Ititegrati~igsoin! ces
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sorlrces
W~tll practice,
-- quotations,
you willsu~ritnaries,
learn to integrate
paraphrases,
irrfor~natiorl
and facts
from
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,
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Notice: This Material may be Protected by
Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code)
More info: http://library.uww.edu/copyright.html
s r ~ ~ o o t h into
l y your own text
Readers need to move frorn your own words to tlie words of a
source without feelirig a jolt Avoid dropping quotations into
the text without warning Instead, provide clear sigrlal phrases.
usually including the author's name. to prepare readers fol- a
quotation
DROPPED QUOTATION
I n 2000. the legislature o f Suffolk County passed a law r ~ s t r i c t
i ~ drivers'
~ g
gse o f handheld phones. "The b i l l p r o h i b i t s tlie us?
o f a c e l l phone w h i l e d r i v i n g unless i t i s equipped w i t l i an earpiece or can act l i k ~a speakerpllone. leavinq t l i e driver's hands
free" (Kelley 1).
QUOTATION WIT11 SIGNAI. PHRASE
111 2000, t l ~ elegislature o f Suffolk County passed a l a w restricti n g drivers' use o f handheld pllorles. Accordirlg t o jourrlalist T i ~ i a
K$y.
"The b i l l p r o h i b i t s the us? o f a c e l l p h o n ~w l i i l ~d r i v i n g
unless i t is equipped w i t h an ~ a r p i ~ core can a c t like a speakerphone, leaving tlie driver's Ilarlds free" (1).
'Ib avoid ~ r ~ o n o t o nvary
y , botli tlie lariguage a ~ l d(lie placenlent of your signal phrases. l'lie models in the char[ on page
408 suggest a range of possibilities.
Wlien your signal phrase includes a verb, choose one
tllal is appropriale in the context Is your source arguing a
point, malting an observation. rel>ortjllg a fact, drawir~ga conclusion, refuting ari argulrient. or stating a belief? By choosi t ~ gan appropriate verb, you can make your source's stance
clear See t l ~ echart for a list of verbs commonly used in signal
plirases.
orlen iritegrale a phrase rrorii a source into your ow11 setitelice
strrictilt e
In the words of researchas Redelmeier af~diibshitaili, ", . ."
A$ hatt Suyeen has titried, 'i :
Patll Peha, mother of 5 ctllld klllfd by 3 drivel distracted by a
cell pliohe, points out tiiat '. . .'
Redelrneier a n d Tibshirani round that Iiands-free phones were not
any safer i n vehicles tha~lother cell pllorles. They suggest that
crashes irlvolvirlg cell plrones m a y "resntt f r o m a driver's li~iiita-
.
'. . ,"write5 chrlstlrle Hdilghney, " . '
,"clalnis wh.eIess indllslly sDokektierson ~hlieilejacubs.
Radlo hosts Tom and Ray Magllozii dffei 8 betgiii~lvi!tou~iterargdrnent: ', . ."
'. .
acktiowledges
ctimtnents
endotses
ieasons
adds
ko~nljate~
grant:
refutes
admits
contirms
ill~sifafej
rejects
aglees
coiltends
hplles
tiipbkts
'
declares
lrlsists
te5borids
asserts
deriies
tiotes
sllkgesd
believes
disputes
clallns
emphasizes
observes
poiilis out
tlrinki
wrlf~
.,
.,.,-. -.
THE ELLIPSIS MARK 1'0 c o r ~ d e a
~ quoted
~ ~ e passade. you car1
irse tlie cllrpsis mark (tliree spaced periods) to i r ~ d i c a ~that
e
you lrave olriitted wolds What rernailis nlust be gralr~rnatically
cc~rnl~lele
The University of North Carolir~aIlighway Safety Research
Center has begun a s t r ~ d yassessing a variety of driver distractions. According to Allyson Vaugl~ari."The research . . . i s
*-,
WHEN 10 USE QUOl'ArIONS
-
-
Ushg the ellipsis rllar It arld bracltets
livo user111tnarks of punctuatrori, the ellrpsis Inar lc arid brarltrts. allow you to keep qrrot~rltriaterial to a rninirnurn and to integrate it stnoothly illto your text
argues
*
lions with re.gard to atter~tionrather than dexterity" (456).
Wlierl langrla9e is csl~eciallyvivid o r exj~ressive
-When exact wording is rieeded Tor !ecl~r~ical
ac-crrracy
-- Wllen it is ililportar~rto let tlie debaters of ari i s s ~ r
ex~
plain ll~eirljosilior~sin tlieir ow11worcls
irilerided to irrject some empirical eviderlce ir~tothe debate
over whetl~ertalkillg on wireless ptlorles while drivirlg leads to
accidents" (1).
T11e writer Iias otni~tedOle words,f~lltljedby ille , l , l A I'oui~dolion,for l)-(!fjc Sqfety, wlii~liappeare11 i l l the sollrce
0 1 1 tlie rare occasior~swlien y o ~ warit
t
to ornit orle or riiotc'
lull sentences, trse a period before the tliree ellipsis dvts.
Redetrl~eiera n d Tibsllirarli acknowledge that tllei~stc~dy" i r ~ d i cates a n association but not necessarily a causal relatior1
-
Wllet~larlg~lageu l a source is the topic of your tliscwsslor~(as in arl arlalysis or it~terprelatior~)
11 is 1101 always riecessary to quote fcrll serltvricvs rroril a
5ourc e 10 redrlre your reliance on the words of otl~ets.voti cat1
between t h e
us^
OF rellular telepllones wllile d r i v i n g a n d a
subserju~nt~iiotorvehicle collision. . . . 111 a d d i t i o n ,
did not include serious ilijcrries . . ." ( 4 5 7 ) .
0111 study
Ordit~arily.d o not use ari ellipsis rtiarlc at the brgirlriii~gor
at tile end of a quotatio~l.Yuur readers will utiderstnnd that tlie
qrtoted material is taketi fror~ia loriger passage. s o s ~ c nlarks
h
v-
are not necessary. .rile only exceiitior~occurs w h e l i words a1
1l1eend or t l ~ e
r~rralquoted senterlce have been dropped. 111 such
cases, put three ellipsis dots herore tlle closing q ~ r o t a t i o nm a r k
and p a r r t ~ t l ~ e t i c rererenc?.
al
as ill tlie example just giverl.
Obviously y o u should n o t use an ellipsis rr~ar-lcto distort the
~ n e a r ~ i no gf your source.
BRACKETS Brackets allow y o u to insert your ow11words i n t o
quoted material You car1 insert words ill braclwts to explain a
corllr~singrererence :or to keep a sentence g r a l r l ~ l l a t i r a il r yarrr
~
colltext
Arcordinq to economists Robert Hal~nand Paul Tetlock, "Sonie
studies say they [Ilands-free pllonesj would have no impact
or1 accidents, w l l i l e others suggest the reductior~scould be
sizable" ( 2 ) .
