Table of Contents
How to Use This Book v
Chapter 1 Clean Up Preposition Clutter 1
Preposition Overuse Ruins Your Style 1
Identifying Prepositions 2
Five Steps to Eliminating Unnecessary Prepositions 6
Applying the Five-Step Process 17
Brain Ticklers-The Answers 21
Chapter 2 Spice Up Your Writing 27
Dull Words Mean Dull Writing 27
Identifying Those Hard-Working Verbs 28
Selecting Action Verbs 39
Brain Ticklers-The Answers 44
Chapter 3 Silence the Passive Voice 47
The Passive Voice Robs Your Writing of Energy 47
Recognizing and Changing the Passive Voice 48
When the Passive Voice Is Necessary 52
Putting It All Together 55
What About Writing a Scientific Paper? 56
Brain Ticklers-The Answers 59
Chapter 4 Reduce Nominalizations and Activate Your Writing 67
Nominalizations Exposed! 67
Writing Situations That Create Unnecessary Nominalizations 71
Applying the Technique 76
Necessary Nominalization Situations 79
Brain Ticklers-The Answers 82
Chapter 5 Smooth Out Your Writing 87
Confronting Choppy Writing 87
Smooth Your Writing by Linking Your Sentences 91
Using Relative Pronouns 97
Using Semicolons 98
Transitioning Paragraphs 100
Keep Your Writing Flowing 105
Brain Ticklers-The Answers 106
Chapter 6 Harness the Power of the Comma 109
Polishing Your Writing with Commas 109
Growing Beyond the Simple Sentence 111
Three Methods for Creating Sophisticated Sentences 113
Brain Ticklers-The Answers 124
Chapter 7 Add Rhythm to Your Writing 127
Change Your Pace to Keep Them Reading 127
Vary Sentence Length 127
Fragments Can Create Rhythm 130
Avoid Sentences Written in the Same Form 131
Paragraphs Create Rhythm Too 135
Brain Ticklers-The Answers 138
Chapter 8 Gremlins in Your Writing 141
Repeat Offenders 141
You Have Style, Substance, and Grace 151
Brain Ticklers-The Answers 152
Chapter 9 The Framework for Success 155
Five Types of Essays 155
The Basic Structure of an Essay 157
The POWER Template 159
It's Up to You! 181
Brain Ticklers-The Answers 182
Appendix: Further Reading 183
Index 185
