The next three lessons will deal with editing. Just as we broke the writing process into manageable units so that we could effectively focus on one thing at a time, we can further subdivide the editing process. If you were to read repeatedly through your composition, looking vaguely for anything you might want to change, you would be trying to attend to so many things simultaneously that errors would go undetected. Focusing on one area at a time, however, can improve your effectiveness. As you gain experience with editing, you may gradually increase the number of things you can check simultaneously.
Complete instruction in grammar, usage, and mechanics is well beyond the scope of this course. This is where you will use the English handbook that was listed as a course requirement. While some frequently troublesome concepts will be explained within the lesson, you might need to consult your handbook for background information or for additional explanation and/or examples.
There is no magic sequence of editing that works best; many of the skills are, in fact, interrelated. As you gain experience, you might develop a preference for a particular sequence.
Before we examine usage, we will look briefly at paragraphs and sentences.
Paragraphs are a great help to the reader. Not only do they break long discourse into manageable chunks, they also help the reader to know when you are moving to a slightly different aspect of your topic. There is no perfect length for a paragraph. In fact, it is effective to vary paragraph length. Examining paragraphing in the early lessons of this course will help you see how to paragraph effectively.
It is helpful for your reader to know how paragraphs are related to each other. For example, if you are discussing several reasons that support your main idea, you might signal each reason with a phrase such as the first reason or the second reason. Discussion of each reason might well be broken into several paragraphs. Again, signal words — such as for example, furthermore, and on the other hand — can be a valuable guide to your reader. Synonyms, pronouns, and repeated words can also help to tie your paragraphs — and even your sentences — together, giving your piece “coherence.” If you did not write your first draft in sequence, it will be especially important to check for smooth transitions between ideas.
A paragraph is made up of sentences. A complete sentence includes a subject and a verb, and expresses a complete thought. If you suspect that you have difficulty writing complete sentences, study the information in your handbook on these topics: sentences, complete; clauses, independent; clauses, dependent; subject; predicate; fragments (might be a subpoint under “sentences”); and run-ons (might be a subpoint under “sentences”). Although experienced writers occasionally deviate from rules of conventional writing (such as by writing an incomplete sentence), that should only be done deliberately for effect, never carelessly or ignorantly. Techniques of coherence discussed in the paragraph above also apply to sentences. The reader should be carried from one sentence to the next, always being shown the relationship between ideas, never being shifted abruptly from one topic to another.
Usage concerns use of the right word. This is especially likely to involve verbs, pronouns, and modifiers, since these words have different forms that are needed in different situations.
Subject-Verb Agreement: The subject and verb of a sentence must “agree in number.” They must either both be singular or both be plural. While we know that most plural nouns end in s, we may not realize that most verbs ending in s are singular. One of these verbs would have as its subject a third-person pronoun (he, she, or it) or a singular noun.
Singular: The bird chirps. The bee buzzes.
Plural: Birds chirp. Bees buzz.
In most sentences you would probably have no problem with subject-verb agreement. Several tricky situations, however, require analysis.
2. Indefinite pronouns. The following indefinite pronouns are singular: each, either, neither, anyone, anybody, everyone, everybody, no one, nobody, someone, somebody. When used as a subject, each of these words requires a singular verb. A personal pronoun referring to one of these words should also be singular.
Each of the candidates advocates fiscal responsibility.
All people vote for the candidate of their choice.
The following indefinite pronouns may be either singular or plural, depending on what they refer to in the sentence: all, any, most, none, some. This works the same way that half worked in #1 above.
Education or the economy is likely to be the biggest issue in the election.
Neither the moderator nor the panelists understand the question.
Neither the panelists nor the moderator understands the question.
The chairperson, along with the rest of the committee, recommends the purchase.
The chairperson and the rest of the committee recommend the purchase.
There are three ways to solve the problem.
Rickets is a disease that results from a deficiency of Vitamin D or calcium.
Physics includes the study of light, heat, sound, mechanics, and electricity.
These are by no means the only issues that affect subject-verb agreement. In addition, you will want to be sure to use the proper form of irregular verbs (those that form their past and past participle in some way other than by adding -ed). Forms of irregular verbs are included in many English handbooks. They are also shown in dictionary entries — usually in boldface type near the beginning of the entry for the base word.
Subject and Object Pronouns: Subject and object pronouns are most likely to cause problems when they are part of a compound. Two things can help you use the correct pronoun: (1) identifying how the pronoun is functioning in the sentence and (2) deciding which pronoun you would use if it were not part of a compound.
Each kind of pronoun has its own jobs to do. Subject pronouns (1) serve as the subject of a sentence and (2) are used after linking verbs. There are only seven subject pronouns: I, we, you, he, she, it, they. No other pronoun can correctly serve as the subject of a sentence.
Object pronouns serve as the direct object, the indirect object, or the object of a preposition. (If these functions are unfamiliar to you, consult your English handbook.) There are only seven object pronouns: me, us, you, him, her, it, them. No other pronoun can correctly serve as an object in a sentence.
If some of these sentences sound wrong to you, try each pronoun separately.
Remember that a subject and object pronoun will never be used together in a compound. Words will be compounded only if they have the same function, and if they have the same function, they will either both be subjects or both be objects.
Parallelism: Parallelism uses the same grammatical structure to express similar ideas. In addition to making a sentence sound balanced, parallelism helps the reader know which ideas have equal significance.
I enjoy basketball, football, and swimming.
Being familiar with the rules of usage will enable you to edit your writing more quickly and more confidently. Correct usage will make your message easier to understand and will create a favorable impression.
A. Be sure your composition is effectively divided into paragraphs.
B. Check to see that pronouns, synonyms, and repeated words make both your sentences and your paragraphs coherent.
C. Be sure that all sentences are complete. Check further to be sure that each sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with appropriate punctuation.
D. Study the sections of your handbook that have to do with usage of verbs, pronouns, and modifiers. Be sure you understand the concepts in this lesson and underlying basic principles.
If you are uncertain about some areas of your composition, discuss them with your conferring partner or someone else who has the required expertise.