53 b
Use signal phrases t o introduce lllost s u m ~ n a r i e sa n d
paraphrases.
I n t r o d ~ r c e (nost surnniaries a n d pa~aplirasesw i t h a sigrlal
phrase that names the author a n d places the material i n r o n text. Readers w i l l then understand that everything between t l ~ e
signal phrase a n d the pa~.entlieticalcitation surnmarizes o r paraphrases the cited source.
W i t h o u t the signal phrase (underlined) i n the following example, readers might t h i n k that o n l y the quotation at tlie e n d
is being cited, w h e n i n fact the whole paragraph is based o n
tlie source.
Alasdair Cain and Mark Burris report that research on
--
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traffic accidents and c e l l phone use has been inconclusive.
Many factors play a role: for example, tlie type of phone
'lb ir~dicatea l l w r o r ill a quolation, insert [sic] right alter
the error See also 34c
(hands-free or not), the extent to which tlie conversation
i s distracting, arld the demographic profile of the driver.
Altliougli research suggests that phoning in a n~ovirigvehicle
affects driver performalice, studies have failed to quantify
When a quoted passage takes u p rrlore t l ~ lorsr
a ~ ~
typed lirles o f
p o s e or rllore tllarl t l ~ r e el i r ~ e sn f poelry in yollr paper, set o f f
the quotalior1 t ~ yirlder~tirigi t one i n c h (or ten spares) frorn the
left ~ r l a r g i n .
I . o r ~ gqnotations s l i o ~ ~ 11e
l d i r ~ t r o d u c e dt ~ yarl irllorlnative
serlterlce, usually followed 11y a colon. Quotation ~ r ~ a r are
k s urlrlecessaly I~ecausetlle indellled lor-rr~attells readers that 1I1?
words are taken w o l d - f o r - w o r ~ df r o m tlie source.
lo111ar~dRay Maglioz7i art? not ilnpre~sedby eror~o~iiist<
who
rollduct risk b ~ ~ ~ arialyses
elit
of pliorie use by drivers:
tlie degree of driver impairment. Cain and Burris write
that drivers using c e l l pliorles on the road "were anywhere
from 34 percent to 300 percerit more likely to have an
accident" ( I ) .
'I'lle~-eare times, however. w h e n a signal phrase naming the
author is not necessary Wheri the context rnakes clear where
the cited material begins, yorl may o n l i t the signal phrase and
iriclutle the autliors' last names i n the parentheses: (Cain arld
Rurris 1 ) .
Otlier critics [of regulation of c e l l P ~ O I ~ Psome
S ] from
prestigious "think tar1ks"--perfor111what appear to be
~ r u d i t ecost/benelit alialyses. T l i e prohlerr~here is that
and
tlie benefits are always in uriits of cnnve~iie~ice
produrtivily w l ~ i tile
l ~ rosts
alp
i r i ~ ~ r ~o fi ti n
sj r l r i ~ s
and people's lives! ( 2 )
Notice that a1 l l i ~
elid of an i n d e ~ i t ~quotatior1
d
t l w pareiitlletical citatior~goes outside the firla1 ~ r l a r ko f purlctiratin~i.
5 3 Wit11
~ statislirs arid o t l l e r facts, a sigllal phrase I n a y n o t
be
needed.
Wheri you are citing a statistic or other specific fact. a sigrlal
plirase is orterl n o t necessary. I n most cases, readers w i l l LIIIderstand tllat the citation refers to the statistic or fact (not the
wlrole paragraph).
/
introduced with the subject of each seiitence. As a rule. a sentence's subject should echo a subject or object in the previous
sentence.
The following rough-draft paragraph is needlessly hard to
read because s o few of the sentences' subjects are tied to earlier subjects or objects. The subjects appear in italics.
Using parallel structures
Parallel structures are frequently used within sentences to underscore the similarity or ideas (see 9) 'I hey may also be used
to bind together a series of sentences expressing similar information. In the following passage describing folk beliefs.
anthropologist Margaret Mead presents similar information in
parallel grammatical form.
Actually, almost every day, even in the most sophisticated
home, soniething is likely to happen that evohes the memory
of some old folk belief. The salt spills. A hnife falls to the floor.
Your nose tickles. Then perhaps, with a slightly embarrassed
srl~ile.the person who spilled the salt tosses a pinch over his left
shoulder. Or sorneone recites the old rhyme. "Knife falls, gentleman calls." Or as you rub your nose you think. That means a
letter. I wonder who's writillg7
-Margaret Mead, "New Superstitions for Old"
One goes about trapping in this mallner. At the very outset
one acquires a "trapping" state of mind. A libr.ary of books
must be read, and preferably sorneorre with experience sllould
educate the novice. Prepa~.ingfor the first expedition takes several steps. The pur.chase of traps is first. A pair of rubber gloves,
waterproof hoots, and the grubbiest clothes capable of withstanding human use corne next to outfit the trapper for his adventure Finally, the decisioti has to be made on just what kirid
of animals to seek, what sort of bait to use, and where to place
the traps.
Although the writer repeats a nuniber of key words, such as
h'apph~g,the paragraph seems disconriected becaicse new information is introduced with the subject of each senteltce
?b improve the paragraph. the writer used the first-person
pronoun as the subject of every sentence The revision is ~ n u c h
easier to read
I went about trapping i r l this manner. To acquire a "trapping" state of mind. I read a library of books and talked at lengtll
with an experienced trapper, rny father. Then I purchased the
traps and outfitted myself by collecting a pair of rubber gloves.
waterproof hoots, and the gruhbiest clothes capable of withstanding lillman use. Finally. I decided just what kinds of anirnals to seek, what sort of bait to use, and where to plare my
traps.
-John Clyde Thatrher. student
A less skilled writer might have varied the structure. perhaps
like this: T11e salt gets spilled. Mother drops a kniJe on the,poot*.
Your nose begins to tickle. But these sentences are less effective;
Mead's parallel structures llelp tie the passage together.
Notice that Tliatcher combined s o m e of his original senterices.
By doing so, he was able to avoid excessive repetitions of the
pronoun I Notice, too, that he varied his sentence openings
(most senterices d o not begin with I ) so that readers are not
likely to find the repetitions tiresome.
Mair?tair~ir~g
corlsisterlcy
Providing tmrisitioris
coflerence suffers whenever a draft shifts conf[rsingly from one
point of view to another or from one verb terise to another. (See
13 ) Iri atidition, colierence can suffer when new inforrnatiori is
Transitions are bridges between what has been read and whqt
is about to be read, Transitions help readers rnove from selltence to sentence: they also alert readers to Inore global
connections of ideas.- those betweell paragraphs or ever1 larger
blocks of text.
