Authors, Writers, Publishers, and Book Readers
Teaching elementary and secondary students how to write well is challenging. Many students don’t understand the core principles behind writing, including the basics of sentence and paragraph structure, a logical progression of ideas, and reader awareness. Others don’t have the technical skills of writing, including grammar and punctuation. However, with consistent, year-by-year, engaging instruction by committed teachers who understand not only the value but also the principles and skills of…
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Added by David Bowman on March 25, 2014 at 11:22pm —
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This is a great question, and it is one I don't often see. On the other hand, it reflects a concept that confuses many people: parallelism.
Correct use of “rather than”
“Rather than” indicates a parallel structure in which two things are compared. To be grammatically correct, the two things being compared need to be equal, meaning they have the same grammatical structure or form.
Here are two simple examples to demonstrate the parallel structure created…
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Added by David Bowman on January 21, 2014 at 11:36pm —
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“Your writing bores me.” “I am bored by your writing.”
Not only do these two sentences demonstrate the difference between the active and passive voice but also they communicate a central reason for avoiding the passive voice.
In the active voice, the subject of the sentence does the action described by the main verb. Thus, the subject is active. In the passive voice, the action is done to the subject. Thus, the subject is passive. Passive voice is a problem for direct writing…
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Added by David Bowman on October 8, 2013 at 11:52pm —
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Active and Passive Voice: When you are active, you do something. When you are passive, things happen to you. This is the same concept as the active and passive voice in sentences.
In the active voice, the subject performs the action described by the main verb. In the passive voice, the action described by the main verb is done to the subject.
Example D.1a, active voice: “The service…
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Added by David Bowman on October 8, 2013 at 1:11am —
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The Confusion of And vs. To
English can be a difficult language to learn, not because English grammar is tricky (though it can be) but because the language can be vague. Word choice, in particular, can be very confusing, particularly when more than one word is possible.
Here’s a question I received recently about the nuances of the English language.
Question: Which of the following is correct:
a. I would like to send Peter an email AND give him my regards.
b. I…
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Added by David Bowman on April 3, 2013 at 11:47pm —
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Choosing the Right Type of Subject
When deciding what the subject of your sentence will be, you have three types of nouns from which to choose: creatures, things, and ideas.…
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Added by David Bowman on October 3, 2012 at 11:40pm —
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Commas are confusing because they are used in many ways. However, the basic principle to using commas is simple: Use commas to separate clauses and phrases within sentences that have their own meaning.
The “rules” for commas below are broadly, but not universally, accepted. However, a careful writer considers two central issues:
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Added by David Bowman on May 8, 2012 at 10:47pm —
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Here are three tips from 300 Days of Better Writingabout how to understand your readers and give them what they need.
Easy reading is damned hard writing.
(Nathaniel Hawthorne)
(Please excuse the curse word. It may indicate Hawthorne’s frustration with the work necessary to produce…
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Added by David Bowman on March 8, 2012 at 9:23pm —
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You have two adjectives together. Do you or don’t you put a comma between them? If they are coordinate adjectives, you do. This follows Zen Comma Rule P.
Comma Rule P: Put a Comma between Coordinate Adjectives.
Definition of Coordinate Adjectives. Adjectives are…
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Added by David Bowman on February 28, 2012 at 1:57am —
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Sometimes, things are not as good as you expect. Sometimes, the truth hurts. Sometimes, you are not perfect. And you have to write about it. These three strategies will help you write about bad, or embarrassing, information in a way that makes the bad information sound better than it is. You need to tell the truth; that's a given. But you can tell it in a way that produces a positive, or less, bad reaction from your reader.
Day 146: Put a positive spin on negative…
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Added by David Bowman on February 14, 2012 at 9:04pm —
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What are nominalizations?
Nominalizations are the noun forms of action verbs, as seen here:
Sample action verbs - Corresponding nouns
illustrate – illustration
fail – failure
react – reaction
announce – announcement
increase (v.) – increase (n.)
Why are they bad, and how do I fix them?
Nominalizations have…
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Added by David Bowman on January 18, 2012 at 11:18pm —
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The basic principal for writing about complex subjects is to do the work necessary so that the reader can understand you easily. Of course, your first task is to make sure you understand your own ideas. As Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” With this in mind, here are three strategies to help you write clearly about complex…
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Added by David Bowman on September 29, 2011 at 2:35am —
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