Download Chapter 5a - McGraw Hill Higher Education

Chapter Five
The Fourth Step in Writing
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Step 4
Chapter 5
Write Clear, Error-Free Sentences
Strategies for revising sentences::
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Use parallelism.
Use a consistent point of view.
Use specific words.
Use active verbs.
Use concise words.
Vary your sentences.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Use Parallelism
By balancing the items in a sentence,
you will make the sentence clearer
and easier to read.
Ex.: My job includes checking
inventory, initialing orders, and
to call the suppliers. calling
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Use a Consistent Point of View:
Verbs
Do not shift verb tenses
unnecessarily.
Ex.: Jean punched down the risen dough.
dumped
Then she dumps it onto the worktable.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Use a Consistent Point of View:
Pronouns
Do not shift point of view
unnecessarily.
Ex.: One of the fringe benefits of
my job is that you I can use a
company credit card for gasoline.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Use Specific Words
To be an effective writer, you
must use specific words
rather than general words.
General: The dog ran down the street.
Specific: The mangy stray loped down
Broadway, dodging cars and startled
pedestrians.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Specific Sentences
1: Use exact names. (Not
“Vince.”)
“the boy,” but
2: Use lively verbs. (Not “ate,” but “slurped.”)
3: Use descriptive words. (Not “the car,” but
“the rickety old Buick.”)
4: Use sense descriptions.
(“Vince slurped his
ice-cold chocolate milkshake while sitting on the
squeaking front seat of his rickety old Buick.”)
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Use Active Verbs
Prefer the active voice.
When the subject receives the action, the verb is in the
passive voice.
The computer was bought by Hakim.
When the subject of a sentence performs the action of the
verb, the verb is in the active voice.
Hakim bought the computer.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Use Concise Words
Prefer concision.
Wordiness -- using more words than necessary -- is
often a sign of lazy or careless writing.
In this paper, I am planning to describe the
hobby that I enjoy of collecting old comic
books.
Revision: I enjoy collecting old comic books.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Vary Your Sentences
Effective writing is writing that is
varied and interesting.
Vary your sentences by:
1: Adding a second complete thought.
2: Adding a dependent thought.
3: Beginning with an opening word or
phrase.
4: Placing adjectives or verbs in a series.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Adding a Second Complete
Thought
Transform simple sentences (which
can be monotonous) --
Greg worked on the engine. The car
still wouldn’t start.
into compound sentences:
Greg worked on the engine, but the
car still wouldn’t start.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Adding a Dependent Thought
Transform simple sentences (which
can be monotonous) -The library was very quiet. I
couldn’t concentrate.
into complex sentences:
Although the library was very quiet,
I couldn’t concentrate.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Beginning with an Opening Word or
Phrase
...transforms simple sentences
(which can be monotonous) --
Paul was concerned about his daughter’s
fever. Paul called a doctor.
into varied sentences:
Concerned about his daughter’s fever,
Paul called a doctor.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Placing Adjectives or Verbs in a Series
...transforms simple sentences (which
can be monotonous) --
The truck bounced off a guardrail. It
sideswiped a tree. It plunged into the ditch.
into varied sentences:
The truck bounced off a guardrail,
sideswiped a tree, and plunged into the
ditch.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Editing Sentences
After revising, check for mistakes in
grammar, punctuation, mechanics,
usage, and spelling.
Edit according to the conventions of
written English, aka sentence skills.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter 5
Proofreading
Check the edited draft of
your paper for typos and
other other careless
errors.
English Skills, 8e
English Skills with Readings, 6e
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.