SENTENCE-LEVEL TRANSITIONS Certain w o r d s a n d phrases
signal connections between (or within) sentences. Frequently
used transitions a r e included in t h e lollowing list.
TO SHOW ADDITION
and, also, besides. Further. Frlrthernlore, in addition. moreover.
next, too, r~rst,second
TO GIVE EXAMPLES
For example. For instance, to illustrate. in Fact, specirtcally
TO COMPARE
also, in the same Irlanner, sinlilarly, likewise
TO CONTRAST
but. however, on the other hand, in contrast, nevertlleless, still,
even tllougli, on the contrary, yet, althorlgl~
TO SUMMARIZE OR CONCLUDE
i t 1 other words, in short, in srlrrlmary. in conrlusion, to s~rrrlup.
that is, thereiore
TO SHOW TIME
aF~er.as, berore, next, during. later. finally. tr~earlwhile,then,
when. while, inlmediately
I don't wish to deny that the flattened. inir~usculehead of
the large-bodied "Stegosaurus" houses little brain irorn our subjective, top-heavy perspective, but 1 do wish to assert that we
should not expect rnore of the beast. First of all, large anin~als
have relatively sn~allerbrains than related, small animals. The
correlation OF brain size with body size among kindred anirnals
(all reptiles, all rnammals. jor exainple) is remarkably regular As
we move Frofn small to large animals. From mice to elepllants or.
small lizards to Komodo dragons. brain size increases, but not so
Fast as body size. 111other woi.ds, bodies grow faster than brains,
and large animals have low ratios oF brain weight to body weight
ln fact, brains grow only about two-thirds as fast as bodies. Since
we have no reason to believe that large anirnals are consistently
stupider than their smaller relatives, we must corlclr~dethat
lar-ge anin~alsrequire relatively less brain to do as well as smaller
animals. If we do not recognize this relationship, we are likely to
underestimate the mental power of very large animals, dinosar~rs
irl particular. [Italics added.]
- Stepl~en
Jay Gould. "Were Oirlosaurs IIumb7"
110 not b e too sell-conscious a l ~ o u pluggirlg
t
i l l transition w o r d s while you are drafting sentences: overuse of t h e s e
signals c a n seen1 heavy-handed Usually, you will use trarlsitions quite rlaturally, just w h e r e readers need thern I f you (or
your reviewers) discover places w h e r e readers carlrlot easily
rnove f r o r ~ ls e n t e n c e to setlteuce in your rough draft, you cat1
always a d d transition words a s you revise
CAUTION:
TO SHOW PIACE O R DIRRCTION
above, below. beyond. Farther on. nearby. opposite. close. to the
leFt
TO INDICATE LOGICAI. RELATIONSIIIP
if. so. therelore. coi~seq~~ently.
thus, as a result, Tor this reasorl
since
Sltilled writers use trarlsitional expressions wit11 care. rnaking sure, for example. not to u s e consequently w h e n a n also
would b e more precise. Tiley a r e also careful to select transitions with a n appropriate tone, p e r h a p s preferring s o to thus in
a n infornlal piece, in s u ? i ~ r i ~ ntoi .in
~ ~s l ~ o r for
t a scholarly essay.
In t h e following paragrapll, taken frorr~a n argurnerlt that
dir\osaurs had t h e "'right-sized' brains for reptiles of their body
size," biologist S t e p h e n Jay Gould uses transitions (italicized)
wit11 skill.
For an electronic exercise oh transitions, go to
dfarlahacker.comlkules
arid click on
Lc E l e c t r o t d c Writing Exercises
b E-ex 4-2
PARAGRAPII-LEVEL T R a N n n o N s Paragrapll-level transitions
usually link t h e j r s t serltetlce of a n e w paragraph wlth the.first
s e n t e n c e of t h e prevrous paragraph In o t h e r words. tlle topic
s e n t e n c e s signal global c o n n e c t i o n s
Look for opportunities to allude to t h e subject of a pievi
o u s paragraph (as sutnrned u p in ~ t topic
s
sentence) in t h e topic
s e n t e n c e of t h e next otle I r l his essay "Little Green Lit-s."
Jonall~an11. Alder uses this stl-ategy in the following topic sentences, which appear in a passage describing the b e r ~ e f ~ of
ts
plastic pacltagillg
Consider aseptic pacltagi~ig,the synthetic pacltaging for the
so many childre11bring to school with their lurlcli.
[Rest oJparo$rap/~omitted]
" j ~ ~ i boxes"
ce
What is true for juice boxes is also true for otlrer forills of
syntl~eticpackaging [Rest oJparagrap11 omitted.]
TRANSITIONS BETWEEN BI.OCKS
OF TEXT 111long essays, you will
need to alert readers to connections between blocks of text
more than one paragraph long You can do this by inserting
transitional sentelices or short paragraphs at key points in the
essay ffere, for example, is a transitional paragraph frorn a studerit ~esearcllpaper. It annourices that the rirsi part of her paper has come to a close and ~ l l esecond part is about to begin.
Although tlre great apes have demonstrated sigriificant
larigllage sltills, one cetrtral question remailis Cali ttiey be
language tool we call grarntaught to use that uriiqr~elyIi~r~r~acr
mar, to learn tlie dirrerelrce. Tor illstance, beiweerl "ape bite
11111rran"
and "h~lmaribite ape"? 111 otlrer words, call an ape
create a sentence7
-
Ar~otllerstrategy to help readers rnove frorn one block of text
to arlotller is to insert lieadir~gsin your essay Headings, wliicli
usually sit above blocks of text, allow you to announce a llew
topic I~oldly,w i l l ~ o r ~[lie
t ~ieeclfor s u b ~ l etrarlsilior~s (See 5 b )
4e
If necessary, adjust paragraph length.
Most readers feel cornfortable reading paragraphs that range be-
Lweell one llundred and Lwo I~uridl-edwords. Shorter paragraplls
force too ri~uclistarti~igand slopping, and longer ones strain
tlie reader's atLentior1 spari. Tliere are exceptiorls to this guideli~le.llowever. Paragraphs longer than two hundred words frequently appear in scliolarly wriiing, where they suggest seriousness arid deptll. Paragraplis sliorter than orle hundred words
occur in newspapers because of narrow columns; in informal
essays to quiclteri the pace; slid in business writing and Web
sites, where readers routiri~lysltirn for lrlairl ideas.
In an essay, the first and last paragraphs will ordinarily be
the introduction and conclusion. These special-purpose paragraphs are likely to be shorter than the paragraphs in the body
of tlie essay. Typically, the body paragraphs will follow the essay's outline: one paragraph per uoint in short essay?, a group
of paragraphs per p a t in loneer ones. S-ome ideas require mote
developmen-,
however, s o it is best to be flexible. IF
a n idea stretches to a length unreasonable For a paragraph, you
should divide t h e paragraph, even if you have presented comparable points in the essay in single paragraphs.
