• Does my paragraph follow a logical method of organization? [See order, in
paragraph development, in the Glossary.]
• Have I included adequate transitional devices to connect the ideas within the
paragraph? [See Sample Revision for Transition later in this chapter.]
• Does my paragraph end with a clincher or concluding statement?STEP 3: Checking Structure—Sentences
Finally, no matter whether you have written a multi-paragraph paper or a single para-
graph, you must check the sentence structure. Ask yourself the following questions:
• Have I included a variety of sentence types, including simple, compound,
complex, and compound-complex? [See Writing Sentences in Chapter 2 and
Sample Revision for Sentence Variety later in this chapter.]
• Do my sentences begin in a variety of ways? For instance, do some sentences
start with the subject while others start with an introductory phrase or clause?
[See Writing Sentences in Chapter 2.]
• Have I used a variety of modification structures? [See Writing Sentences in
Chapter 2.]
• Do my sentences vary in length? Count the words. Because most writers tend
to write sentences of similar length, varying the length usually requires a
conscious effort.Another means of adding strength to sentences is to choose specific details and use
strong nouns and verbs. In an effort to check your work for strength, ask yourself
these questions:
• Have I used specific words, the most precise words for the purpose? [See
Revision for Specific Detail later in this chapter.]
• Have I used strong, specific nouns instead of weak, general ones? Have I talked
about a 15-year-old star on the girls’ cross-country team as opposed to a high-
school athlete?
• Have I used strong, specific verbs as opposed to weak, general ones? Have
I said, for instance, The dog loped across the yard, instead of The dog walked
across the yard?
• Have I omitted excessive adjectives and adverbs that could be replaced with
stronger nouns and verbs? For instance, instead of saying, He walked slowly,
have I said, He ambled?
• Have I used active-voice as opposed to passive-voice verbs? [See active voice
and passive voice in the Glossary and in the Verbs section of Chapter 42.] Of
course, under certain circumstances, passive voice is preferable. Those special
circumstances appear in the discussion of those respective writing samples
in Part III, especially in technical writing and in instances when the doer of a
deed is unknown.Revising / 35