English Grammar and Essay Writing Workbook 2

Principles of Written English, Workbook 2
Copyright © 2014 by Maggie Sokolik

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Principles of
Written English

Workbook 2

________________________

Maggie Sokolik
________________________

Introduction

This workbook accompanies the online course, College Writing 2.2x, Principles of Written
English, the second of a series of three courses offered by College Writing Programs of the
University of California, Berkeley. You can find this course on the edx.org website
(https://www.edx.org/course/uc-berkeleyx/uc-berkeleyx-colwri2-2x-principles-1348). This
workbook offers additional ways to practice writing, editing, and reviewing the materials for the
online course.

If you have purchased this workbook and are not taking the course, you may still find use for the
materials. However, it should be noted that the course is offered free of charge, so look for the
schedule on the http://edx.org website and join the live course.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Week 1, Vocabulary Development
Chapter 2: Week 2, Understanding Tone and Diction
Chapter 3: Week 3, Common Errors in Writing
Chapter 4: Week 4, Advanced Process Writing
Chapter 5: Week 5, Advanced Revision, Proofreading, and Editing
Answers
More Practice
About the Author

Chapter 1

Week 1: Vocabulary Development

1. Weekly overview

Week 1 covers strategies for developing your vocabulary. Vocabulary is important to writing, of
course, because it helps you write correctly and accurately. However, there are no universally
accepted ways of developing vocabulary that will work for everyone. Therefore, you are
encouraged this week to experiment with a variety of methods to find some that work for you.

2. Why Vocabulary is Important

Vocabulary is crucial for good writing. When you develop a strong vocabulary, you will find that
writing gets easier. You will find the appropriate words that you need to express your ideas, and
you will avoid being repetitive by varying your vocabulary.

However, the question is: How do you do that? It’s not as easy as it sounds, as you probably
realize. Even in our native language, we often struggle to build a vocabulary that is clear and
precise. When we write in a second or other language, the difficulty grows.

A common piece of advice you hear about learning vocabulary is to read a lot. While it’s always
a good idea to read, it won’t guarantee that you'll become a lot better at vocabulary. Imagine that
you want to become a better soccer player; while watching games will certainly help you learn
things about the game, you need to run, kick the ball, and play with teammates to improve your
abilities. This applies to vocabulary, too. You can read and look at words, but you need to
practice—to use the words—to develop the strong vocabulary you want.

There are two additional problems with using reading as your primary means of vocabulary
development:

• Looking up words when you read can help your passive vocabulary, but not necessarily your
active vocabulary. Passive vocabulary is made up of words you understand while reading or
listening, but don't use in speaking or writing. Active vocabulary is made up of those words you
use when you talk and write. Most of us know many more words passively than actively. The
key is to find a way to turn passive vocabulary into active vocabulary.

• If you are counting on context to tell you what words mean, that strategy may not work as well
as you hope. Research shows that a lot of vocabulary cannot be guessed from context. In
addition, you need to understand about 90% of the context in order to figure out a new word.

Developing your vocabulary is a long process – in fact, it probably never ends. The next part of
this unit shows eight ways to improve your vocabulary.

3. Excerpts from the Course Materials

The following is a sample of key materials from this week’s lesson:

Eight Ways to Improve Your Vocabulary

1. Learn words in categories.
• Avoid single-word memorization.
• Think about groups of words. For example:
Kitchen objects
• Pot
• Bowl
• Burner
• Oven
• Colander
• and so on

2. Use a journal and sticky notes.
• Carry a notebook.
• Write down words that seem important.
• Later, look them up and write sentences using them.
• Use sticky notes as labels.
• Write the word and post the notes around the house.

3. Learn collocations.
A collocation is a combination of words that appear together frequently.

• Lions roar (but they don’t shout, weep, holler, etc.).
• Depressed people can commit suicide (not do suicide, create suicide, etc.).
• Discover collocations dictionaries.
• Think about word groups, not individual words.

4. Use mnemonics.
A mnemonic is a pattern of letters or ideas that helps you remember something. For example,
American school children use the word HOMES to remember the names of the Great Lakes in
Michigan (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior).

• Create your own mnemonics.
Example: Italian for butterfly: farfalla. A butterfly flies so high it falls far (far-fall-a).

• Consult the Mnemonic Dictionary: http://mnemonicdictionary.com

5. Speak it, write it.
• Put a new word to use immediately.
• Write it down.
• Use it in a sentence.
• Use it three times in a day.

6. Learn area-specific vocabulary.
• Learn words related to a particular area, such as job-related or study area related:
• Words for architects
• Words for car mechanics
• Words for cooks
• Make word forks, trees, wheels, webs, etc. See Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 below.

Figure 1: A Word Fork

Figure 2: A Word Tree

Figure 3: A Word Wheel

Figure 4: A Word Web
7. Write in an observation journal.

• Keep a small notebook or file on your laptop or tablet.
• Go sit somewhere.
• Name everything you can see.
• If you don’t know the name of something, write it in your native language, or take a
picture of it and then look it up later.
• Go to different places to do this activity – parks, shopping centers, office buildings, etc.
8. Use a spaced repetition system (SRS).
• This is a learning technique that increases time between reviews of words.
• Software helps best.

