Don’t Overuse “And”

What constitutes good writing? Sometimes the answer depends on how professional you are. Take a look at this sentence:

We’ve had a lot of rain, and we were thrilled when the sun finally came out.

Both the grammar and usage are correct. But I would still recommend a change.

Here’s why: pros try not to join sentences with and. Your writing will have more sophistication if you define the relationship between the two sentences. My version sets up a before-and-after relationship between the two ideas:

We were thrilled when the sun finally came out after all that rain. BETTER

When I edit a piece of written, I always look at each and to see if the sentence could be improved. Here’s another example:

It rained for two days, and our street was flooded.

There’s a cause-and-effect relationship here. Here’s my version:

Because it rained for two days, our street was flooded.  BETTER

The sun shining in the sky

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2 thoughts on “Don’t Overuse “And”

  1. William Vietinghoff

    The way I was taught to remember the spelling of “stationery” was to note that envelopes, paper, pens, pencils are sold by a “stationer”. The “er” ending is similar to that found in the names of other tradespersons: barber, plumber, grocer, carpenter, baker, etc.

    Also another way to write the sample sentence to avoid the “and” problem is:

    “It rained for two days: our street was flooded.” That is the type of sentence structure where the semicolon is appropriate.

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