Getting Started

The very first thing you should do is review the writing process. Use this process to begin your writing project. Once you have completed a first draft of your project you can use the style and grammar check sheets to help you with the revision and proofing process. Mr. Brusberg is happy to help you with your writing, but you need to use and be actively engaged in the writing process. Remember, the Writing Lab is not an editing and proofreading service. It is a resource to help you improve your own writing.

PROOFREADING 

   Do you proofread your writing? If you don't look for mistakes before handing in papers, you'll likely have errors that will affect your grade. Just depending on a computer spell-check will not be enough.
     Here are some proof-reading tips from "The Office Professional," a publication for administrative assistants, secretaries and office support staff.

·         Develop a buddy system so that someone else proofreads everything you write.
You know what your paper is supposed to say. Thus, when your eye sees an error, your mind will sometimes not recognize it. Having someone else proof your papers ensures that more errors will get caught and corrected.

·         Try proofreading from the bottom up. This will force you to focus on individual words rather than on meaning.

·         Read your papers out loud.
Not only will you catch typographical errors by reading aloud, you will also hear incorrect or awkward phrasing.

·         Never proofread anything immediately after you have written it.
Take a break after you've written something. When you come back back to it, the document will look fresh and you'll be more likely to notice mistakes.

·         Use your computer's spell- and grammar-check features.
Many word processing programs highlight spelling and grammar mistakes on screen. Thus, you quickly see where corrections may be needed. Be aware, however, that such programs look for incorrectly spelled words, not incorrectly used words.

·         Proofread twice.
First, read a paper through for content. Ensure that all of the information is correct.
Once you are satisfied with the content, give the paper a final proofreading for spelling and grammar.

·         Don't do all your proofreading on the computer screen.
Mistakes are easier to catch on paper (a.k.a. "hard copy") than on a computer screen.

Doing something with pizazz means to do it with flair, energy and excitement. Though few of us aspire to winning Pulitzer Prizes with our writing, we do want our writing to be a credit to us.

In her book Writing on the Job: Quick, Practical Solutions to All Your Business Writing Problems, (Prentice-Hall, 1995) author Cosmo Ferrara tells how to add pizazz to writing:

·         Turn being verbs into doing ones.

Verbs such as is, are, were, and has been make your writing sound flat and bureaucratic. To turn dull writing into engaging prose, change being verbs into doing ones. For example:

Being verbs: "I was at the church last week, and was given a tour of the building."
Doing verbs: "I visited the church last week and toured the building."

·         Write concretely, instead of abstractly.

Expressing your thoughts concretely gives the reader a clear picture of what you are saying. Having trouble thinking of a concrete phrases to replace abstract ones? Then, think of how you would communicate that thought if you had to say it out loud. We tend to speak in a more concrete manner than we write.

·         Write precisely.

Imprecise writers use extra words and syllables. Precise writers use fewer words to communicate the same ideas. As you proofread, look for places to substitute one word for two of them or a shorter word for a longer one.

·         Ask rhetorical questions.

As you write, think of the questions that might pop into your readers' minds. For example: "What purpose do rhetorical questions serve?" Because people are curious, rhetorical questions encourage people to continue reading.

·         Personalize large numbers.

Readers pay more attention when information affects them personally. To better engage your readers, express numbers in human or visual terms. Here's an example:

Original sentence: "There are 200,000 car accidents due to drunk driving in this country each year."
Improved version: "One in three car accidents in our city involves a drunk driver."

·         Write in the active voice

Passive sentences: "At last week's meeting, it was agreed that the old software must be replaced."
Active voice: "At our last meeting, we agreed to replace the old software."

Unless you need to conceal the identity of the person or group involved in an action, use the active voice.

There is nothing in writing which is more important that finding a voice. Voice is simply an individual style, or way of saying what is important. Voice is the manner of presentation which allows the personality of the writer to shine through the printed word and gives the reader a sense of conversation.

Every person has a unique, worthy voice. The trick is to find the voice and this comes through trusting yourself as a writer and not being afraid to write as you feel you need to write. Write often and allow a voice to emerge.

Prewriting is nothing more than getting ready to write. No person would leave on vacation without plans as to where to go. No person would start to build a house without plans as to what it will look like. No person would start to cook a meal without an idea of what would be served. Similarly, no person should attempt to write without a plan for what is to be written.

Prewriting is the time to get the brain focused. Since each person is unique, there can be no single method for focusing the brain. Each writer must find what works best (this does not mean what is done easiest.)

Prewriting can include:

This is actually writing the first draft of the piece. Keep in mind that this is just a first attempt. It is not completed. Consider: The first time you traveled to some far away spot you were able to get there, but the traveling was difficult. You may have gotten lost, or at least confused. The second time you went was probably much better. You were less likely to get lost and the trip was more productive. Each time you went was better than the times before. The same is true of writing.

Think of writing as a trip. Each time you write a draft you are a more knowledgeable person than you were previously and, thus, better prepared to write. Therefore, don't be afraid to cast off an early draft as it was written by a less knowledgeable person than you are at a later writing.

Many students believe that revision is about correcting grammar, spelling and mechanics. While these things are important, revision is primarily concerned with making the ideas clearer. Revision might call for the writer to eliminate sentences, paragraphs or even pages in order to make a piece clearer. Revision might call for a writer to add sentences, paragraphs or even pages.

Some have said that a writer is not really writing until she is revising. This is a reasonable statement. The draft is just an attempt, but revision is the effort to make sense of the writing.

If a final draft strongly resembles the first draft, enough attention has probably not been paid to revision.

Many would say, rightly, that proofing is a facet of revising. Indeed, it is. However, special attention should be given to the need for both items - neither excluding the other. Proofing is the act of making certain that the spelling is correct, the grammar is accurate, and the mechanics is proper.

This is a matter of personal pride. Any writer who has a level of self worth will want his piece to be written with the language demonstrating control.

Publishing goes beyond getting a piece in a magazine or newspaper. Publishing means getting a piece into the hands of any reader. Getting a friend or teacher or parent to read a piece is publishing. By knowing that others will read a piece a writer will work harder to make certain the piece reaches its highest possible potential.

A Few Reminders...

1. Don't use no double negatives.
2. About them sentence fragments.
3. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
4. Between you and I, case is important.
5. Correct spelling is essentail.
6. Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
7. Use your apostrophe's correctly. Omit the apostrophe when its not needed.
8. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
9. Of course, if any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
10. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
11. A writer must not shift your point of view.
12. Avoid clichés like the plague. They're old hat. So, go around the barn at high noon to avoid clichés and colloquialisms.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; eliminate the superfluous in your writing.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Be more or less specific.
16. And avoid starting sentences with a conjunction.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. Don't use commas, that are not necessary. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.
19. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed. So, take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
20. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
21. Be careful to use the write homonym.
22. DO NOT use multiple exclamation points and all caps to EMPHASIZE a point!!!!!!!!
23. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth-shaking ideas.
24. Proofread your writing to see if you any words out.