• One good source is Anki: http://ankisrs.net/
• More information at: http://www.omniglot.com/language/srs.php

Sources for Vocabulary Development

Here are some vocabulary resources that have more information on vocabulary building:

Websites
• Play “Free Rice” – you can learn vocabulary and donate rice to those who need food:
http://freerice.com/ - /english-vocabulary/1379
• “12 Learn Vocabulary with the New York Times”:
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/12-ways-to-learn-vocabulary-with-the-new-york-
times/
• Vocabulary.com has games and more: https://www.vocabulary.com/
• Wikihow’s suggestions: http://www.wikihow.com/Build-Your-Vocabulary
• “38 Language-Learning Experts Reveal their Favorite Method for Learning Vocabulary”:
http://www.smartlanguagelearner.com/experts-reveal-method-learning-vocabulary/
• Oxford Collocations Dictionary: http://oxforddictionary.so8848.com/

Books
• Fifty Ways to Practice Vocabulary: Tips for ESL/EFL Students, ebook, by Belinda Young-
Davy. Wayzgoose Press, 2013.http://wayzgoosepress.com/education.html
• Oxford American Dictionary Vocabulary Builder, by Keith Folse. Oxford University Press,
2010.
• Easy ESL Crossword Puzzles, by Chris Gunn. McGraw-Hill, 2013.

• Academic English Vocabulary for International Students, Bill Walker, 2009 and English
Vocabulary for Academic Success, Bill Walker, 2012.

4. Vocabulary Check

Here are some words from this week that were used in this week’s course materials. Highlight
the ones you already know. Look up the ones you don’t know. For the ones you don’t know,
write them out on cards or add them to a notebook, along with a definition, written in your own
words. Indicate the part of speech. Then write an example sentence in your own words.

1. abundant
2. alloy
3. ascertainable
4. assay
5. banished
6. boosted
7. colander
8. collocations
9. elemental
10. exaltation
11. finery
12. minted
13. mnemonic
14. ornamental
15. perversion
16. purity
17. scathing
18. transforming
19. weapons
20. worship

Remember to share your work and comment on others’ work on the course website at
http://edX.org.

5. Additional Writing

Find an interesting place to sit for 20 minutes. Take five minutes to observe what’s going on
around you. Then, write for 15 minutes, describing in as much detail as you can what you see.
Stretch your vocabulary – include names for things that you had to look up. Share your writing in
the course.

Chapter 2

Week 2: Understanding Tone and Diction

1. Weekly overview

Week 2 covers the ideas of tone and diction, or the words writers choose to convey their
meanings. It also looks at the connotations, or the shades of meaning of words, and how
understanding negative and positive connotations of words can help you improve your
vocabulary understanding and use.

2. Excerpts from the Course Materials

The following is a sample of key materials from this week’s lesson:
Choosing Correct Diction
In last week’s lesson, you learned about expanding your vocabulary. Good writing depends on
more than just having a large vocabulary, however. You have to learn to use the vocabulary
appropriately in the right contexts. Choosing the right vocabulary is also known as choosing your
diction.
If you know the word dictionary, then you have seen the word diction. In fact, diction is simply
the words you choose to express your meaning. However, choosing the right words isn't always
so simple.
The words you choose can be formal, informal, or colloquial/slang. Using slang when you
should be writing formally is a big mistake. Similarly, if you are overly formal in a situation that
calls for informality, you risk insulting your reader as well.

Twenty-one Errors in Diction

There are two main sources of error in diction:
1. Choosing the wrong word. This can happen because of confusion between homonyms (words
that sound alike but are spelled differently), or because the meaning of the word isn't fully
understood.
2. Choosing colloquial or less formal spoken language when standard or more formal language is
called for (or vice versa). In academic writing, formal diction is generally expected.
Here are twenty-one common errors made in writing formal diction. How many of these usage
errors have you made or seen?

1. A lot / lots of
Colloquial: Diana likes her apartment a lot.
Formal: Diana likes her apartment very much.

Colloquial: There are lots of books in our library.
Formal: There are many books in our library.

2. Among / between (Tip: Among involves more than two; between involves only two)
Colloquial: Discussions between our group members were often very lively.
Formal: Discussions among our group members were often very lively.

3. Around / about (Tip: Don’t use around to indicate time, distance, or other quantity.)
Colloquial: The class usually begins around nine.
Formal: The class usually begins at about nine.

4. Badly (Tip: Badly is not a substitute for very much.)
Colloquial: The team wanted to win really badly.
Formal: The team wanted desperately to win.

5. Based off of
Colloquial: Based off of that information, we can move ahead with the plan.
Formal: Based on that information, we can move ahead with the plan.

6. Because (Tip: Don’t use because after reason.)
Colloquial: The reason for our flight delay is because of bad weather.
Formal: The reason for our flight delay is the bad weather.

7. A bunch / bunches (Tip: Use bunch or bunches only for things that are bound or grow
together, like bananas and grapes; it is not used for other countable nouns.)
Colloquial: A bunch of us are going to the movies tonight.
Formal: A group of us are going to the movies tonight.
Formal: There are three bunches of bananas on the counter.

8. Each other / one other (Tip: Each other refers to two; one another refers to more than two.)
Colloquial: Everyone at the party wished each other a happy new year.
Formal: Everyone at the party wished one another a happy new year.
Formal: My sister and I wished each other a happy new year.

9. Guys
Colloquial: I hope you guys can join me at the restaurant.
Formal: I hope all of you can join me at the restaurant.

