The Write Style

What is the best word to describe weather that is 'very cold'?

• cold

• chilly

• brisk

• bitterly

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.RL.8.4

What is the best word to use in this sentence:

Anna's heart was ______, she could hear her own terrified breathing - shallow gasps punctuated by whimpers of fear.

• beating

• palpitating

• fluttering

• racing

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Re-write this sentence, adding or changing adjectives and verbs, to evoke empathy from the reader:

The woman looked out of the window of the coffee shop, waiting for him, wondering if he would keep his promise or not.

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.11-12.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

Parallel construction:

A series of equivalent ideas should all be of the same grammatical kind i.e. all adjectives, or all nouns, and accompanied by the same articles and prepositions.

Select the correctly written sentence.

• He had a hat, a cane, a pair of gloves and a moustache.

• He had a hat, cane, pair of gloves and a moustache.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.1A

Parallel construction: Select the correct construction:

• The conquerors came by land, sea and air.

• The conquerors came by land, by sea and by air.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.1A

Paralleling of Pairs

Nouns should be paired with nouns, and adjectives with adjectives, for example:

She liked the lawn and gardening.

should be

She liked the lawn and the garden.

Choose the correctly constructed sentence below:

• They were all athletic or big men on campus.

• They were all athletes or big men on campus.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.1A

Paralleling of Pairs

Nouns should be paired with nouns, and adjectives with adjectives, for example:

She liked the lawn and gardening.

is incorrect and should be

She liked the lawn and the garden.

Choose the correctly constructed sentence below:

• They wanted peace without dishonour.

• They wanted peace without being disgraced.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.1A

Paralleling of Pairs

Nouns should be paired with nouns, and adjectives with adjectives, for example:

She liked the lawn and gardening.

should be

She liked the lawn and the garden.

Choose the correctly constructed sentence below:

• Orientation week is both worthwhile and a necessity.

• Orientation week is both worthwhile and necessary.

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.1A

Correcting Wordy Sentences

Good sentences come from constant practice in correcting the bad.

Re-write the following sentence to be more succinct:

This is the young man who was elected to be president by the class.

(Can you cut these 14 words down to 7?)

Eliminate tautology

Re-write the following phrases to eliminate tautology:

1. each separate incident

2. many different ways

3. dash quickly