Paragraph breaks are not always made For strictly logical
reasons. Writers use them For all of the following reaso~is.
REASONS FOR BEGINNING A NEW PARAGRAPH
- to mark o f f tlie introduction and coriclusiorl
- to signal a shift to a new idea
- to indicate an irnportant shift in time or place
- to e ~ ~ ~ p h a sai zpoint
e
(by placing it at the beginning or
the end, not in the tniddle, of a paragraph)
- to Iiiglllight a contrast
- to signal a change of speakers (in dialogue)
- to provide readers with a needed pause
- to break u p text that looks too dense
Beware of using too Inany short, choppy paragraphs, however. Readers want to see how your ideas connect, and llley become irritated when you break their rnomentum by forcing
them to pause every few sentences. Here are some reasons you
might have for combining solne of the paragraphs in a rough
draft.
REASONS FOR COMBINING PARAGRAPHS
to clarify the essay's organization
- to connect closely related ideas
- to bind together text that looks too choppy
-
8a
Prefer active verbs.
AS a rule, choose an active verb and pair it with a subject tllat
names the person or thing doin9 the action. Active verbs F X press meaning more emphatically and vigorn~~sly
than their
weaker c o u n t e r p a r t s f o r r n s of the verb be or verbs in the
passive voice.
PASSIVE
The puli~pswe1.e destroyed by a surge of power.
RE VERB
A surge of power was respo~lsiblelor tile destruction
oi the pumps.
ACTIVE
A surge of pow1 destroyed the pumps
ACTIVE
Hernando caught the fly ball
PASSIVE
l'hc fly ball was car~ghtby tiernando.
A b o l t o f lightnirlg s t r u c k t h e t r a n s f o r n l e r ,
F The-trttnsfernter-wassett&by-itbelhf--Iigh$nin plunging us
A
into darkness.
'The active verb (struck) makes the point Inore forcerully than the
passive verb (was struck).
The s e t t l e r s stripped t h e larid of titiiber before reali7it1g t h e
b The - l a d -wass&ippedeFcmbe~-Beferre&e seders-realized
A
the consequences of their actions.
' ~ I I P revisio~lemphasizes tlle actors (settlers) by nanlir~gthe111in
hooked
F. The goalie crouched low, rewhed out his stick. and sent the
A
In the active voice. the subject.dnes the action; in the passive
voice, the subject receives the action (see also 62c). Although
both voices are grammatically correct, the active voice is usually rnore elFective because it is simpler and more direct.
In passive. sentences, the actor (in this case Ilernando) frequently disappears frorn the sentence: Tl~e./ly ball was caught.
In most cases, you will want to emphasize the actor, so you
should use the active voice. Ih replace a passive verb with an
active alt~rnative,lnalte the actor the subject of the sentence
verbs in t l ~ epassive voice lack slrength because tl~eirsubjects
receive the action instead or doi~lgit. Forms of t l ~ everb be (be.
aiil, is, are, was, were. being, been) lack vigor because they convey no action.
Altl~uugli passive verbs and tornls o l he 11ave legitiitrate
uses, i f an active verb can carry your meaning. use it. Even
anlong active verbs, solne are rnore active -- a r ~ dthererore more
vigorous and c o l o r f u l than others. Carefully selected verbs
can ellet-gize a piece o l writing.
swept
Use t h e active voice tlniess you have a good reasoll for
choosing the passive.
the subject.
A
We did riot take dowti t h e
rebound away from the niouth of the net.
k- The Cllrist~nasdecorations were-neL&kerr&wn
untll
A
Valentine's Day.
Some multilingual speakers avoid the passive voice evert wlten
it is appropriate. For advice on transfor~ningan active sentence
ESL to the passive. see 62c
rllECliERS ar? fairly good at nagging passive verbs.
such as were given. tlowever. because passive verbs are sornetilnes appropriate, you - no1 the computer program - lnllst de-
GRAMMAR
Oftell the actor does not appear in a passive-voice sentence. To
ttlrn SUCII a sellterlce into the active voice, the writer must decide
o n an appropriate subject, i t 1 this case We.
1
Appropriate uses of flle lzassive
The passive voice is appropriate if you wish to emphasize the receiver of the action or to rninirnize the importance of the actor.
APPROPRIATE
PASSIVE
APPROPRJME
PASSIVE
violate
Burying nuclear waste in Antarctica would be-in-welatien-e#
A
Many native Ilawaiians areJorced to leave their
t~eautifulbeaches to rnalce room Tor lintels and
corldo~iiir~iurns
an i ~ ~ t e r r ~ a t i otreaty.
nal
As the tinie for harvest approaches. ttie tobacco
plants are sy~rayedwith a cherllical to retard the
growth uF suckers
The writer of tile first s e n t e n c e wislied to e m p h a s i z e L I I ~receiver of t h e action, I-lawaiians. The writer of t h e s e c o n d
s e n t e n c e wished to focus o n t h e tobacco plants, not o n tlie
people s p r a y i r ~ gthein.
In niuch scientific writing, t l ~ epassive voice properly
emphasizes t h e expet.irnent o r process being described, not t h e
researcher
Violate is less wordy and more vigorous than be
P
ill
11iolatioi1oJ.
resisted
When Rosa Parks wasreskQ~#e giving up her seat
011
the
A
bus, she became a civil rights hero.
Resisled is stronger t l ~ a nwas resistai~lto
EXERCISE 8-1
APPROPRJATE
PASSIVE
T11e solution was heated to the boiling point.
a r ~ dthe11 it was reduced in vol~lrr~e
by 50 ~ ~ e r c e r l t
Revise any weak, unemphatic sentences by replaci~lghe verbs or passive verbs with active alternatives Some sentences are empl~atic:do
not change theln. Revisions of lettered sentences appear in tltc back of
the book Example:
Rlrles on avoiding the passive voice have sparked debates. I F you're
irlterested in learciirig why, go to dianahacker.com/rules
The ranger doused the carnpfire before giving u5
The farnpfire- w a s t l e w e ~ ~ g e & e F e f e - w e - w w e - g i v e n
A
and click or1 b Language Debates
b Passive volce
a ticket lor ur~authorizeduse o l a can~psite.
a
The Prussians were victorious over the Saxons in 1715
The entire operation is rnanaged by Ahmed. the producer
c. Yellow flags were throw11 down by all the referees.
d At the crack of rocket and mortar blasts. 1 jurnped from the rop
hunk and landed o n rny t~uddybelow, wllo was crawling on the
floor looking for his boots.
~se
e. Tlkere were stiouting protesters on the c o u r ~ h o ~ steps.
b
8b
Replace be verbs t h a t result in dull
01.
wordy s e n t e n c e s .