10. In / Into (Tip: In means within or inside, while into refers to the motion of going from
outside to inside.)
Colloquial: Bill went in the bus station to buy a ticket.
Formal: Bill went into the bus station to buy a ticket.

11. Infer / imply (Tip: To infer is an act of thinking; to imply is an act of saying something.)
Incorrect: I saw your memo about a noon meeting. Are you inferring that we should have lunch
together?
Correct: I saw your memo about a noon meeting. Are you implying that we should have lunch
together?

12. It’s / its (Remember that it’s always means it is)
Incorrect: The committee has reached it’s goals this year.
Correct: The committee has reached its goals this year.

13. Kind of / sort of (Tip: Don’t use kind of or sort of when you mean very, rather, or
somewhat.)
Colloquial: Jim was sort of angry when he learned we went to the park without him.
Formal: Jim was somewhat upset when he learned we went to the park without him.

14. Less than / fewer than (Tip: Use less than only with uncountable nouns.)
Colloquial: There are less people in the store today than yesterday.
Formal: There are fewer people in the store today than yesterday.

15. Like / as (Tip: Use as when comparing actions, like when comparing things.)
Colloquial: Alan wants to write a new essay, just like Sarah does.
Formal: Alan wants to write a new essay, just as Sarah does.

16. Like / maybe (Tip: Avoid using like and maybe when estimating; use approximately,
perhaps, or about instead.)
Colloquial: There were like thirty people at my birthday party.
Formal: There were approximately thirty people at my birthday party.

17. Meantime
Colloquial: Meantime, the rain continued to pour.
Formal: In the meantime, the rain continued to pour.
Formal: Meanwhile, the rain continued to pour.

18. On account of
Colloquial: On the account of the weather, our plane was late.
Formal: Because of the weather, our plane was late.

19. Plenty
Colloquial: It has been plenty warm all week.
Formal: It has been very warm all week.

20. So
Colloquial: This week’s homework is so difficult.
Formal: This week's homework is very difficult.

21. They’re / their / there (You’re / your) (Tip: remember that they’re always means they are,

and you’re always means you are)
Incorrect: Do you know if their going to the party?
Correct: Do you know if they're going to the party?

Incorrect: You’re lunch is on the counter.
Correct: Your lunch is on the counter.

Incorrect: What is there address?
Correct: What is their address?

Connotations

A connotation is an idea or feeling that a word may hold in addition to its literal meaning (or
denotation). These additional meanings are often cultural or emotional in nature, so they can be
hard to understand if you only consult a dictionary.

For example, look at these four words: cheap, frugal, miserly, economical. All of them mean
“the quality of saving money by spending very little.” However, two of these words have
positive meanings and the other two have negative meanings. Do you know which ones?

(Answer: cheap and miserly are negative, meaning someone who is unreasonable in their
spending habits; frugal and economical have positive associations, meaning someone who is
careful about spending money).

When you make notes on vocabulary items in your notebook, sometimes it is helpful to put a +
(plus) next to a word with a positive connotation, and a – (minus) next to those with negative
connotations. Some words, of course, are neutral, being neither negative nor positive.
Furthermore, some words are so negative as to be insulting or unacceptable.

The groups of words in each set have similar meanings, but different connotations. Using online
sources, such as http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/, search engines, or other sources, see if you can
learn something about the connotations of each word in the group.

1. childlike, youthful, childish, young, immature, juvenile
2. chubby, fat, plump, curvy, overweight
3. confident, secure, proud, egotistical
4. cute, knockout, beautiful, handsome, stunning, attractive
5. disabled, crippled, handicapped, differently abled, retarded
6. inquisitive, interested, curious, nosy
7. relaxed, mellow, lackadaisical, lazy, easy-going
8. slim, skinny, slender, thin, bony
9. talkative, conversational, chatty, garrulous

3. Sources for Understanding Tone and Diction

Websites
• The Purdue OWL (online writing lab): http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Look especially at their “Five Principles of Readability” (PDF):
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20080306044359_727.pdf
• From the University of Maryland’s online writing guide, “A Word about Style, Voice, and
Tone”: http://www.umuc.edu/writingcenter/onlineguide/chapter3-22.cfm
• From Wheaton College’s Writing Center, “Style, Diction, Tone, and Voice”:
http://www.wheaton.edu/Academics/Services/Writing-Center/Writing-Resources/Style-Diction-
Tone-and-Voice
• The Idioms Site: http://www.idiomsite.com/

Books
• Rhetorical Devices: A Handbook and Activities for Student Writers, by Brendan McGuigan,
Douglas Grudzina, and Paul Moliken, Prestwick House, 2007.
• Rhetorical Grammar, by Martha Kolln and Loretta Gray, Longman Publishers, 2007.
• Words You Thought You Knew: 1001 Commonly Misused and Misunderstood Words and
Phrases, by Jenna Glatzer, Adams Media, 2003.

4. Vocabulary Check

Here are some words from this week that were used in this week’s course materials. Highlight
the ones you already know. Look up the ones you don’t know. For the ones you don’t know,
write them out on cards or add them to a notebook, along with a definition, written in your own
words. Indicate the part of speech. Then write an example sentence in your own words.

