If baked at a higher temperature, you will get a stronger and darker crust.
There is something off about this sentence. Although we understand what the author is trying to say, this sentence literally says that if you are baked at a higher temperature, you will get a stronger and darker crust. So, what exactly has gone wrong and how do we fix it?
The problem with the sentence is that the subordinating clause (If baked at a higher temperature) does not explicitly mention a subject. The subordinating clause contains a participle (a verb with an -ing or -ed ending) and needs a subject. Therefore, the reader expects to find the subject of the participle in the main clause that follows (you will get a stronger and darker crust). But the subject in the main clause is you and that can’t be right! The participle in the first clause is missing a logical subject: It is dangling.
How to fix it
To re-attach the dangling participle, you need to make sure it has a subject. To do this, you can either adjust the subordinating clause or the main clause; you won’t need to adjust both.
You can add a subject to the participle:
If the bread is baked at a higher temperature, you will get a stronger and darker crust.
Or you can adjust the subject in the main clause:
If baked at a higher temperature, the bread will get a stronger and darker crust.
In some cases, you don’t have to adjust the subject. In the following sentence, for example, the participle is not missing its subject; the participle is simply misplaced:
Dripping in chocolate sauce, I was looking forward to eating my ice cream.
Here, you can move the clause with the participle closer to the noun it belongs to:
I was looking forward to eating my ice cream, dripping in chocolate sauce.
In academic writing
In academic writing, the problem of the dangling participle is often caused by the use of the passive voice. Be especially careful with the commonly used participle using. The following sentence, for example, suggests it was the analysis that used an in-house developed script:
Using an in-house developed script, a global computational analysis was performed.
Adding a subject and changing the sentence into the active voice is the solution here:
We used an in-house developed script to perform a global computational analysis.
OR Using an in-house developed script, we performed a global computational analysis.
Let’s look at another example. This sentence suggests that Group A was doing the separating:
After separating the participants into groups, Group A was tested.
So, add a subject make the sentence active:
After separating the participants into groups, I tested Group A.
A few reassuring words
Although most linguists and writers would agree that dangling participles are not absolutely logical, some argue that correction is not always needed. They argue that language and writing are essentially about successfully communicating ideas. And therefore, it is sometimes a question of how severe the error is or how confusing the sentence might be.
A famous example in this discussion comes from David Crystal: Driving in from the airport, the flags were fluttering proudly. He asks: Is this sentence really so ambiguous that it hinders communication? Would anybody really think that flags could drive in from the airport?
So, sometimes, grammar is a judgement call. Now that you’re familiar with the dangling participle, if you notice one in your text, it means your reader will probably notice it too. That is a clear sign that you should correct it.
Sources:
Ebner, Carmen. The dangling participle – a language myth? In English Today, 120, Vol. 30, No. 4. doi:10.1017/S0266078414000327
Crystal, David. The Fight for English: How language pundits ate, shot, and left.