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PROOFREADING,
REVISING, &
EDITING SKILLS SUCCESS
IN 20 MINUTES A DAY
P R O O F R E A D I N G ,
R E V I S I N G , &
E D I T I N G
S K I L L S
S U C C E S S
IN 20 MINUTES
A DAY
Brady Smith ®
N E W Y O R K
Copyright © 2003 LearningExpress,LLC.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
Published in the United States by LearningExpress,LLC,New York.
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Smith,Brady.
Proofreading,revising,and editing skills :success in 20 minutes a day /
Brady Smith.—1st ed.
p.cm.
ISBN 1-57685-466-3
1.Report writing—Handbooks,manuals,etc. 2.Proofreading—Handbooks,
manuals,etc. 3.Editing—Handbooks,manuals,etc. I.Title.
LB1047.3.S55 2003
808'.02—dc21 2002013959
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
ISBN 1-57685-466-3
For more information or to place an order,contact LearningExpress at:
55 Broadway
8th Floor
New York,NY 10006
Or visit us at:
www.learnatest.com
About the Author
Brady Smith teaches English at Adlai E.Stevenson High School in the Bronx,New York.His work has been pre-
viously published in textbooks,and this is his first complete book.He would like to dedicate this book to Julie,
Gillian,and Isabel,with love.
Contents
INTRODUCTION How to Use This Book ix
PRETEST 1
LESSON 1 Understanding the Writing Process 13
LESSON 2 Writing Sentences 21
LESSON 3 Avoiding Awkward Sentences 33
LESSON 4 Creating Sentence Variety 41
LESSON 5 Shaping Paragraphs 49
LESSON 6 Using Transitions 57
LESSON 7 Establishing a Writing Style 63
LESSON 8 Turning Passive Verbs into Active Verbs 75
LESSON 9 Making Sure Subjects and Verbs Agree 83
LESSON 10 Making Sure Nouns and Pronouns Agree 91
LESSON 11 Using Modifiers 99
LESSON 12 Checking Capitalization and Spelling 109
LESSON 13 Punctuating Sentences 121
LESSON 14 Using Commas 127
LESSON 15 Using Semicolons and Colons 137
LESSON 16 Using Apostrophes in Plurals and Possessives 143
LESSON 17 Using Quotation Marks 147
LESSON 18 Using Hyphens,Dashes,and Ellipses 153
vii
LESSON 19 Checking for Commonly Confused Words and Clichés 161
LESSON 20 Putting It All Together 169
POST-TEST 179
APPENDIX A Proofreading Symbols 189
APPENDIX B Additional Resources 191
viii
How to Use
This Book
S
ince you are reading this right now,let us assume you have at least one draft ofyour writing
that you want to proofread,revise,and edit in order to present a well-written and clear fin-
ished piece.As all good writers know,a first draft needs to be cleaned up,trimmed down,and
organized.This book is designed to help you do just that—in 20 short lessons in just 20 minutes a day.
This book stands alone as a teaching tool.You can pick it up and learn a new skill at any point during
the writing process.Whether you are prewriting,drafting,editing,revising,or working on a final copy,this
book will become a useful reference guide.You may find it helpful to turn to this book as you finish differ-
ent sections ofyour writing because it can help you correct as you write.Or you can read the lessons in this
book and then go back to your own piece ofwriting—just to reinforce important writing skills.No matter
which method you choose,you will accomplish what you set out to do:master the skills you need to proof-
read,revise,and edit your writing.
Proofreading,Revising,and Editing Skills Success in 20 Minutes a Daybegins with a discussion about
the steps to create a piece of writing,and then gives you the coaching you will need to correct any errors
you find in your work.It walks you through the revision process by showing you how to transform your
sentences from awkward and choppy sentence fragments and run-ons to clear,concise expressions.It shows
ix
–HOW TO USE THIS BOOK–
you how to organize paragraphs and how to use tran- If you are job hunting, perhaps you need to
sitions skillfully.You will also learn the fundamental revise a draft ofa cover letter..This piece ofwriting is
rules of noun/pronoun agreement as well as sub- the first impression your employer will have ofyou,so
ject/verb agreement.When you are finished with this it’s important to submit your best effort.Perhaps you
book, you will find that your writing has improved, are working on an essay for school. Your teacher’s
has style and detail,and is free of cluttered sentences assessment of your abilities will certainly improve if
and common errors. you turn in a composition that shows thoughtful revi-
Some writers think that once a word has been sion, attention to detail, and an understanding of
written, it is sacred. Successful writers know that grammatical rules.
change is an important part of the writing process. Like your ideal final draft,Proofreading,Revising,
Early drafts that may seem finished can most likely be and Editing Skills Success in 20 Minutes a Day has no
improved. Since writing is a process, you have to be filler or fluff.It is a book for people who want to learn
willing to change, rearrange, and discard material to the editorial skills needed to revise a piece of writing
achieve a well-crafted final product.Very few writers without doing a lot of busy work.Each lesson intro-
create the perfect draft on the first try. Most writers duces a skill or concept and offers exercises to practice
will tell you that writing the first draft is only the what you have learned.
beginning and that the majority of the work comes Though each lesson is designed to be completed
after the initial drafting process.You need to look very in about 20 minutes,the pace at which you approach
closely at your writing, examine it sentence by sen- the lessons is up to you. After each lesson, you may
tence,and fine-tune it to produce excellence. want to stop and revise your own writing,or you may
Your writing is a reflection of you. The proof- want to read several lessons in one sitting and then
reading,revising,and editing processes provide a mirror revise your work. No matter how you use this book,
in which you can examine your writing. Before your you can be sure that your final drafts will improve.
writing goes public,you must iron out the transitions Start by taking the pretest to see what you already
between ideas and make sure your paragraphs are struc- know and what you need to learn about proofreading,
tured correctly.You need to clean up your writing and revising,and editing.After you have completed the les-
pick out the unnecessary auxiliary verbs from your sen- sons,you can take the post-test to see how much you
tences,perfect your tone,and polish your verbs.Your have learned.In the appendices,you will find a list of
efforts will show. proofreading marks to use as you write,as well as a list
Even ifyou are not currently working on a piece of additional resources if you find you need a little
ofwriting that you need to hand in,present to an audi- extra help.
ence,or send to a client,this book will teach you the Ifyou apply what you have learned in this book,
skills that will improve your everyday writing. Each you will find that your writing gets positive attention.
skill outlined in this book is an important part of a Teachers, employers, friends, and relatives will all
good writer’s “toolbox.”While you will not use every notice your improvement. It is certain, though, that
tool for each piece ofwriting,you will have them ready youwill be the most satisfied ofall.
when you need to apply them.
x
