Polishing Your Prose : How to Turn First Drafts into Finished Work.

Cover; Half title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Foreword; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Part I. Strategies; 1. Use Concrete Subjects and Verbs; 2. Avoid Too Many Adverbs and Adjectives; 3. Avoid Jargon and Bombast; 4. Avoid Redundancy; 5. Use Transitions to Link Sentences and Ideas; 6. Vary Sentence Structure; 7. Use Parallel Structures for Coordinate Elements; 8. Place Modifiers Properly; 9. Place the Most Dramatic Material at the End of Sentences; 10. Make Sure that Every Pronoun Has a Clear Antecedent; Part II. Passages; A. The First Paragraph; B. The Second Paragraph.

C. The Third ParagraphConclusion; Epilogue; Turning Point: Steven M. Cahn; The Universe and Dr. Cahn: Victor L. Cahn; About the Authors.

Cover; Half title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Foreword; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Part I. Strategies; 1. Use Concrete Subjects and Verbs; 2. Avoid Too Many Adverbs and Adjectives; 3. Avoid Jargon and Bombast; 4. Avoid Redundancy; 5. Use Transitions to Link Sentences and Ideas; 6. Vary Sentence Structure; 7. Use Parallel Structures for Coordinate Elements; 8. Place Modifiers Properly; 9. Place the Most Dramatic Material at the End of Sentences; 10. Make Sure that Every Pronoun Has a Clear Antecedent; Part II. Passages; A. The First Paragraph; B. The Second ParagraphC. The Third ParagraphConclusion; Epilogue; Turning Point: Steven M. Cahn; The Universe and Dr. Cahn: Victor L. Cahn; About the Authors

This singular book illustrates how to edit a piece of prose to enhance its clarity of thought and felicity of style. The authors first present ten principles of effective composition, and then scrutinize three extended paragraphs, suggesting with remarkable specificity how to improve them. The volume also offers challenging practice questions, as well as two finished essays, one serious and one humorous, that demonstrate how attention to sound mechanics need not result in mechanical writing. Steven M. Cahn & Victor L. Cahn help readers deploy a host of corrective strategies, such a.