100 Ways to Improve Your Writing

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ISBN: 9780451627216 | 0451627210
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 6/1/1985

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This is the one guide that anyone who writes--whether student, business person, or professional writer--should put on the desk beside pencil, pen, typewriter, or word processor. Filled with professional tips and a wealth of instructive examples, this valuable, easy-to-use handbook can help you solve any and all writing problems.

Introduction	p. xiii
Nine Ways to Improve Your Writing When You're Not Writing	p. 1
Get Some Reference Books	p. 3
Expand Your Vocabulary	p. 5
Improve Your Spelling	p. 6
Read	p. 8
Take a Class	p. 9
Eavesdrop	p. 11
Research	p. 12
Write in Your Head	p. 14
Choose a Time and Place	p. 15
Nine Ways to Overcome Writer's Block	p. 17
Copy Something	p. 19
Keep a Journal	p. 20
Talk About What You're Writing	p. 21
Touch Your Toes	p. 22
Do Writing Exercises	p. 22
Organize Your Material	p. 23
Make a List	p. 24
Picture a Reader	p. 25
Ask Yourself Why You Are Writing	p. 26
Five Ways to Write a Strong Beginning	p. 29
Find a Slant	p. 31
Write a Strong Lead	p. 32
Don't Make Promises You Can't Keep	p. 36
Set a Tone and Maintain It	p. 36
Begin at the Beginning	p. 38
Nine Ways to Save Time and Energy	p. 41
Use Pyramid Construction	p. 43
Use Topic Sentences	p. 44
Write Short Paragraphs	p. 46
Use Transitional Phrases	p. 46
Don't Explain When You Don't Have To	p. 48
Use Bridge Words	p. 49
Avoid Wordiness	p. 50
Steal	p. 51
Stop Writing When You Get to the End	p. 52
Ten Ways to Develop Style	p. 55
Think About Style	p. 57
Listen to What You Write	p. 58
Mimic Spoken Language	p. 59
Vary Sentence Length	p. 60
Vary Sentence Construction	p. 61
Write Complete Sentences	p. 63
Show, Don't Tell	p. 65
Keep Related Words Together	p. 66
Use Parallel Construction	p. 67
Don't Force a Personal Style	p. 68
Twelve Ways to Give Your Words Power	p. 71
Use Short Words	p. 73
Use Dense Words	p. 74
Use Familiar Words	p. 74
Use Active Verbs	p. 75
Use Strong Verbs	p. 76
Use Specific Nouns	p. 78
Use the Active Voice...Most of the Time	p. 80
Say Things in a Positive Way ... Most of the Time	p. 82
Be Specific	p. 83
Use Statistics	p. 85
Provide Facts	p. 86
Put Emphatic Words at the End	p. 87
Eleven Ways to Make People Like What You Write	p. 89
Make Yourself Likable	p. 91
Write About People	p. 92
Show Your Opinion	p. 93
Obey Your Own Rules	p. 95
Use Anecdotes	p. 96
Use Examples	p. 97
Name Your Sources	p. 98
Provide Useful Information	p. 100
Use Quotations	p. 100
Use Quotes	p. 102
Create a Strong Title	p. 104
Ten Ways to Avoid Grammatical Errors	p. 105
Respect the Rules of Grammar	p. 107
Do Not Change Tenses	p. 108
Know How to Use the Possessive Case	p. 109
Make Verbs Agree With Their Subjects	p. 110
Avoid Dangling Modifiers	p. 112
Avoid Shifts in Pronoun Forms	p. 112
Avoid Splitting Infinitives	p. 113
Avoid These Common Mistakes	p. 114
Be Sensitive to Changes in the Language	p. 115
Prefer Good Writing to Good Grammar	p. 116
Six Ways to Avoid Punctuation Errors	p. 119
Use Orthodox Punctuation	p. 121
Know When to Use a Comma	p. 122
Know When to Use a Semicolon	p. 126
Know When to Use a Colon	p. 127
Use Exclamation Points Only When Exclaiming and Question Marks Only When Asking Questions	p. 127
Know How to Use Quotation Marks	p. 128
Twelve Ways to Avoid Making Your Reader Hate You	p. 133
Avoid Jargon	p. 135
Avoid Cliches	p. 136
Avoid Parentheses	p. 137
Avoid Footnotes	p. 138
Don't Use Transitions to Conceal Information	p. 138
Don't Acknowledge When You Should Explain	p. 139
Don't Hide Behind Your Words	p. 140
Don't Intrude	p. 142
Don't Play Words Games	p. 143
Don't Play the Tom Wolfe Game	p. 143
Don't Play the Mystery Game	p. 144
Don't Cheat	p. 145
Seven Ways to Edit Yourself	p. 149
Read Your Work Out Loud	p. 151
Cut Unnecessary Words	p. 152
Think About What You Have Written	p. 153
Ask Yourself These Questions	p. 154
Follow These Rules of Form for Titles	p. 155
Prepare a Perfect Manuscript	p. 156
Use Common Sense	p. 156
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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100 Ways to Improve Your Writing

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