A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that is meant to modify a word somewhere else in the sentence, but it is not clear what the word is being modified.
For example:
After reading the original study, the article remains unconvincing.
[The article read the original study?]
Possible revision:
After reading the original study, I found the article to still be unconvincing.
Dangling modifiers frequently occur at the beginning of sentences, but can also occur at the end.
For example:
The experiment was a failure, having not studied the lab manual carefully.
[The experiment didn’t study the lab manual?]
Possible revision:
The experiment was a failure because they did not study the lab manual carefully.
Strategies for revising dangling modifiers
Name the appropriate doer of the action as the subject of the main clause.
Dangling modifier: Having arrived late for practice, a written excuse was needed.
[Who arrived late for practice?]
Revision: Having arrived late for practice, the player needed a written excuse.
Name the appropriate doer of the action in the phrase that dangles
Dangling modifier: Without knowing his name, it was difficult to introduce him.
[Who didn’t know his name?]
Revision: Because Maria did not know his name, it was difficult to introduce him.
Combine the dangling phrase and main clause into one.
Dangling modifier: To improve his results, the experiment was done again.
Revision: He improved his results by doing the experiment again.