CHAPTER 19-5

Exercises to strengthen editing skills

Spelling

On Jan. 19, 2007, on page B-3, The Wall Street Journal published a list of the 10 words most frequently misspelled by the U.S. media. These are the words, arranged in order of error frequency. Give students a spelling quiz on these words:

  1. judgment
  2. lightning
  3. millennium
  4. calendar
  5. cemetery
  6. accommodate
  7. collectible
  8. receive
  9. committed
  10. separate

Passive- vs. active-verb forms

The purpose of this exercise is to help students to identify passive verb forms and then gain experience changing the verbs to active form.

  1. We were told stories of when our mother was a child.
  1. She was hurt by her neighbor’s remark.
  2. We were shown pictures of London and Paris.
  3. MIT is considered one of the best engineering schools in the country by persons in the engineering profession.
  4. We were taught dances from the 1960s and 1970s.
  5. In the book Left Behind, a pilot who wasn’t a Christian was not taken to heaven by God but was left behind to lead the battle against Satan.
  6. The students were asked by the teacher if they had completed their homework.
  7. Two homers were hit by the third baseman in the ninth inning.
  8. The ship’s deck was swabbed by the sailors.
  9. The child was abandoned by the parents.

Use of concrete words

Writers should avoid starting too many sentences with “It was” and “There were….” Sentences are more interesting if they start with concrete words. Rework these examples:

  1. It was hard for us not to be pleased for him.
  1. There wasn’t a word spoken by Nancy and me from LaGuardia Airport to the city.

Cutting the fat from sentences

The following sentences contain twice the number of words that they need to convey meaning. Try to reduce the number of words to half or fewer.

  1. The arena had a spacious parking lot set aside to accommodate the vehicles of season ticket holders, fans and guests.
  1. Baseball has always been thought of as the national past-time, but, for all intents and purposes, football has replaced baseball as the favorite sport for many people across this country.
  2. The student’s future plans included enrolling in a college or university where he could study the field of journalism and could improve his natural-born talent for creating word pictures.
  3. Her first fictional novel was no blockbuster in terms of sales, but, after the follow-up sequel was released and topped the best-seller list, the first one began to sell better than it had done previously.
  4. The ability to express yourself well by means of the written word is an essential skill to have if you hope to be successful in the publishing business.

Identifying misplaced clauses

Clarity is the goal of every writer. This exercise helps students to identify misplaced clauses that make sentences difficult to understand or cause editors to laugh!

  1. Abe Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address while traveling from Washington on the back of an envelope.
  1. A Delta Airlines jet was reported hijacked by Fox News.
  2. Finding the murder weapon in the bushes, chills ran down the spine of the detective.
  3. Former war hero John McCain discussed his years of imprisonment with Katie Couric.
  4. Determined to finish the marathon at any cost, his pace quickened and his heart pounded.

Choosing the right attribution

Attributions should be in harmony with the content of the quotation. Replace the underlined word with a more appropriate word in each of the following sentences.

  1. “Let’s sneak out the back door,” Roger yelled.
  1. “Run for your life,” the firefighter offered.
  2. “Give me liberty or give me death,” chirped Patrick Henry.
  1. “I’d appreciate your vote,” argued the candidate.

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