IMPROVING YOUR STYLE / 93 sentence. Some expressions to be avoided are: ‘to tell you the truth’, ‘in fact’, ‘actually’. Make sure your phrases and clauses are in the right order so there is no confusion: She put the letter on the desk which had been opened. Avoid clichés, jargon, tautologies and unnecessary words. In the above, ‘which had been opened’ refers to the letter not the desk so it should follow ‘letter’. The following is the correct version: Here’s another example: She put the letter, which had been opened, on the desk. The knife was very sharp which he used. The correct version is: The knife, which he used, was very sharp. Aim to develop your own individual style of writing. Read widely so you can appreciate others’ writing but do not copy them. Always check your work carefully to make sure your sentences make sense, are well-constructed and do not contain any careless mistakes.