1. diction
2. colloquial
3. feasible
4. infer
5. imply
6. connotation
7. denotation
8. frugal
9. miserly
10. lackadaisical
11. egotistical
12. garrulous

5. Additional Writing

Look at the following list of fifteen possible tones you could use in writing. Pick two of them.
First, write down all the vocabulary you can think of that could express that tone. For example,
for gloomy, you could write: sad, dark, humorless, etc. Next, write a story about something that
happened to you recently. First write it in a neutral tone—just say what happened. Then, write it
using one of the tones from the list. Then, rewrite it again, choosing a second tone choice. Think
about what you have to do to change the tone.

Tone Choices

1. bitter: showing hostility because of pain or grief
2. contemptuous: feeling that something lacks respect
3. didactic: trying to educate or teach the reader
4. earnest: being honest and sincere
5. erudite: showing learned, sophisticated, or scholarly qualities
6. fanciful: using one’s imagination
7. gloomy: being sad and rejected
8. jovial: exhibiting happiness
9. lyrical: expressing a poet’s inner emotions; full of imagery; song-like
10. optimistic: being hopeful and cheerful
11. reverent: writing with honor and respect
12. reflective: illustrating innermost thoughts and emotions
13. sarcastic: using irony, criticism, and cynicism
14. solemn: being very earnest, sometimes reflecting on sad thoughts
15. whimsical: expressing odd, strange, fantastical or quirky ideas

Remember to share your work on the course website.

Chapter 3

Week 3: Common Errors in Writing

1. Weekly Overview

This week, you will look at several sources of error in writing: wordiness, spelling, and
grammar. You will also explore different ways to improve your writing in all these areas.

2. Excerpts from the Course Materials

What causes wordiness?
Wordiness is using more words than you need to in order to write what you mean. Everyone has
a tendency to be too wordy at times. Some of the causes of this wordiness are:

Trying to sound too formal or academic. Unfortunately, in academic writing, there are a lot of
examples of wordy writing. This doesn’t mean you have to model your writing on bad examples.
Your readers will always appreciate if you state your ideas clearly, and using no more words
than needed.

Not knowing more precise vocabulary. For example, saying, She ran quickly to the store can
be made somewhat less wordy, and more precise, by saying: She raced to the store (race = run
quickly). Finding the right vocabulary can help you cut down the number of words you use.
Every reduction helps, even if it’s only a word or two.

Using too many unnecessary and vague modifiers. Typically, modifiers like really, very,
quite, and similar words add no meaning to your writing. If you need to modify a word, find
precise modifiers. For example, instead of There’s a really tall building near my house, write:
There’s a 50-story building near my house.

Using too many prepositional phrases or possessives. These types of phrases can add length to
your sentences, often unnecessarily. So, instead of The car belonging to Mr. Wang is in the
garage [10 words], write: Mr. Wang’s car is in the garage [7 words].

Writing less wordy prose

One problem many writers have with wordiness is relying on some standard phrases that they
hear or read. The table here, taken from the first part of this course, has a brief introduction of
some of these wordy phrases:

Some steps to reduce wordiness when reviewing your work:

1. Look for any of the phrases from this table and write them more succinctly.

2. Look for places where you use modifiers, such as adjectives or adverbs. Consider whether the
modifier adds important information. If it doesn’t, remove it or change it to be more precise. If
you keep the modifier, ask if there is a more precise single-word vocabulary item that expresses
the same meaning as the word + modifier.

3. Look at any sentences in your writing that seem long. Determine if there are ways to cut the
length of the sentence.

4. Read your sentences out loud, one by one. Sometimes wordiness reveals itself when you hear
it rather than see it.

5. Don’t use a passive verb construction when active would be better. Instead of writing The bill
was paid by us, write: We paid the bill.

6. Eliminate unnecessary personal commentary. Often, phrases like I believe, I think, I just want
to emphasize, etc. are not needed to make your point.

It takes time to recognize wordiness in your own writing. However, the process will pay off –

your writing will become much easier to read; or rather, your writing will be more readable.

A little history of English spelling

Spelling in English is notorious for its inconsistency. However, there are historical reasons for
this. Additionally, understanding a little about the history and origin of words will help you
understand some of the patterns of English spelling.

The English alphabet is based on the Roman alphabet that was brought to England in the 600s.
The Roman alphabet was designed for a language with a very different sound system, namely
Latin. The Roman alphabet was never truly adapted for writing in English. The first people
writing English with Roman letters added new characters to represent the sounds found in
English, but not in Latin. With this, the complication of the spelling:sound relationship began.

Various other historical events, like the Norman Conquest of 1066, also affected the way English
sounded and was spelled. In fact, English has developed as a mix of different languages, and
continues to add words (as most languages do) through borrowing vocabulary from other
languages. English has been most heavily affected by Latin, Greek, Anglo-Saxon (West
Germanic), and French, but it has borrowed from other languages as well.

Here are some commonly used borrowed words and their origins:

African languages: banjo, chimpanzee
Arabic: alcohol, giraffe, hazard
Chinese: kumquat, tea, ketchup
Dutch: bundle, caboose, smuggler
German: delicatessen, hamburger, quartz
Hungarian: coach, itsy-bitsy, saber
Indian (Sanskrit): avatar, cheetah, sulfur
Indigenous American languages: squash, pecan, igloo
Italian: bronze, dome, magenta
Japanese: honcho, tsunami, tycoon
Polish: gherkin, kielbasa, polka
Portuguese: cashew, cobra, buccaneer
Russian: mammoth, sable
Spanish: embargo, rodeo, tobacco
Tagalog: boondocks
Yiddish: glitch, maven, schemer

As you can see, with so many different language influences, English has become a “melting pot”
for different words and spellings.