Not every be verb rleeds replacing. T h e Tornis o f be (be, aiit, is,
are, was, were, being, heen) w o r h well w h e n you want t o link a
sul!ject to a n o u n that clearly r e n a m e s it o r lo all ac!jective tllat
describes it: 1~islo1.yis a bucket oJ a s l ~ e s Scotri~drels
.
ni-e alivnj~s
sociable. And w h e n used a s helping verbs before preserlt participles (is jlyii~g,a1.e disappearing) to e x p r e s s ongoing aclion.
he verbs a r e fine: Dei.i.ick was ploiviilg the .field ivhen his w7fe
iveiit illto labor (See 29a.)
IT u s i r ~ ga 11e verb m a k e s a s e n t e n c e needlessly dull a n d
wordy, how eve^; c o ~ ~ s i d replacing
er
it. OTtetl a plirase followi~ig
t h e verb will contain a word (sucll a s violatioi~)that suggests a
tllore vigorous. active alt?rnative (violate).
1 . Just as the police were closing in. two shots were hred by tlie ter-
rorists from the rool of the hutel.
ller letter was in acknowledginent of tlie studer~t'sparticipation
in the literacy program
3. T l ~ ebomb bay doors rumbled open and freezing air whipped
thr-o~lglrthe plane
4 Listening to the rnusic or Charlie Parker acid John Coltrac~ewas Iny
motivation to take up the saxophone
5 'l'he only responsibility I was given by my parents was putting gas
in tlle brand-new Mitsubisl~it l ~ e ybunglit me my ser~ioryear.
2
I'i.oi~or~irrefermce
t h e braid5
b Alter braidiri Ann's hair. Sue decorated fRem with ribbons.
The pronoun lre was too distant f r o n ~its alitecrdent. px-lrusbnr~d.
i~'llichappeared sev~ralselltrlices earlier.
23b
.I'lle pronoull tlrerir rererred to A~iri'sbraids (iniplied by the terrii
br.aidiflg).but t l ~ eword b i ~ i d sdid not appear in the sentence.
Gene~ally,avoid broad refererice of this, tthat, whid~,
arid it.
hlodir~ers,s u c h a s possessives, canriot serve a s antecedents.
A rnodiher rnay strongly imply t h e n o u n that the pronoun might
logically refer to, b ~ it~ ist not itself that n o u n .
For clarity, tlie pronourls this. that. ~ v l ~ i cal n~d. it stiould ordiriarily refer to specirrc a n t e c e d e ~ l c sracher than to wllole ideas
o r serlterlces. W h e n a p r o n o u n ' s relerence is rleedlessly broad.
either replace the prorloLiri with a noun os strpplv a n aricecedet~t
to which c l ~ eprorlouri clearly refers.
Euripides
b In 6t1rif)idesl Medea, he describes the plight of a woman
A
rejected by her husband.
'Tile p r o ~ i o u ~hei car~riotrefer logically to t l ~ epossessive ~nodirler
E~lr.ipides:l'lie revisior~substitutes the I I O L I I IEuripiCI?~for the proIIOIIII 11e.theret~yelin~inatingtlie p r o t ~ l e ~ n .
More and more oFter~.especially in large cities, we are finding
our f a t e
ourselves victirrls O F serious crimes. We learn to accept this
A
$23d
witti niinor gripes arid groans.
For rlaiity tlre writer suhstittrlrtl a nor111 ( , f ~ t e )lor t l ~ e~ ~ ~ . o r ~ o l ~ r i
illis. wllicl~referrrd I)roadly to t l ~ ridea expressed i l l the p ~ e c r t l ~
I I I selllc3nc-c
~
1'0 ~ i o tu s e t l ~ eproriotiri t l ~ e yto r e k r i~ldehriitely 10 persolis
~ ~ l liave
i o iloc 1,eeri 'kpecir~callyn l e ~ l t i o n e d '1'11eys l l o i ~ l dalways
refer to a specilir ailcecederit.
Romeo and Juliet were both too young to have acquired much
Congress
b I.rst "ear g e y sliut down all goverrlrlient agencies for more
n fact
A
wisdoln, whicli accounts lor tlieir rash actions.
A
tliati a ~iiontliuntil the budget crisis was fitially resolved.
'l'l~r~vriteraclcl~cla11 a~~tece(lc=r~t
[ ~ ( I ctl~ar
~ I [lie pro1101111
IV/II~~/~
clearly refers to
II+Lg
EXCEPTION: MRII)]w r i t e ~ sview I~roatf relerer1c.e a s
I f yli" plcl< LIp a s ~ t ~ v i r dog
l g a ~ i d~ilake1 1 i l r 1 p ~ o ~ p e r ~lip~ iit s~ i.l i
~ O I I . 7'11is I S
'llle wortl it s l ~ o t ~ l~di o tbe used irlclelinitely i l l c o n s t r u c (ioris stltli a s " I t is said 011 televisiori . .
o r "111 111e article i t
,
acceptable
ivllerl tlle p r o ~ ~ o t rrefers
rl
clearly to t h e s e n s e o l i l l 1 eritire clause.
rrot bite
a rnarl.
Avoid the indefinite use of they, it, slid you.
rltr prit~cilxltliffrrer~rebetwee11 a dog a r ~ d
M a r k lwairi
2 3 DO
~ rlot use a ~ I - O I I O ~toI ~refel. to a11i~nplied
antecsdel~t.
A p r o n o ~ r lshould
~
reler Lo a specirrc a n t e c e d e n t . liot to a word
that is implied but n o t present in t11e seritence.
7lie
t i t l l h e e ~ ~ c ~ c l o p e itd istates
a
that illale 111ot11scar1 srnell
A
fernale riiotl~sFrom several miles away.
' l f l e pronot111 >lor1 is appropriate wtleri the writer is a d dressirig tile reader directly: O l ~ c e y o r ihave kl~ecrdedt l ~ edougll.
let it 1Yrr iil a iiqai-s?p h r e , f o , nt least t i r a i t j 7 / i v e li?ilrirtes. Exc:rpt in i~lfosrrialcoricexts. however. the inder~riiteyou (rnearlirlg "aliynnr i l l gerieral") is i n a p p r o p r h t e (See page 177
9a
or electronic exercises on uslng active verbs. go to
Balance parallel ideas in a series.
Readers expect items In a series to appear In parallel grammatical form When one or more of the items violate readers'
expectations. a sentence will be needlessly awkward
dianahacker.com/rules
Electronic Grammar Exercises
and click on
,
b Abused children commonly exhibit one or more of the follow-
ing SY~ptOmS:withdrawal, rebelliousness, restlessness, and
Ralallce parallel ideas.
b Hooked on romance novels, I learned that there is nothing
~f two or more ideas are parallel, they are easier to grasp when
expressed in parallel grammatical form Single words should be
balanced with single words, phrases wtth phrases. clauses with
The revlslon uses -1t7g forms for all Items In the serles
7-- 7r
A kiss
--
-
--
1
r - - - -
-
can be a comma, a questlon mark, or an exclalnatlon
b After assuring us that he was sober, Sam drove down the
went through
7
-1
-
I
middle of the road, ran one red light, and two stop signs.
