Writing Skills in Action 6: Effective Writing

Writing Skills in Action is designed to put into practice specific writing traits, i.e., grammar, punctuation, usage, introduction, conclusion, etc., to develop your understanding of how to write more effectively.

Prompts may be creative fiction or analytical responses – determine the type of prompt and the audience then write accordingly.

Directions

Write a half-page response to the prompt below. While you write your response, include sentences that fit the grammar and punctuation rules below, and any other specific requirements for this task.

You need to identify each rule/requirement by using the “Comment” tool (under the “Review” tab) in Word.

Example:He said, “Treat her as you would your own daughter.”[JS1]

Prompt(s):

  1. C. S. Lewis used a wardrobe, Lewis Carroll used a rabbit hole, and J. M. Barrie used the second star to the right (and straight on till morning) as a gateway to another world. This week, pick an object that is important to you and transform it into a portal to an alternate world. Write a story about someone discovering the portal and adjusting to life where everything is foreign. Take into consideration where this secret passage is located and what it feels like to pass through it.
  2. As a consumer, you may research a product before buying it. One of the ways people learn about the quality of product is to read a product review. These product reviews are often written by an expert in that particular field, i.e., automobiles, computers, cell phones. This week, pick a product you already own and write a product review of that product. Pay particular attention to its uses, functions, features, durability, and cost. Read the product review of the Apple watch in the New York Times for inspiration --
  3. Watch the following Ted talk -- then discuss why you think there is such a disparity between “what we think,” “the actual,” and “what it should be” in the distribution of wealth.

The rules below are taken directly from the grammar and punctuation skills unit. You must write a sentence for each rule listed below. Each sentence must be grammatically and punctually correct. Label each sentence using the “Comment” feature in Word (click the review tab) to indicate which rule is applied in the sentence.

  1. Effective Writing Rule 2: Use active voice whenever possible. Active voice means the subject is performing the verb – for this writing exercise, do NOT use a single have or has + verb construction in a sentence.
  2. Active Example: Barry hit the ball.
  3. Passive Example:The ball was hit by Barry.
  4. Effective Writing Rule 5:Use a similar grammatical form when offering several ideas. This is called parallel construction.
  5. Correct Example:You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
  6. Incorrect Example: You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuating
  7. Effective Writing Rule 6:If you start a sentence with an action, place the actor immediately after or you will have created the infamous dangling modifier.
  8. Incorrect Example:While walking across the street, the bus hit her.
  9. Correct Example: While walking across the street, she was hit by a bus.
  10. Better Example: She was hit by a bus while walking across the street.
  11. Avoid using superfluous adjectives such as very or really. Do NOT use these words a single time in your piece this week.
  12. Avoid using the preposition that in excess. In many cases, you can omit the word in the sentence. You may use that once in your piece this week.

[JS1]Rule 1: Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence.