5 More Tips for Cleaning Up Your Writing Right Now

5 More Tips for Cleaning Up Your Writing Right Now 5 More Tips for Cleaning Up Your Writing Right Now 5 More Tips for Cleaning Up Your Writing Right Now By Mark Nichol Last week, I offered some simple advice for immediately improving your prose, including suggestions having to do with punctuation, capitalization, and the like. Here are more recommendations, this time dealing with more qualitative issues: 1. Avoid cliches like the plague: You can’t omit them altogether and you shouldn’t try but take care when recasting a tired word or phrase into something fresh and new. When calling attention to hypocrisy, instead of reciting the cliche â€Å"This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black,† you could write, â€Å"Keywords: pot, kettle, black.† You can also play with words, referring to an especially distraught drama queen as a trauma queen. 2. Avoid filler phrases: Delete content-free wording like â€Å"be that as it may,† â€Å"to all intents and purposes,† and â€Å"in the final analysis.† These prolix protrusions pop up naturally in speech to bridge a gap between one thought and the next, but although you’re forgiven for including them in a first draft, there’s no excuse for letting them pass inspection when you review your writing or edit someone else’s. 3. Avoid verbosity: Watch for wordy phrases like â€Å"in order to,† unnecessary words and phrases like currently and â€Å"that is,† and smothered verbs (constructions in which a noun can be transformed into a verb, such as â€Å"offered an indication† when indicate will do.) 4. Avoid redundancies and repetition and saying the same thing twice: Take care to avoid doppleganger words in stock phrases common, like filler phrases, to spoken language but inimical to good writing like â€Å"actual fact† and â€Å"completely finished.† 5. Avoid repetitive sentence structure: Craft your prose in such a way that phrases, clauses, sentences, and paragraphs flow smoothly (avoid a Dick-and-Jane style of writing reminiscent of text in primary-grade reading books) and consider the visual impact of your writing. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Does [sic] Mean?3 Types of HeadingsConfusion of Subjective and Objective Pronouns

Student Paraphrase and Ideas Essay

Student Paraphrase and Ideas Essay Student: Paraphrase and Ideas Essay Part 5: A tutorial on Paraphrasing This final part of the tutorial consists of 4 parts: Part 5a. How to paraphrase: A method. (A tutorial that helps you to develop the skills necessary to paraphrase successfully.) Part 5b. How to paraphrase: Using the method. (An interactive tutorial that allows you to practice and develop your paraphrasing skills.) Part 5c. How to use paraphrase in your assignments: A method. (A tutorial that shows you how to integrate paraphrase into your essays and reports.) Part 5d. How to Use paraphrase in your assignments: Using the method. (An interactive tutorial that allows you to practice and develop your skills in integrating paraphrase into your assignments.) PART 5a. How to paraphrase: A method How do you write effective paraphrases that avoid plagiarism? This section of the tutorial will provide you with a method of paraphrasing that will help you to avoid the kinds of writing practices that can lead to unintentional (or accidental) plagiarism. [pic] Take note! You will not be able to write successful paraphrases if you are too dependent on the original source, or if you try to paraphrase â€Å"word by word† from the source. There are 4 important steps or stages that can help you to produce a successful and appropriate paraphrase which avoids plagiarism: The section below will take you through these steps by providing an example source which talks about the causes of stress (stressors) in the workplace. Step 1. Read the original text carefully 1. Carefully read the original passage for understanding before you start to paraphrase the ideas in it. A very clear understanding of the original is essential. As you are about to paraphrase this passage you will need to read it several times to properly understand the ideas before trying to rewrite them in your own words. [pic] Take note! It is very important for successful paraphrasing that you think and read critically. Real mental engagement with any source under review involves a willingness to question and compare ideas in order to form a strong understanding and informed opinion. This kind of thoughtful interrogation of sources protects you from the simple repetition of ideas which not only leads to plagiarism but to poor paraphrases. Step 2: Explain it to yourself 2. Cover the passage or close the book (that contains the original passage) and explain to yourself what it is about. After reading the text you want to paraphrase, you should be able to explain to yourself the ideas or arguments in the text without referring back to it. If you cannot explain the ideas in the passage without constantly consulting the original passage then you are not ready to paraphrase it. Read the following explanation of the passage which shows the student’s understanding of the source and her capacity to explain it without continually referring back to the original text. [pic] [pic] Take note! Any attempt to paraphrase after only a quick reading of the text will lead to a dependence on the original source, which will result in a word by word and phrase by phrase paraphrase (usually by repeatedly moving back and forward between the original passage and the paraphrase). This practice leads to poorly constructed paraphrases and accidental plagiarism. Once you can clearly explain the passage to yourself in your own words, then you can begin the process of paraphrasing. Step 3: Paraphrase it 3. Write a paraphrase of the ideas, as you have understood them (without constantly referring back to the original passage). [pic] Take note! Use your explanation to write the paraphrase. Only refer back to the original text to check what you have written. If your paraphrase changes the meaning of the original text then adjust your paraphrase so that it reflects the meaning (not the wording) of the original source more accurately. The following paragraph is the

Why I Would Be a Teacher Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why I Would Be a Teacher - Essay Example My internal desire to adopt the profession of teaching reflects my intrinsic motivation whereas the praise and professional awards, which I want to get as a teacher, reflects my extrinsic motivation to become a teacher. One of the main reasons for me to become a teacher is that it will enhance my communication skills and level of confidence. It is a fact that when a person interacts with a large group of people who are ready to hear that person, it increases the level of confidence of that person and makes him/her more vibrant and self-assured. Another thing, which makes me stand on my decision to become a teacher, is the role that a teacher plays in lightening up the future of a generation. I really want to put a positive impact on the community by helping young children in becoming enthusiastic and productive individuals for the society. I not only want to develop their personalities in a positive way but also want to provide such skills to my students, which can help them achieve personal and professional success in the future. A teacher not only puts a positive impact on the community but also gains respect for his/her own family. Those children, who gain some sort of success in their future lives, do not forget the role of teachers in their success. They respect and regard their teachers whenever they meet them and that are some of the most wonderful moments for the teachers. I also want to earn such respect by playing my role in the success of my students. Being a devoted citizen, I want to play my role in strengthening the foundations of my country and that can be possible if the future generation of my country will be fully skilled and qualified in running economic, industrial, and other state matters proficiently. I want to prove my commitment to my students by creating strong foundation for them upon which they can build the structure of their personal and professional success. I want to have a true vocation instead of