... menu.
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HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 5 Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
66
F
OR
Y
OUR
R
EVIEW
Finish your essay by revising, editing, and proofreading. Follow these guidelines:
■
Put ... sessions exploring the topics, if you
have a choice. Read the section in this chapter that explains what the topics require and how
best to approach them. Then, move into prewriting, using one or ... inventory.
68
Revising, Editing, and Proofreading CHAPTER 5
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
61
Inserted text
An underline is the default. You may change it to bold,
italics, or double underline. Choose...
... Writing Strategies CHAPTER 6
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
75
1. For each different topic or question, use a separate sheet of paper, and write the
topic at the top.
2. Write anything that comes to ... trip to Belize to study the marine
ecosystem, I was excited. The thought of escaping the cold New England winter
76
HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 6 Untimed Essay Writing Strategies
70
■
Write ... about beginning with the way you felt about something, rather than
first describing or otherwise revealing that something.
■
Be mysterious or intriguing. Your introduction needs to relate to the...
... explained.
Chapter 7 shows you howto prepare for timed essays. Learn howto research your exam,
how to familiarize yourself with possible topic choices,and howto budget your time dur-
ing the ... howto organize your thoughts and ideas before you begin writ-
ing, with techniques such as freewriting, brainstorming, and outlining.You will even
learn why it’s important to read good writing ... Writing Strategies 85
8
Sample Essay Prompts and Essays 97
Resources 111
Contents
Lauren Starkey
NEW YORK
WRITE
GREAT
ESSAYS
đ
HOW
TO
HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
Introduction
viii
Chapter 1 shows...
... you have focused your topic; more ideas may be
generated.
2. BRAINSTORMING OR LISTING
Brainstorming is similar to freewriting in that it is a timed, flowing exercise meant to elicit
many thoughts ... scheme onto their prewrit-
ing notes.
OUTLINE
Creating an outline begins with a reading of your prewriting notes. First, group related ideas
together, looking for major topics (which can be headings) ... are going into a timed writing situation. Making
the effort to think through what you want to say, and finding the best way to say it, will sig-
nificantly improve your essay.
PERFECT TIMING
Regardless...
... mean to say. The five guidelines in
this chapter show you howto clarify your writing.
CHAPTER
Clarity
2
2
Clarity CHAPTER 2
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
Clarity CHAPTER 2
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
13
M
ODIFIERS
A
DD
P
RECISION
Clarity ... career instead of using a pronoun in order to eliminate the
possibility the reader will not understand the sentence. Write instead:
Trini is interested in
teaching and farming, but farming is ... antecedent
■
useless
Example:
Trini is interested in teaching and farming, which is her career choice.
What is her career choice? Which could mean either teaching or farming, making it unclear.
The writer needs to restate...
... looking forward to something
among: used when comparing or referring to three or
more people or things
between: used for two people or things
bring: moving something toward the speaker
take: moving ... climbing or rising
assent (verb): to agree or accept a proposal or opinion
assure (verb): to make certain (assure someone)
ensure (verb): to make certain
insure (verb): to secure from harm; to ... CHAPTER 3
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
23
advice (noun): a recommended opinion
advise (verb): to give advice; inform
affect (verb): to influence
effect (noun): result
effect (verb): to bring about
all...
... nagging
incur—incurred, incurring
kid
—kidding, kidder
Word Choice CHAPTER 3
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
35
When in doubt, look up the singular form in the dictionary, where you will also find ... sly
30
HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 3 Word Choice
3434
plan—planned, planning, planner
begin
—beginning, beginner
set—setting
transmit—transmitting, transmittal, transmitted
BASIC SPELLING ... RULES—DROPPING FINAL E’S AND Y’S
When adding an ending to a word that ends with a silent e, drop the final e if the ending
begins with a vowel, such as
advancing and surprising.
If the ending begins...
... that contain grammar lessons,
practice exercises, and quizzes to reinforce the material.
