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Chapter 5: The Fourth Step in Writing (Langan)
- 1. © 2015 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Chapter FiveChapter Five The Fourth Step in Writing
- 2. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Write Clear, Error-Free Sentences Strategies for revising sentences: •Use parallelism •Use a consistent point of view •Use specific words •Use concise words •Vary your sentences
- 3. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Use Parallelism By balancing the items in a sentence, you will make the sentence clearer and easier to read.
- 4. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Use a Consistent Point of View • Verbs – Do not shift verb tenses unnecessarily
- 5. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Use a Consistent Point of View (cont.) • Pronouns – Do not shift point of view unnecessarily
- 6. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Use Specific Words To be an effective writer, you must use specific words rather than general words. •Use exact names. (Not “the boy,” but “Vince.”) •Use lively verbs. (Not “ate,” but “slurped.”)
- 7. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Use Specific Words (cont.) • Use descriptive words. (Not “the car,” but “the rickety old Buick.”) • Use sense descriptions. (“Vince slurped his ice-cold chocolate milkshake while sitting on the squeaking front seat of his rickety old Buick.”)
- 8. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Use Concise Wording Wordiness—using more words than necessary—is often a sign of lazy or careless writing. Your writing should be concise and direct as much as possible. In this paper, I am planning to describe the hobby that I enjoy of collecting old comic books. Revised: I enjoy collecting old comic books. In this paper, I am planning to describe the hobby that I enjoy of collecting old comic books. Revised: I enjoy collecting old comic books.
- 9. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Vary Your Sentences Effective writing is writing that is varied and interesting. Vary your sentences by • adding a second complete thought. • adding a dependent thought. • beginning with an opening word or phrase. • placing adjectives or verbs in a series.
- 10. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Adding a Second Complete Thought… …transforms simple sentences (which can be monotonous) into compound sentences. Greg worked on the engine. The car still wouldn’t start. Revised: Greg worked on the engine, but the car still wouldn’t start. Greg worked on the engine. The car still wouldn’t start. Revised: Greg worked on the engine, but the car still wouldn’t start.
- 11. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Adding a Dependent Thought… …transforms simple sentences (which can be monotonous) into complex sentences. The library was very quiet. I couldn’t concentrate. Revised: Although the library was very quiet, I couldn’t concentrate. The library was very quiet. I couldn’t concentrate. Revised: Although the library was very quiet, I couldn’t concentrate.
- 12. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Beginning with a Special Opening Word or Phrase… …transforms simple sentences (which can be monotonous) into varied sentences. Paul was concerned about his daughter’s fever. Paul called a doctor. Revised: Concerned about his daughter’s fever, Paul called a doctor.. Paul was concerned about his daughter’s fever. Paul called a doctor. Revised: Concerned about his daughter’s fever, Paul called a doctor..
- 13. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Placing Adjectives or Verbs in a Series… ...transforms simple sentences (which can be monotonous) into varied sentences. The truck bounced off a guardrail. It sideswiped a tree. It plunged into the ditch. Revised: The truck bounced off a guardrail, sideswiped a tree, and plunged into the ditch. The truck bounced off a guardrail. It sideswiped a tree. It plunged into the ditch. Revised: The truck bounced off a guardrail, sideswiped a tree, and plunged into the ditch.
- 14. © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.English Skills, 11e English Skills with Readings, 9e Editing and Proofreading • After revising, check for mistakes in grammar, punctuation, mechanics, usage, and spelling. • Edit according to the conventions of written English, aka sentence skills. • Check the edited draft of your paper for typos and other careless errors.