Transcript SENTENCE LEVEL EDITING

SENTENCE LEVEL EDITING
GOAL
To discover sentence fluency errors, to work on
choosing stronger words, and to start playing
with your sentence structure.
WORD CHOICE EDIT 1
• Put squiggly lines under words that seem
weak, or informal. Especially look for the
following:
– GOT/GET/GETTING/PUT
– BAD/GOOD/SAD/PRETTY/REALLY/VERY
– 2nd and 1st person (I, me, mine, you, your yours,
we, our, ours, us)
• Words that are used incorrectly
– Mark these with WC
WORD CHOICE EDIT 2
• NOW solidly underline words that you think
are effective:
– Words that offer strong description
– Verbs that show action: (example: instead of got,
found, lifted, discovered, purchased, etc.)
EDIT 3
Highlight the first three or so words in each
sentence to look for repetitive sentence
openers.
Is there an alternative way you could phrase things?
Remove weak sentence starters like There is/There
are and rephrase.
EDIT 4: Partner read out
Read each sentence of your essay out loud,
starting with the LAST SENTENCE.
Sentences should stand on their own, and you
should be able to tell what is going on. If you
cannot, then mark those sentences with “C” for
Correct
Sentence Opening ideas
• Start with adjectives or adverbs.
– Deep green, shiny, and clear, the emerald sparkled in the jeweler's case.
(adjectives)
– Loudly and insistently, my mother called me to dinner. (adverbs)
• Start with a prepositional phrase.
– During rush hour, I avoid the freeway.
• Start with a participle or participial phrase.
– Shouting his dog's name, Ross headed for the park. (present participial phrase)
– Cooked to perfection, my father's meal beckoned us to eat. (past participial
phrase)
• Start with an absolute phrase.
– All things considered, it was a good day.
• You can also use more than one of these options, as in the following
example: Quickly, without fanfare, Eliot handed out the gifts. (adverb +
prepositional phrase)