--
A
~ h l novel
s
1s not to be tossed lightly aslde. but to be hurled with
The revlsion adds a verb to make the three rtems parallel
. ran , went through
drove
-Dorothy Parker
r - --
-
-.
lr---
- -
-
--
~nmatters of pnnclple, stand like a rock, in matters of taste.
-
-
NOTE: In headings and lists, aim for as much parallelism as the
content allows (See 5b and 5c )
-
swim w~ththe current
-Thomas Jefferson
Writers often use parallelism to create emphasis (See P 126 )
9b
Balance parallel ideas presented as pairs.
When pairing ideas, underscore their connection by expressing
them in similar grammatical form Paired ideas are usually connected in o n e of these ways,
-with
parallelism in sentences such as this In
were elther jocks, preppies, or studled cons
a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, or or
-with a paw of correlative conjunct~onssuch as either
or
or not only
but also
-with a word introducing a comparison. usually than or as
Parallel ideas linked with coordinating conjunctioris
Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, a n d yet)
link ideas of e q u a l importance. W h e n those ideas a r e closely
parallel in c o n t e n t , they s h o u l d b e expressed in parallel g r a m matical form.
thoughts in reality.
p Mother could not persuade me that giving is as much a joy a s
I
I
I:
!i
1 1'
8
7b speak in abstractions is balanced with to ground one's thoughts
The revision balances the nouns suspension and expulsion.
in reality. Giving is balanced with receiving.
NOTE:
Comparisons s h o u l d also b e logical a n d complete. (See
F Many states are reducing property taxes for home owners
and e x t ~ d
financial aid in the form of tax credits to renters.
The revision balances two -ing verb forms: reducing and extending.
Parallel ideas linked with correlative conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions c o m e in pairs: either. . . or, neither
. . . not: not o n l y . . . b u t also, b o t h . . . and, w h e t h e r . . . or. Make
sure that t h e gramtnatical structure following t h e s e c o n d half
of t h e pair is t h e s a m e a s that following t h e first half.
Many smokers try switching to a brand they find distasteful
F Thomas Edison was not only a prolific inventor but also was a
successful entrepreneur.
The words a prolpc inventor follow not only, so a successful
entrepreneur should follow but also. Repeating was creates an unbalanced effect.
In the original sentence the prepositional phrase was too complex
for easy reading. 'The repetition of the preposition to prevents readers from losing their way.
EXERCISE 9-1
TO change tny-flight, which follows either, should be balanced with
Edit the following sentences to correct faultv parallelisn~.Revisions of
lettered sentences appear in the back of the book. Example:
to take the train, which follows or.
In comparisons linked with than o r as, t h e elements being cotn-
We began the search by calling the Department of Social
requesting
Services and pxpsted a list of licensed day care centers in
pared should b e expressed in parallel grammatical structure.
our area.
Comparisons linked with than or as
A
,
/ 'I
1
!I
Misplaced and dangllng modijiers
12e
Repair dangling modifiers.
A dangling modifier fails to refer logically to any word in the
sentence. Dangling modifiers are easy to repair, but they can be
hard to recognize, especially in your own writing
These dangling modifiers falsely suggest that the recruiter
decided to join the navy, that the skeleton entered the doctor's
office. that the fireworks intended to please the children, and
that UCLA is only sixteen years old
Although most readers will understand the writer's in+
tended meaning in such sentences, the inadvertent humor can
Recognizirig danglirlg rliodifier~
Dangling modifiers are usually word groups (such as verbal
phrases) that suggest but do not name an actor When a sentence opens with such a modifier, readers expect the subject of
the next clause to name the actor IF it doesn't, the modifier
and click on b Language Debates
b Dangling modifiers
When t h e driver opened
). Q ~ W
the window to let out a huge bumblebee, the car
accidentally swerved into an oncoming car.
The car didn't open the window, the driver dld
After completing seminary
women have often been denied
training, werrtefffsaccess to the
A
pulpit. hrtseftett8e-*
The women (not their access to the pulpit) complete the training
The following sentences illustrate four common kinds of
dangling modifiers.
Repairirig dariglirig modifiers
To repair a dangling modifier, you can revise the sentence in
one of two ways.
1 Name the actor in the subject of the sentence, or
2 name the actor in the niodifier
Depending on your sentence, one of these revision strategies
]nay be more appropriate than the other
ACTOR NAMED IN SUBJECT
7
DANGLING
Deciding to join the navy, the recruiter enthusiastitally pumped Joe's hand [
P
w
I noticed
b Upon entering the doctor's office,a skeleton.A
A
we set off
b To please the children, some fireworks
early.
A
/
J
DANGLING
TO please the children, some fireworks were set off a
day early [ ~ n ~ r a s e l
ACTOR NAMED IN MODIFIE;R
When Joe decided
7
DANGLING
~ho~g
only
h sixteen, UCLA accepted Martha's application [Elliptical clause with an understood subject
-and verb]
).
to join the navy, the recruiter enthusiastically
pumped A3 W hand.
-->-
M a r t h a was
her
b Though only sixteen, UCLA accepted 4lkn%b&application.
A
A
put the modifier a; the end of the sentence (A skeleton caught
my attention y o n entering the doctor's office),you are still suggesting-absurdly, of course-that the skeleton entered the
office. The only way to avoid the problem is to put the word I
in the sentence, either as the subject or in the modifier.
I noticed
b Upon entering the doctor's office, a skeleton.A
As
A
"
@
e
I entered
the doctor's office, a skeleton caught my
A
attention.
eP
ah
YES
For electronic exercises on misplaced and dangling modifiers, go
to dianahackeccomlrules
i
4
Revise the
and click on
b Electronic Grammar Exercises
b Clarity
E-ex 12-1 through 12-4
Angela Daly
later, corrections o f f i c e r Sharlnori Srrlith, who was guarding
Professor Chavez
prisoners by t h e side o f t l i e road, was k i l l e d by a wornall
English 101
d i s t r a c t e d by a p h o n e ca(L (Besthoff). On Thanksgiving
A Call t o Action:
Thesis d s s e l r s
Angela I)aly's
rndi~lpuil~t
I
Wlleli a c e l l p h o n e goes o f f i n a classroonl or a t a
ell^
Expert testirr~ony, public o p i r ~ i o r i ,and ever1 cartoons
c e l l pltone users are rrlore t h a n i r r i t a t i n g : They are p u t t i r r g
suggest t h a t d r i v i n g w h i l e p h o n i n g i s dangerous. Frances
o u l lives a t risk. Marly of us have witnessed drivers so d i s -
Bents, all expert ori t h e relati011 b e t w e e n c e l l phones and
t r a c t e d hy d i a l i r i g and c h a t t i n g t h a t they resemble drurtk
accidents, estimates t h a t between 450 and 1,000 crashes a
drivers, weaving between larles, for example, or nearly ruri-
year have some corinectiorl t o c e l l phone use ( L a y t o n C9).
n i n g down pedestrians i n crosswalks. A number o f b i l l s t o
I n a survey p u b l i s h e d by Farmers Irisurance Group, 8 7 % of
those p o l l e d said t h a t c e l l pliones a f f e c t a driver's ability,
duced i n s t a t e legislatures, and t h e t i m e lias come t o p u s l i
and 40% reported h a v i n g close calis w i t h drivers distracted
for t l l e i ~passage. Regulatioll i s needed because drivers
by pllones. Many cartooris have d e p i c t e d t h e very real dan-
u s i n g plrones are seriously i m p a i r e d and because laws o n
gers of d r i v i n g w h i l e d i s t r a c t e d (see Fig. 1).
