Grammar and Language Workbook

Unit 14, Composition 307

Copyright © by Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
Composition

Lesson 102

The Writing Process: Revising I

After you complete a first draft, you will want to revise, or improve your writing.

Begin by looking at each individual paragraph. The topic sentence should clearly

state what the paragraph is about. Each of the other sentences should support the

topic sentence and work together to develop the topic in a clear, interesting way.

If you find a sentence in your paragraph that does not support the topic, either

move it to a paragraph where it would make sense or do not use it at all. If your

sentences fit the topic but do not flow together smoothly, try adding a transition

word such as first, next,or finally.

Greta had a busy day. She played tennis all morning. She had lunch with Aunt

Susan. She visited the aquarium in the afternoon, and she called me tonight.

Greta had a busy day. First, she played tennis all morning. Next, she had lunch

with Aunt Susan. She visited the aquarium in the afternoon, and, finally, she

called me tonight.

Exercise 1 Revise the following paragraph.

The Venus flytrap is a plant that can be grown indoors. The Venus flytrap is a plant that

can move fast to catch insects. If you want help catching insects in your home, you might

want to get a Venus flytrap. I have a cactus. The tip of each leaf of the Venus flytrap has

two pads that hinge at the base. Each pad has sensitive hairs on its surface. When an insect

lands on a pad, these hairs move slightly, causing the pads to snap shut. The long “teeth”

at the edges of the pad interlock to keep the insect from escaping.

If you want help catching insects in your home, you might want to get a Venus flytrap. The Venus

flytrap is a plant that can move fast to catch insects. It is also a plant that can be grown indoors. The tip

of each leaf has two pads that hinge at the base. Each pad has sensitive hairs on its surface. When an

insect lands on a pad, these hairs move slightly, causing the pads to snap shut. The long “teeth” at the

edges of the pad interlock to keep the insect from escaping.