisy, expensive, and unsafe.
(A balanced series of descriptive words)

Nonparallel (not balanced):
Lola likes wearing soft sweaters, eating exotic foods, and to bathe in Clagon bath oil.
Parallel (balanced):
Lola likes wearing soft sweaters, eating exotic foods, and bathing in Clagon bath oil.
(A balanced series of -ing words)

Nonparallel (not balanced):
Single life offers more freedom of choice; more security is offered by marriage.
Parallel (balanced):
Single life offers more freedom of choice; marriage offers more security.
(Balanced verb and word order)

 Conciseness:

"Conciseness," (sometimes called "concision") means getting our point across-effectively-in the fewest words. Using wordy words to express a meaning-is often a sign of lazy or careless writing. Your readers may resent the extra time and energy they must spent when you have not done the work needed to make your writing direct and concise.

Example: Anne is of the opinion that the death penalty should be allowed.
Omitting needless words improves the sentences:
Anne supports the death penalty.

Example: I would like to say that my subject in this paper will be the kind of generous person that my father was.
Omitting needless words improves the sentences:
my father was a generous person.

To achieve conciseness:

1. eliminate redundancies (things that are said twice)
   a) My uncle lives in a big, large house.
   b) My uncle lives in a large house.

2. take out words that are repeated unnecessarily
   a) My uncle's home, which is a cabin, is big, and his cabin is on a hill.
   b) My uncle's home is a big cabin on a hill.

3. combine sentences, especially short ones

   a) My uncle's name is Fred. He is my mother's brother. Uncle Fred is a tightwad.
   b) Uncle Fred, My mother's brother, is tightwad.

                                  
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