Strausser, Jeffrey. Painless writing / Jeffrey Strausser. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN
0-7641-1810-2. 1. English language—Composition and exercises—Study and.
All inquiries should be addressed to: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. 250 Wireless Boulevard Hauppauge, New York 11788 http://www.barronseduc.com
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 2001025130 ISBN-13: 978-0-7641-1810-4 ISBN-10: 0-7641-1810-2
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Strausser, Jeffrey. Painless writing / Jeffrey Strausser. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-7641-1810-2 1. English language—Composition and exercises—Study and teaching (Middle school)—Juvenile literature. 2. Report writing —Juvenile literature. [1. English language—Composition and exercises. 2. Report writing.] I. Title. LB1631 .S822 2001 808¢.042¢0712—dc21 2001025130 PRINTED IN CANADA 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
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CONTENTS Introduction
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Chapter One: Clean Up Preposition Clutter Preposition Overuse Ruins Your Style Identifying Prepositions Five Steps to Eliminating Unnecessary Prepositions Applying the Five-Step Process
Chapter Two: Enliven Your Writing
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Dull Words Mean Dull Writing Identifying Those Hard-Working Verbs Selecting Action Verbs
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Chapter Three: Silencing the Passive Voice The Passive Voice Robs Your Writing of Energy Recognizing and Changing the Passive Voice When the Passive Voice Is Necessary Putting It All Together What About Writing a Scientific Paper?
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Chapter Four: Reduce Nominalizations and Activate Your Writing Nominalizations Exposed! Writing Situations That Create Unnecessary Nominalizations Applying the Technique Necessary Nominalization Situations
Chapter Five: Smoothing Out Your Writing Confronting Choppy Writing Smooth Your Writing by Linking Your Sentences Using Relative Pronouns
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Using Semicolons Transitioning Paragraphs Keep Your Writing Flowing
Chapter Six: Harness the Power of the Comma Polishing Your Writing with Commas Growing Beyond the Simple Sentence Three Methods for Creating Sophisticated Sentences
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Change Your Pace to Keep Them Reading Vary Sentence Length Fragments Can Create Rhythm Avoid Sentences Written in the Same Form Paragraphs Create Rhythm Too
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Chapter Seven: Add Rhythm to Your Writing
Chapter Eight: Gremlins in Your Writing
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Repeat Offenders The Top Ten Gremlins You Have Style, Substance, and Grace
Chapter Nine: Create a Template for Your Term Paper The Framework for Success The POWER Template It’s Up to You!
