MET workshop: grammar pathway minisession

Dominoes: ordering sentences in a reader-friendly way

Facilitator: Maria Sherwood-Smith

This minisession will focus on various ways to improve coherence and flow in texts by paying attention to the order of information in the clause, thus improving textual fit within and between sentences. Building on earlier MET sessions on theme/rheme patterning, it will take a hands-on approach, giving participants plenty of opportunities to tackle short texts. The aim of the session is to make participants more aware of textual features that may increase the burden on the reader, and to give them some strategies that they as editors or translators can use to smooth the reader’s path. With this awareness, participants will be better placed to help their clients produce clear and reader-friendly texts.

About the facilitator: Maria Sherwood-Smith lectures in academic English at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences of Leiden University, the Netherlands, where she gives writing and presenting courses for early-career researchers.