Ways to learn spelling

In a world of built-in spelling checkers, is learning spelling really important? In a word, yes.
While spelling checkers should be used, they cannot catch every instance of a misspelling. Of
course, this is because sometimes a misspelled word is still a legitimate word – just not the one
you intended to write. It will also help you become a more efficient writer if you don’t have to

check and recheck your spelling. Even with computers, we still have to write by hand from time
to time, so knowing how to spell without the assistance of a spellchecker certainly has
advantages.

There are many approaches to learning spelling, but most of them rely on practice. This means
writing down words a lot, and perhaps writing a problem word several times until you see what it
should look like. Spelling in English is not just a matter of hearing a word and mapping its
sounds onto the written word; it’s important to recognize what the word looks like as well.
Learning to spell correctly does not have to be boring. There are several ways to practice spelling
without just memorizing word lists or rules.

1. Play word games: Scrabble, Words with Friends, Hangman, etc. There are a lot of word games
to keep you entertained while spelling words. This website also has some online games:
http://www.spellingcity.com/spelling-games-vocabulary-games.html.

2. Dictation: In dictation, you listen to spoken text and write what you hear. Then, check your
text against what was actually said. Dictations can be difficult, but they are very effective ways
to create a connection between the written form of the word and the spoken word.
There are some websites with dictation exercises listed later in this chapter.

How to avoid grammar mistakes

Any time you make a mistake in your writing, you distract your readers from what you are trying
to say. Instead, the readers now see the way you are saying it, and they will likely have a poor
impression of what they see.

Of course, learning grammar can be a long process. If you are relatively new to English, you may
feel you’re never going to get it right. Even if you’ve been studying for years, or are a native
speaker, correct written grammar may still elude you. The key is to develop a process of learning
and remembering correct grammar that works for you.

1. Practice
It seems a cliché, but if you don’t use English, your grammar will be less likely to improve. This
means not only writing in English regularly, but also speaking it as often as you can.

2. Do your own triage
Look at a table of contents from a grammar book or website. Note any points that you feel you
need to work on. Then, make a schedule for learning, reviewing, and practicing those points.

3. Make grammar notes on your reading
When you read in English, make notes of any grammatical structure you notice that you don’t
normally use in your own writing. Then, practice writing some sentences using that structure,
varying the vocabulary.

4. Find resources
Find some books or online sources for grammar learning. Identify the ones that you find

enjoyable and informative. There are hundreds, if not thousands of websites and books, so take
some time to investigate which ones are a good fit for you.

Remember that the first part of this course, 2.1x, had a lot of information about grammar. You
can access that material at any time and review those lessons as well.

3. Sources for Understanding Common Writing Problems

Websites
• Dictation activities: http://www.englishclub.com/listening/dictation.htm
• Five Guidelines for Learning Spelling and Six Ways of Practicing Spelling:
http://www.ldonline.org/article/6192/
• History of Spelling: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Histengl/spelling.html
• 12 Letters That Didn't Make the Alphabet: http://mentalfloss.com/article/31904/12-letters-
didnt-make-alphabet
• How to Improve Your Spelling: http://www.spellzone.com/unit02/page1.cfm
• Ten Tips for Better Spelling: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0903395.html

Books
• The Story of English in 100 Words, by David Crystal, Picador, 2013.
• The Mother Tongue – English and How it Got That Way, by Bill Bryson, William Morrow,
2001.
• Writing Tools – 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer, by Roy Peter Clark. Little, Brown &
Company, 2008.

4. Vocabulary Check

Here are some words from this week that were used in this week’s course materials. Highlight
the ones you already know. Look up the ones you don’t know. For the ones you don’t know,
write them out on cards or add them to a notebook, along with a definition, written in your own
words. Indicate the part of speech. Then write an example sentence in your own words.

1. avatar
2. banjo
3. bronze
4. buccaneer
5. caboose
6. cashew
7. cheetah
8. delicatessen
9. embargo
10. giraffe
11. glitch
12. hazard
13. honcho
14. igloo
15. itsy-bitsy
16. magenta
17. mammoth
18. maven
19. quartz
20. rodeo
21. saber
22. sable
23. smuggler
24. squash (noun)
25. sulfur
26. tycoon

5. Additional Writing

1. Go to http://creativewritingprompts.com/ and choose as many topics as you want to write
about.

2. If you have a piece of writing of your own to work with, review it for wordiness. Revise it
correctly. Share your original and rewritten versions.

Remember to share your work on the course website.

Chapter 4

Week 4: Advanced Process Writing

1. Weekly Overview

In week 4, we will look at the concept of process writing, that is, writing as a series of steps
rather than as a single activity. We will focus on the prewriting and drafting process in particular.
You will decide on a topic for your final essay and develop a first draft.

2. Excerpts from the Course Materials

Four brainstorming techniques

1. Prewriting
Prewriting, or informal planning done before starting an assignment, is an important part of the
writing process. When you prewrite, you gather ideas, think about organization, experiment with
different ways of approaching your topic, and even discover sometimes that your ideas are not
ready to write about.

