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Can you recognize an illogical structure?

· 3 min read
Taylor Krohn
Taylor Krohn
ReallyWrite

Better writing

We see illogical structures more often than we think.

And the worst part?

We tend to blame ourselves when we struggle to parse a sentence, instead of noticing how the writer may have inadvertently made our job harder.

Question​

I recently had a question from a subscriber of the free email course. When they first read about given to new, they asked:

I remember distinctly that The Economist often tells you the new number first. So they say: The Fed has increased interest to 4% from 3.5%. I always struggle a bit parsing that and am inclined to say: The Fed increased interest from 3.5% to 4%.

Would you put that under the given to new rule? And what might be their reason for switching it up?

Answer​

When you notice that you struggle a bit parsing that, that's a red flag. If the sentence was logically written, you would not be struggling.

What makes this structure illogical?

Let's break it down and look at what the reader expects at every moment:

  1. Subject and verb: The Fed has increased
    Expectation: I will see a what and then I will see an increase.

  2. Object: interest
    Expectation: Good. I expected to see a what. Now I will see an increase.

  3. Numbers: to 4% from 3.5%
    Expectation: WHAT? I was expecting an increase. When I read from left to right, the numbers are going down, not up! I am so confused.

Why are you confused? Because it's an illogical structure.

A good writer will consciously set your expectations and then follow through on them.​

They will not suddenly pull the rug out from under your feet!

Here's another example:

A recent Pew Research Center analysis reported that from 1965 to 2011, fathers reduced the number of hours they devoted to paid work to about 37 from 42 each week on average and increased the number of hours they devoted to childcare each week to about seven from 2.5.

The numbers gave you the opposite of what you expected. They set you up to expect a decrease and the numbers went up. Then they set you up to expect an increase and the numbers went down!

frustration Photo by Elisa Ventur

How frustrating. Did you also notice that the numerals are not used consistently either ('seven' vs. 2.5)? There's no reason for that, either.

Will you start noticing when the writer makes you work harder to read?​

And will you realize that it's not your fault when you struggle to parse an illogical sentence?


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