Download Paramedic Method

Paramedic Method
Adapted from Richard Lanham’s
Revising Prose
“Official Style”
Bureaucratic – obscures the true
meaning of what you want to say
 Noun-heavy. Covers up the real action
 Example:
“There can be little doubt that contending
with the problem of overpopulation in
the halls of River Dell is one thing every
freshman needs to learn how to do.”
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Warning Signs that YOU
write this way!!!
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Prepositions (of, on, in, with, etc.) often hide
the real action and produce monotonous
rhythms.
“Is” forms (is, are, was, be) often signal a
passive voice, which hides the performer of
an action
Your teacher tells you to work on clarity of
expression or writes “AWK” on your papers.
Prepositions
Too many prepositions can drain all the
action out of a sentence. Get rid of the
prepositions, and find a strong active
verb to make the sentence direct.
Example
Original:
In this passage is an example of the use
of metaphors in Shakespeare’s writing.
Revised:
This passage illustrates Shakespeare’s
metaphoric writing.
Prepositions
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Highlight any prepositions that you see in the
sentences
Aim to have 2 in a sentence.
See the prepositions list on your course
handouts tab
Eliminate “is” forms
Using “is” in a sentence gets it off to a
slow start, and makes the sentence
weak. Replace as many “to be” verbs
with action verbs as you can, and
change all passive voice (“is defended
by”) to an active voice (“defends”).
Ask “Where’s the action?”
As Lanham writes, “Who’s kicking who?”
Write active verbs – avoid passive verbs

Original: Burning books is considered censorship by some
people.
Revised: Some people consider burning books censorship.
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Original: The theory of relativity isn't demonstrated by this
experiment.
Revised: This experiment does not demonstrate the theory
of relativity.
Start Fast
Avoid the “Blah, Blah is that” openings.
 Amputate mindless preludes
 Examples:
My point is that
What I mean is that
What I have argued here is that
What has surprised me the most is that…
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Exceptions
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“Is” can signal simple existence. There
will be no other word for this.
Everything in moderation.
When it sounds “right”
Sentence Lengths
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Variety over monotony
Long sentences for information
Short sentences for emphasis
Form should follow content: In
sentences and paragraphs, put
important information in visible places.