Even if you prewrite for only a small amount of time – 10 minutes – it can make a big difference
in the quality of your writing. You will start off better prepared, and you will have less revising
and rewriting to do later. So it will actually save you time.

The first part of this course, 2.1x, has some prewriting activities that you can explore, such as
idea maps, outlines, and freewriting. This week, we will look at three more.

2. Cubing
Cubing means looking at a topic from six different perspectives, like the six sides of a cube.
First, choose your topic and write it at the top of your page to help you remember it. Next, take
five minutes to write about your topic from six different perspectives (again, think of the sides of
the cube). You may not be able to do all six, but do the best you can. (See Figure 5 below.)

1. Describe your topic. What is its shape, size, color, texture? Does it make any sounds? Does it
taste like something? Use all your senses to describe it.

2. Compare your topic to other related topics. How is it similar or different?

3. Associate your topic with another topic. In other words, what does your topic make you think
about? It might be something unexpected. Be creative.

4. Analyze the parts of your topic. How do they fit together? What do the parts say about the
topic? Are all the parts equally important?

5. Apply your topic – what can you do with it? How is it useful? Who might use it? Who
wouldn’t use it?

6. Argue for and against your topic. What are its benefits? How might someone disagree with
your topic?

Figure 5: A Word Cube

3. The Matrix Approach
What’s a matrix? (No, not the movie. .) A matrix is a like a table of information. Along one
side, you can have different main points of your topic, and across the top, perhaps some
questions or points relevant to your topic. Then, in each cell, fill in the relevant information.

One way to look at a matrix is that it is a multi-point comparison. It gives you specific ways to
compare a number of different areas of interest within your topic.
4. Twenty Questions
It may seem odd to interview a topic, but imagine that your topic is a person. Pretend to be that
person, and answer these interview questions. You may not be able to answer all of them, but do
as many as you can.
1. What is your full name? Do some people know you by a different name?
2. How does the dictionary or encyclopedia define you?
3. When were you born? What were the circumstances?
4. Are you still alive? If not, how did you come to an end?
5. What group do you belong to? How are you like others in your group?
6. Can you be divided into parts? How?

7. Were you different in the past? How?
8. Will you be different in the future? How?
9. Do you ever feel misunderstood?
10. What is your purpose?
11. What are you similar to? Why do you say that?
12. What are you different from? Why do you say that?
13. What or whom are you better than? In what ways?
14. What or whom are you inferior to? In what ways?
15. When people talk about you, what do they say?
16. Should I know any facts or statistics about you?
17. Is there someone I should talk to about you – an expert, for example?
18. Are there any famous sayings or quotes about you?
19. Have there been any stories about you in the news?
20. Should I do more research about you?

Example: Train travel

1. What is your full name? Do some people know you by a different name?
I am known as train travel, rail travel, riding the train, or railroad travel.

2. How does the dictionary or encyclopedia define you?
I am a type of movement from one place to another – usually different cities or countries – using
a self-propelled machine and a set of connected cars called a train. The train travels on metal
tracks.

3. When were you born? What were the circumstances?
The machine-powered version of me was born in the 1800s, around the time of the Industrial
Revolution. People were looking for faster ways of traveling.

Draft Your Essay

After you have determined your topic and gotten feedback, it's time to write a draft. Here are five
steps to follow as you develop your essay.

1. Write your thesis. If you don’t know how to write a thesis, review the section in 2.1x on
thesis writing. You can also review the information on the Purdue OWL
(https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/), or use the “Thesis Generator” web page
(http://johnmcgarvey.com/apworld/student/thesiscreator.html). Consider your topic, and write a
clear argument that you can develop your essay around. Your thesis is your main point, stated in
one concise sentence. Your thesis lets your readers know what your paper will argue.

2. Create an outline. There are different ways to write outlines, both formal and informal.
However you write your outline, it’s good to create a plan for your essay. What will the order of
ideas be? Why are they in that order?

3. Write your introduction. Begin writing. Your introduction should draw your reader in, make

your topic clear, and lead to your thesis. Make it interesting!

4. Craft your paragraphs. Each paragraph should focus on a main idea that supports your
thesis. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that is linked to your thesis. Develop your
paragraphs by including arguments, examples, or opinions.

5. End with your conclusion. Start your conclusion by writing a summary sentence, reinforcing
the main point of your paper. Then end your essay with a memorable idea, or a quotation, or
some other way to get your reader to think more deeply about what you have said.

Get and Give Feedback

When you read others’ work, here are some questions to guide your comments.

Peer Review Questions
When you read your colleagues’ drafts, try to answer these questions in as much detail as you are
able.

1. Introduction: Does the first paragraph introduce the essay’s topic and the writer’s position? Is
the first sentence attention getting and relevant to the topic?
2. Thesis: Can you identify the thesis statement? If necessary, suggest a way to improve the
introduction or thesis statement.
3. Organization: Is the essay well organized? Does each paragraph make a relevant point that is
different from the others? Is the order of ideas logical and clear?
4. Clarity/Style: Did you find distracting grammar, punctuation, spelling, or vocabulary
problems? Is the tone of the essay properly academic? If you find awkward sentences, try to
explain why they don’t make sense to you. You do not need to correct the writer’s grammar
mistakes.
5. Sources: If the writer uses outside sources, such as quotations or examples from reading, are
they clearly identified?

