These ideas for teaching better sentence style, mechanics, and usage could be used before the first submission of a paper or in between a .1 and a .2. Generally, though, these activities should be reserved for a time when students grasp the rhetorical task of each paper (i.e. they don't still have questions about what they are supposed to be doing, how to find sources, or how to organize the paper).
Clarity and Concision Handouts
These handouts are adapted from Joseph Williams’ Style. They could be used at any point in the semester to discuss strategies for improving clarity and concision.
UWC Handouts:
Clarity
Eliminating Wordiness
Focusing on Transitions
Passive Voice
Stanley Fish Sentence Exercises
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These exercises help students develop relationships to sentences and lead them to better understand how sentences can work to supply specific details and a crisp, active vocabulary.
Paramedic Method: A Lesson in Writing Concisely
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Use the Paramedic Method (originally developed by Richard Lanham in Revising Prose) to edit any kind of professional writing. This can help students discover strategies that will make their writing easier to read.
What To Do With Words
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These exercise will help students compress sentences and make them more active. It shows them how to make decisions about what words to keep in a sentence and what to leave out as they revise.
Writing Email
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This exercise helps students practice adapting their style and developing ethos for particular situations that range from formal to information contexts.