CHAPTER
Mechanics
4
4
Mechanics CHAPTER 4
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER ... are too many meetings scheduled on Tuesday morning.
Incorrect:
Here are the report you asked me to write.
Correct
:Here is the report you asked me to write.
44
Mechanics CHAPTER 4
HOW TOWRITE ... assignment?)
Correct:
While Tony was working on his English assignment, his computer
crashed.
Note that correcting a dangling participle involves adding and/or rearranging the words
in a sentence to make the meaning...
... HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 5 Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
56
Also included in this chapter are professional writers’ and editors’ tricks to help you with
revising, editing, ... wasn’t in class today: he had to fly to Houston to present a paper.
My teacher wasn’t in class today. He had to fly to Houston to present a paper.
The first example, with the colon, has the tone ... used in two ways: to separate independent clauses,and to separate the items
in a list when those items contain commas.
HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 5 Revising, Editing, and Proofreading
58
As...
... explain cause and effect. In fact, think of the verbs used in your topic
as
key words that clue you into the fact that you are being asked towrite an expository essay.
These key words include:
■
compare: ... one.
CHAPTER
Timed Essay
Writing Strategies
7
7
Timed Essay Writing Strategies CHAPTER 7
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
Untimed Essay Writing Strategies CHAPTER 6
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
81
of the ... valise.
To the point:
In high school, I took my first accounting class and began to help
my mother with the accounting tasks of the business.
Thesaurized:
In secondary school I took my first accounting...
... based on how well you write
and addressed the topic. Don’t risk alienating or offending this person by using words and
a tone that are too formal or too casual. You are trying to convince your ... be looking for.
■
Understand the difference between expository and persuasive essays, and be
able to locate key words that determine which kind the topic calls for.
HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER ... included. Once you begin planning, do not be tempted
to switch topics, which will waste valuable writing time. Allow a few minutes to think through
the topic.You may cross off main points that don’t...
... Prompts and Essays CHAPTER 8
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 8 Sample Essay Prompts and Essays
100
I enjoyed playing and listening to all styles of music. In school ... his tone insulted her. He had to spend a
great deal of time apologizing to the coworker and explaining that he did not
mean to be rude. This incident caused Brown to begin observing and assessing
his ... though the writing is clear and correct throughout.
Sample Essay Prompts and Essays CHAPTER 8
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
CHAPTER 8 Sample Essay Prompts and Essays
104104
UNTIMED...
... 111
Resources
RESOURCES
HOW TOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
M
M
any print and online references were mentioned throughout HowtoWrite Great
Essays
. Here, you will find more specific sources of information, including online
help ... HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
RESOURCES
112
GED
Online
■
www.gedonline.org—literacy’s site on howto prepare for the GED essay.
Print
■
GED Exam Success in Only 6 Steps (New York: LearningExpress, ... 2001).
HOWTOWRITE GREAT ESSAYS
RESOURCES
114
■
www.m-w.com—the Merriam Webster Online site has a number of interesting
features that will make you forget you are trying to improve your spelling!
Check...
... was going
to work with. e ostentatious show of jewelry and the loud clothes
on the U.S. CEO indicated to me that he was in business to amass
personal wealth and had the poor judgment to show ...
drugs (including dosages). In order to avoid problems at cus-
toms, carry all medications in their original containers. Also, take
an extra set of glasses, contacts, or prescriptions. In your ... following Asian destinations,
consider the following cultural guidelines and try to outt yourself
aptly for each country.
●
China: Even casual wear is somewhat conservative. Revealing
clothing...
... foremost thing to be taken into consideration while
writing an article which has to be submitted in the Internet is to
make sure that there are enough keywords and phrases to link
the article to your ... keep
reading on to find out howtowrite search engine friendly articles’
Free e-book sponsored by the manual article submission company- www.submitinme.com
HOW TOWRITE GOOD SEARCH ENGINE
FRIENDLY ... will help you towrite long
articles which cover the topic in depth.
Doing a bit of research in the internet, before writing the article
helps you to provide reliable information in your article....