3. Sources for Understanding Process Writing

Websites
• Thesis writing: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/
• Thesis generator: http://johnmcgarvey.com/apworld/student/thesiscreator.html
• Writing ideas: https://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/writing-groups/writing-exercises/
• Body paragraph writing: http://www.aims.edu/student/online-writing-lab/process/body-exercise
• Interactive quizzes on writing and grammar:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quiz_list.htm

Books
Longman Academic Writing 4: Essays (5th Edition), by Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue,
Longman, 2013.
Writers at Work: The Essay, by Dorothy Zemach and Lynn Stafford-Yilmaz, Cambridge
University Press, 2008.
The Process of Composition (3rd edition), by Joy Reid, Pearson/Longman, 2011.

4. Vocabulary Check

Here are some words from this week that were used in this week’s course materials. Highlight
the ones you already know. Look up the ones you don’t know. For the ones you don’t know,
write them out on cards or add them to a notebook, along with a definition, written in your own
words. Indicate the part of speech. Then write an example sentence in your own words.

1. benefits
2. brainstorming
3. craft (verb)
4. matrix
5. sketch out
6. stasis
7. texture

5. Additional Writing

1. If you aren’t sure what to write about, here are some ideas to get you started:

• Describe the evolution of communication since the beginning of the Internet.
• What are the long-term effects of climate change, especially its estimated impact on coastal
cities?
• What is a serious health problem that does not get enough public attention? Describe this
problem and support your arguments with research.
• What is your favorite retail business? Describe its history, what products it sells, how it runs its
business, and its best qualities.
• What steps would you take to choose and buy a new computer? Describe the process in detail,
including advice for a potential buyer.

2. Edit the following passage, which has errors of different kinds.

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864 – 1892), was the eldest son
of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), and the grandson of the
reining British monarch, Queen Victoria. From time of his birth he was second in the line
of succession to the British throng, but he did not become king because he has died
beforehand to his father, and his grandmother the Queen.

Albert Victor known to his family, and many later biographers, as Eddy. When young, he
traveled extensively the world as a naval cadet, and as adult he joined the British Army,
but did not undertaken any active military duties. After to unsuccessful courtship’s, he
engaged to be marry to Princess Mary of Teck in 1891. Just few weeks later, he died
during a influenza pandemic. Mary later married his younger brother, George, who
becomes King George V in 1910.

Albert Victor’s intellect, and sanity has been the subject of much speculations. Some
authors have argued that he was the serial killer know as Jack the Ripper, however;
contemporary documents show that Albert Victor could not have been at London at the
time of the murders, and because of this reason the claim widely is dismissed.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia

Click here to check your answers.

Chapter 5

Week 5: Advanced Revision, Proofreading, and Editing

1. Weekly Overview

In the last week of the course, we will look at methods of improving your writing. Specifically,
we will look at practices in revision, proofreading and editing. There are several innovative
techniques introduced to help you find problems in your writing.

2. Excerpts from the Course Materials

GREAT WRITERS AND REVISION

Interviewer: How much rewriting do you do?
Hemingway: It depends. I rewrote the ending of Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, 39 times
before I was satisfied.
Interviewer: Was there some technical problem there? What was it that had stumped you?
Hemingway: Getting the words right.

Ernest Hemingway, “The Art of Fiction,” The Paris Review Interview, 1956)

~~~

“Substitute damn every time you’re inclined to write very; your editor will delete it and the
writing will be just as it should be.” – Mark Twain

~~~

“I don’t write easily or rapidly. My first draft usually has only a few elements worth keeping. I
have to find what those are and build from them and throw out what doesn’t work, or what
simply is not alive.” – Susan Sontag

~~~

“Writing and rewriting are a constant search for what it is one is saying.” – John Updike

