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By the time teenagers reach high school they have learned how to write, but they still need improvement. Editing transforms ideas into effective communication. Combining a brief review of grammar, plenty of reading and solid editing will help most students improve their writing. “The final edit is like the last look in the mirror before you go out in the morning,” says Richard E. Bavaria, Ph.D., vice president of education for Sylvan Learning Center. “The content might be good, but the packaging might not be suitable. It is like showing up to an interview in flip flops and shorts. You might be qualified for the job, but the interviewer will only see a person who doesn’t dress appropriately.” Next time your child has to write a paper, sit down with him and look for the following five points: Use Active Voice: Have your child read through his writing looking for passive voice. In passive voice, the subject becomes the direct object and an unknown subject is doing the action. Passive voice often creates awkward sentences and usually adds extra words to a sentence. By changing passive voice to active, excess words are omitted, redundancy is avoided and the subject responsible for the action becomes known. For example, “The song was written by the student” becomes “The student wrote a song.” Use Prepositions Sparingly: Prepositions (in, like, of, on, toward, to, than, with) are essential, but can clog up a sentence. Writers are attracted to prepositions because they are all-purpose words and often the first word that comes to mind. However, when they are overused prepositions can lead to rambling and will freeze the reader. When your child is editing his work, have him look for prepositions and decide how necessary they are to the meaning of the sentence. The edited sentence will reduce the number of prepositional phrases and might even add active verbs. After some of the prepositional phrases are cut, your child will have more focused writing sample. Avoid “to be”: “To be” tends to take over all other verbs in a sentence. “To be” converts other verbs into nouns, allowing writers to add more prepositions. Each time your child comes to a sentence that uses a form of “to be”, he should ask himself if an action verb could replace “to be.” Replacing “to be” with action verbs cuts down on words and can eliminate extra prepositions. For example, “The rain delay was canceled after the sun peaked out from behind a cloud” would become “The officials canceled the rain delay after the sun peaked out from behind a cloud.” Use Parallel Structure: Parallel structure allows a writer to indicate relationships clearly and saves words, which helps the reader grasp complex ideas. Parallel structure is especially useful in introductions and conclusions. In introductions, parallel verbs introduce and organize the discussion to follow. In conclusions, parallel structure clarifies the meaning. For example, “The writing workshop taught the students to broaden their style, improve their editing and that they can enjoy the writing process” would become “The writing workshop taught the students to broaden their style, improve their editing and find joy in the writing process.” Place Modifiers Next to the Words They Modify: Misplaced modifiers can leave readers confused. Only is a modifier that, if placed in the wrong spot, can change the meaning of a sentence. For example, in the sentence “He only went to school an hour ago,” it is hard to pin down the literal meaning. Does the sentence mean he went to school and nowhere else? Or does it mean that he went to school 60 minutes ago? To clarify the sentence, change it to “He went to school only an hour ago.” Placing modifiers in front of the correct word will clear up the writer’s meaning. High School Worksheet Edit the sentences below for active voice, excess prepositions, overuse of “to be,” parallel structure and misplaced modifiers.
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