Signal phrase
llalrles the
author of the
quotanon: no
page number
ir aiailable
No one can deny t h a t c e l l phones have caused t r a f f i c
Clrdl IO[)IC
Ilhc
Illis OIIP a l e
uced rllrorlglinun the [Idper
selitrtice,
reguLate use o f c e l l pliorles o n t h e road have been i n t r G -
offenders.
selltetlce
I
from t h e c e l l p h o n e he was dialing, he was t h r e e f e e t from Page n~lnlber
i s give11\ \ I l e 1 1
available
t h e car and h a d rio t i m e t o s t o p (Stockwell 8 8 ) .
dangered. Wheri we are o n t h e road, l ~ o w e v e r ,irrespolisible
rlegligerit arid reckless d r i v i n g are n o t s u f f i c i e n t t o p u n i s l i
1)aly uses a
clear topii
I
parked car. The driver said i n c o u r t t h a t when he Looked u p
Regulate Use o f Cell Pliones or1 t h e Road
coricelt, we are i r r i t a t e d , b u t a t least our Lives are n o t
I
Aurhoi's lialne IS
g i ~ r l 111
i parenweekend t h a t same m o ~ i t h ,J o h n and Carole H a l l were k i l l e d tlieses [lo pace
is ava~lal~le
when a Naval Academy ~nlidsliipmancrashed i n t o t h e i r
1 4 March 2001
Opening
selltenier
catch readers'
attelltion.
I
Daly 2
Daly 1
S c i e n t i f i c research corrfirnrs t h e dangers of u s i n g
phones w h i l e o n t h e road. 111 1997 art irrlportant study
I
appeared i n t h e New Englarrd J o u r n a l of Medicine. The
deaths and i n j u r i e s . Cell phones were irrlplicated i n t h r e e
authors, Donald Redelmeier and Robert Tibshirani, studied
f a t a l accidents i n November 1999 alone. Early i n November,
699 volunteers w h o ~ n a d et h e i r c e l l p h o n e b i l l s bvailable
Sulllnldrv and
long quotatloll
ale
1
\1lt1
11irrod11ct.d
a s~erial
t w o - y e a r - o l d Morgan Pena was k i l l e d by a driver d i s t r a c t e d
i n order t o c o n f i r m t h e t i m e s when t h e y had placed calls.
l>llra\e
by his c e l l plione. Morgan's mother, P a t t i Pena, reports t h a t
The p a r t i c i p a n t s agreed t o r e p o r t any n o n f a t a l c o l l i s i o n i n
t h e driver "ran a stop s i g n a t 45 mph, broadsided rrly v e h i -
w h i c h t h e y were i n v o l v e d . By comparing t h e t i m e of a
cle and k i l l e d Morgari as she sat i n her car seat." A week
c o l l i s i o n w i t t i t l i e phone records, t h e researchers assessed
nalllinq
l l ~ eautliols
I
I
Daly 3
Daly 4
Rochester I n s t i t u t e o f Technology i n v e s t i g a t e d t h e r e l a t i o n SLIII~III~I!'
beyills ~ r i t lai
betweeri t r a f f i c f a t a l i t i e s i n Oklahoma and t h e use o r
presence o f a c e l l phone. He f o u n d a n i ~ i e f o l dincrease i n
sigilal plirasr
na~rrl~ig
the
a,l,~l,i
,,,(
hutro~nof preiious page)
a ~ t delids rrrth
d o u b l e d risk s i m p l y when a phone was present i n a vehicle page ,lumbels
t h e risk o f f a t a l i t y i f a p h o n e was b e i n g used and a
( 5 2 2 - 2 3 ) . The l a t t e r s t a t i s t i c i s i n t e r e s t i n g , f o r it suggests
'I'
pal'ntl'rses
I
t h a t t h o s e who carry phones i n t h e i r cars may t e n d t o be
more n e g l i g e n t ( o r prone t o d i s t r a c t i o n s o f a l l kinds) t h a n
t l ~ o s ewho do n o t .
Some groups have argued t h a t s t a t e t r a f f i c laws make
Fig. I. CII~II lowe. c a ~ t o o l ~Wasttirlgto~t
,
Post 2 2 July 2000. A 2 1
legislati011 r e g u l a t i n g c e l l plione use unnecessary. Sadly,
t h i s i s n o t true. Laws o n t r a f f i c safety vary f r o m s t a t e t o
t h e dangers o f d r i v i n g w h i l e p l i o r ~ i n g .Here are t h e i r
results:
state, and drivers d i s t r a c t e d by c e l l phones car1 g e t o f f
w i t h l i g h t p u n i s h m e n t even w h e n t h e y cause f a t a l
I nrig quotariol~
is set off Iiom
We f o ~ f r ~t hd a t using a cellular t e l e p h o n e was
the rekf: quotatlon tnd~ks
a i r oiiilrred.
associated wit11 a risk o f hav111ga rilotor v e l ~ ~ c l e
c o l l i s i o i i t l ~ a twas a b o u t four tiines as l t i g l ~ds
t h a t arnor~gt h e same drivers w l i e l ~t h e y were 11ot
u s i r ~ gt h e i r cellular t e l e p h o r ~ e s .This r e l a t i v e risk
is s ~ ~ r ~ i tl oa rt h e liazard associated w i t l i d ~ i v i n g
w i t h a blood alcohol level a t tlie legdl I ~ r l ~ i t .
(456)
111 reports b y news rliedia, t h e l a t t e r clairn was exaggerated
("sinlilar t o " is n o t "equal t o " ) , b u t t l i e comparison w i t h
drunk d r i v i n g i s s t a r t l i n g nonetheless.
A 1998 study focused on Oklahoma, orie o f t h e few
states t o keep records o n f a t a l accidents i ~ i v o l v i r i gc e l l
phones. Using police records. Jotiri M . V i o l a n t i o f t h e
accidents. For example, a l t h o u g h t h e midshipman ment i o n e d earlier was charged w i t h vehicular manslaughter for
t h e deaths o f J o h n and Carole Hall, t h e j u d g e was unable
t o issue a v e r d i c t o f guilty. Under Maryland law, he could
o n l y f i n d t h e defendant g u i l t y o f riegligent d r i v i n g and i m -
I
I
I
r)ah ccllxlirels
all o l ~ p ~ s ~ ~ i g
atgllinenr
I
!
i
!
I
I
I
I
pose a $ 5 0 0 f i n e ( L a y t o n C l ) . Such a l i g h t sentence is n o t f:acts a i r
dotur~ietited
unusual. The driver who k i l l e d Morgan Pena i n Pennsylvania t \ i r I ~i i ~ ~ t e x l
cifdtiotts.
received t w o t i c k e t s and a $50 f i n e - - a n d r e t a i n e d h i s
autllors' ~ianles
artd p.qe
d r i v i n g privileges (Pena). I n Georgia, a y o u n g d o m a n disIlumbers ,il
t r a c t e d b y her phone ran down and k i l l e d a two-year-old;
her sentence was n i n e t y days i n b o o t camp and f i v e h u n -
~~~~~~
dred hours o f c o m m u n i t y service ( I p p o l i t o J1). The families
o f t h e v i c t i m s are understandably distressed b y Laws t h a t
lead t o such l i g h t sentences.
I
Daly 5
When c e r t a i n kirids o f driver behavior are shown t o be
especially dangerous, we wisely d r a f t special laws m a k i n g
Daly uses a n
them: i l l e g a l and i m p o s i n g specific punishments. R u n n i n g
arlalogy to
justify pdssilig red lights, f a i l i n g t o s t o p f o r a s c h o o l bus. and drunk driva specla1 I a n
i n g are obvious examples; p h o n i n g i n a m o v i n g vehicle
should be n o exception. U n l i k e more general Laws covering
negligent driving, specific laws leave l i t t l e a m b i g u i t y for law
Daly 6
II
s t a t e laws, and keeping track of a wide v a r i e t y o f l o c a l
ordiriances i s c o n f u s i n g for drivers. Even a spokesperson
for Verizorl Wireless has said t h a t s t a t e w i d e balls are
preferable t o a "crazy p a t c h w o r k q u i l t o f ordinances" ( q t d .
Daly ciws a11
inditecl source:
\voids quored
ill anotiler
i n Haughriey AB). I l n f o r t u n a t e l y , a l t h o u g l i a ~ i u m b e ro f b i l l s ,o,lr,e,
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liave been i n t r o d u c e d i n state legislatures, as o f eariy 2 0 0 1
IO
s t a t e l a w seriously r e s t r i c t i n g use of t h e phones had
officers arid f o r judges and j u r i e s inlposing punishnlents.
passed--largely because o f e f f e c t i v e lobbyirig f r o m t l i e
S u c l ~Laws have a n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t b e l i e f i t : They leave no
wireless irrdustry.
ambiguity f o r drivers. C u r r e ~ ~ t l ydrivers
,
call tease themselves
Despite t h e c l a i n ~ so f some lobbyists, t o u g h laws regu- 11a1vcouliters
a cl.tin~ made
l a t i ~ ~pllone
g
use call make our roads safer. I n Japan, f o ~ 1,) s,l
nl)po~~e~irs.
e x a ~ l l p l e , accidellts Linked t o c e l l phones f e l l b y 75% j u s t a
i n t o t h i n k i n g t h e y are u s i r ~ gt h e i r car phories resporlsibly
because t h e d e f i r ~ i t i o r i o f " n e g l i g e n t drivirig" is vague.
As o f December 2000, t w e n t y countries were r e s t r i c t -
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w l ~ i l ed r i v i n g ( H a u g l ~ n e yAB). Research suggests and
t h e U n i t e d States, it is h i g h l y u n l i k e l y t h a t l e y i s l a t i o r i
conirnoii sense t e l l s us t h a t i t i s n o t possible t o d r i v e an
c o u l d be passed o n t h e n a t i o n a l level, since t r a f f i c safety
autorilobile a t lrigll speeds, d i a l numbers, arid carry oil con
is considered a s t a t e and l o c a l issue. To date, o n l y a few
versations w i t h o u t s i g i ~ i f i c a n trisks. When sucli behavior is
courities and t o w n s have passed t r a f f i c laws r e s t r i c t i n g c e l l
regulated, obviously our roads w i l l be safer.
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Becairse o f nount ti rig p u b l i c awareness o f t h e darigers
i l l e g a l for drivers t o use a handhe(d phone f o r a n y t l l i n g
o f drivers d i s t r a c t e d b y p h o l ~ e s , s t a t e legislators must be-
b u t an emergency c a l l w h i l e o n t h e road ( H a u g l ~ r i e yA 8 ) .
girl t o take t h e p r o b l e r ~ iseriously. "It's d e f i n i t e l y ari issue
The f i r s t tow11 t o r e s t r i c t use o f tiandheld phones was
t l i a t is g a i n i n g steam around t h e country," says M a t t
Brooklyn, Oliio ( L a y t o n C 9 ) . Brooklyn, t h e f i r s t - c o n i ~ n u n i t y
Sundeeli o f t h e N a t i o ~ r a Conference
l
o f State Legi'slatures
i r ~t h e c o u n t r y t o pass a seat b e l t law, has once a g a i n
( q t d . i r ~Layto11 (9). Lon A r i d e r s o ~ lo f t h e Arrlerican Autorno-
shown i t s concern f o r t r a f f i c safety.
b i l e Association agrees: "There i s m o m e n t u m b u i l d i ~ ~ g ,he
"
Irail(itioli
Laws passed b y c o u n t i e s and t o w n s have h a d sonie
l1?1[)sreaders
Inore trum one effect, b u t i t makes more sense t o l e g i s l a t e a t t l i e s t a t e
~ ~ x a g r a pt il)i
level. Local Laws are n o t l i k e l y t o have t h e i m p a c t o f
tll? I I C X t
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m o n t l ~a f t e r t h e c o u n t r y p r o l i i b i t e d u s i n g a haridlreld plrone
i n g use o f c e l l phones i n m o v i n g vehicles ( S u n d e e ~ l8 ) . I n
ptiorle use. For exaniple, i r ~Suffolk County, New York, i t is
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says, t o pass laws ( q t d . i n Laytorl C9). The t i m e has colile
f o r states t o a d o p t l e g i s l a t i o n r e s t r i c t i r i g t h e use o f c e l l
p l i c ~ i e si r ~r i i o v i r ~ gvehicles.
For i a r i e r ~
Ilal! places a
slglla~ p~llase
attet a hrief
l,q
l,t,
I
The paper ends
will1 Daly's
5(alld
(lie
issue
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