~~~

“By the time I am nearing the end of a story, the first part will have been reread and altered and
corrected at least one hundred and fifty times. I am suspicious of both facility and speed. Good
writing is essentially rewriting. I am positive of this.” – Roald Dahl

~~~~~

WRITING AND REVISION

All writing benefits from rewriting, when done well. When you are in the process of writing a
draft of an essay, you should be thinking first about revision, not editing.

What's the difference? Revision refers to substantial changing of a text, for example, re-
organizing ideas and paragraphs, providing additional examples or information, rewriting a
conclusion for clarity, and so forth. Editing, on the other hand, refers to correcting mistakes in
spelling, grammar, punctuation, and so on.

When you are rewriting your draft, you don’t want to spend a lot of time on editing because
there’s a possibility you might delete something, change it, or add more material. It’s best to
focus on ideas, organization, and development when you’re writing a draft. The grammar
corrections will come later.

One way to approach revising your essay is to use a checklist, like this one:

REVISION CHECKLIST

Ask the following questions of your essay as you revise your draft:
__ Is your title interesting and descriptive of your contents?
__ Will your opening sentence attract the reader’s attention? If not, how can you improve it?
__ Will your readers learn something interesting from your essay?
__ Have you organized your essay in logically?
__ Do you support your main idea with examples?
__ Does all the writing relate to your main idea? Look for unnecessary information and edit it
out.
__ Do you use effective transitions to connect your details and examples so that your readers can
follow your writing?
__ Does the conclusion bring your essay to a satisfying close? Does it leave the reader something
to think about?
__ Did you choose your tone and diction carefully? Did you check for accurate use of
vocabulary?
__ Do you use a variety of sentence structures and length in order to make your writing
__ How happy are you with your essay? Do you think readers will enjoy reading it?

EDITING TECHNIQUES

Check for logical order
This is an interesting activity I often do with my students in writing classes here at Berkeley.

Take something you’re writing – your draft for this class for example. Follow these instructions:
1. Make a copy of it on your computer so you are working with a new version.
2. At the end of every sentence, put a ‘return’ and leave a few spaces. Do this for your entire
piece of writing.
3. Adjust the size or spacing so you can see only two sentences on your screen. Read the
sentences aloud. As a pair of sentences, do they work together? That is, does one sentence follow
logically from the one before it?
4. Now, scroll down so you see your second sentence + third sentence only on the screen. Ask
the same question: does one sentence lead to another? If it doesn’t, add transitions, pronouns, or
other information to make the two sentences work together.

Do this process for your entire essay – yes, it’s long and time-consuming, but you’ll get faster at
it. This exercise will really help you with understanding organization, transitions, and how your

writing works together, not just as a series of disconnected sentences.

Read backwards
This is a common technique used by writers: read your paper backwards.

We often become “blind” to our own mistakes, seeing the correct word or grammar on the page
when it really isn’t there. In order to break this pattern, you can read your writing backwards,
phrase by phrase, or word by word. This will help you see your text in a new way.

Listen to your paper
You can sometimes hear problems with your paper that you overlook when you just read it, or
even when you read it aloud to yourself.

If you have an Apple computer, you will copy the text of your paper into a TextEdit file (found
in Utilities or Applications). If you have a PC, you may have a reader installed, or you can use
Natural Reader for free: http://www.naturalreaders.com.

Instructions:
1. Print out a copy of your paper, double-spaced.
2. You need a pen/pencil and highlighter.
3. Prepare a text file that can be read by your voice software.
4. Choose a voice you like if you have a choice.
5. Listen to your paper as you follow along on the printed copy. Stop the program when you hear
a problem and note it on your paper.

Listen especially for:
• Grammar problems, especially missing endings or subject-verb agreement errors
• Ideas that don’t fit together – for example, sentences that jump around or don’t seem to be in
the right place
• Repetition of words or simple repetitiveness
• Sentences that don’t make sense to you
• Unnatural pauses, or lack of pauses, in the reading. This indicates you probably haven’t
punctuated properly.
• Words the program can’t pronounce, which could indicate a misspelling
• Wrong words

3. Sources for Understanding Advanced Revision, Proofreading, and Editing

Websites
• The University of North Carolina: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/editing-and-
proofreading/
• “Eight Simple Tips for Editing Your Own Work”: http://writetodone.com/eight-simple-tips-for-
editing-your-own-work/
• “21 Proofreading and Editing Tips for Writers”: http://www.writingforward.com/writing-
tips/proofreading-and-editing-tips-for-writers

Books
• Revising Prose, 5th edition, Richard Lanham, Longman, 2006.
• On Writing Well, by William Zinsser, Harper Perennial, 2006.

4. Vocabulary Check

Here are some words from this week that were used in this week’s course materials. Highlight
the ones you already know. Look up the ones you don’t know. For the ones you don’t know,
write them out on cards or add them to a notebook, along with a definition, written in your own
words. Indicate the part of speech. Then write an example sentence in your own words.

1. stump (verb)
2. facility
3. highlighter
4. scroll (verb)
5. logically
6. pauses (noun)

5. Additional Writing

1. Go to http://www.englishforeveryone.org/Topics/Paragraph-Correction.htm and choose some
paragraph correction activities (choose the advanced ones at the bottom of the page).

Share your homework in the class.

Answers

Chapter 4 editing

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864 – 1892), was the eldest son of
Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), and the grandson of the reigning
British monarch, Queen Victoria. From the time of his birth, he was second in the line of
succession to the British throne, but he did not become king because he died before his father
and his grandmother, the Queen.

Albert Victor was known to his family, and many later biographers, as Eddy. When young, he
traveled the world extensively as a naval cadet, and as an adult he joined the British Army, but
did not undertake any active military duties. After two unsuccessful courtships, he was engaged
to be married to Princess Mary of Teck in 1891. Just a few weeks later, he died during an
influenza pandemic. Mary later married his younger brother, George, who became King George
V in 1910.

Albert Victor’s intellect and sanity have been the subject of much speculation. Some authors
have argued that he was the serial killer known as Jack the Ripper; however, contemporary
documents show that Albert Victor could not have been in London at the time of the murders,
and the claim is widely dismissed.

Click here to return to the exercise.

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About the Author

Maggie Sokolik received her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from UCLA. She is the author of over
twenty ESL and composition textbooks. She has also written for and been featured in several
educational video projects in Japan. She is the editor of TESL-EJ, a peer-reviewed journal for
ESL/EFL instructors.

She has taught in College Writing Programs at UC Berkeley for over 20 years, and travels
frequently to speak about grammar, writing, and instructor education, most recently in Querétaro,
Mexico; Shenzhen, China; Tokyo, Japan; and Hyderabad, India.

About the Series

College Writing 2x is a series of three 5-week courses focusing on aspects of writing academic
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If you are interested in other ebooks about learning and teaching English, check out the offerings
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