Rules for writers, Tenth edition - Diana Hacker, Nancy Sommers 2021

Avoid sudden shifts from indirect to direct questions or quotations
Eliminate distracting shifts
Clarity

An indirect question reports a question without asking it: We asked whether we could visit Miriam. A direct question asks directly: Can we visit Miriam? Sentences containing shifts between the two types of questions are awkward and impossible to punctuate because indirect questions must end with a period and direct questions must end with a question mark. (See 39b.)

An indirect quotation reports someone’s words without quoting word for word: Senator Kessel said he wants to see evidence. A direct quotation presents the exact words of a speaker or writer, set off with quotation marks: Senator Kessel said, “I want to see evidence.” Unannounced shifts from indirect to direct quotations are distracting and confusing.

EXERCISE 13-3

Edit the following sentences to make the verbs consistent in mood and voice and to eliminate distracting shifts from indirect to direct questions or quotations. Possible revisions appear in the back of the book.

a. An incredibly talented musician, Ray Charles mastered R&B, soul, and gospel styles. Even country music was performed well by him.

b. Environmentalists point out that shrimp farming in Southeast Asia is polluting water and making farmlands useless. They warn that action must be taken by governments before it is too late.

c. The samples were observed for five days before we detected any growth.

d. In his famous soliloquy, Hamlet contemplates whether death would be preferable to his difficult life and, if so, is he capable of committing suicide?

e. The lawyer told the judge that Miranda Hale was innocent and allow her to prove the allegations false.

EXERCISE 13-4

Edit the following sentences to eliminate distracting shifts. Possible revisions appear in the back of the book.

a. We want to play volleyball this afternoon, but you have to reserve the court through the fitness center before you can use it.

b. The interviewer asked if we had brought our proof of citizenship and did we bring our passports?

c. Experienced reconnaissance scouts know how to make fast decisions and use sophisticated equipment to keep one’s team from being detected.

d. After the animators finish their scenes, the production designer arranges the clips according to the storyboard. Synchronization notes must also be made for the sound editor and the composer.

e. Madame Defarge is a sinister figure in Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. On a symbolic level, she represents fate; like the Greek Fates, she knitted the fabric of individual destiny.