• As you may have heard me say in class, I grade with green ink since it can be viewed as the color of growth, as well as the signal to move forward on traffic lights, among other connections (if your motivation is to make money, then consider the profitable aspects of effective communication!) Hopefully, this page will serve as a productive place that you can visit in the process of taking steps to enhance your expressive abilities.
     
    For starters, here are five tips to strengthen your sentences:
    1. Contextualize: In 1896, the Supreme Court of the United States...

    2. Energize with action verbs: “expressed” instead of “was written”...

    3. Capitalize proper nouns: Bill of Rights, First Amendment, New Jersey...

    4. Avoid absolutisms: Americans always vote (take the time to explain exceptions)
    5. End sentences with words other than prepositions: (at, of, with) - connect w/ objects.
     
     Another way we may refine writing is by deciphering frequently found marks:
     
     abs - absolutism                                     

    awk - awkward                                      

    cn - common noun                                

    cntxt - contextualize

    coll - colloquialism                                            

    disc - disconnected point                   

    expl - explain better                            

    ftq - follow the question                      

    inc - incomplete

    ind - write indirectly                         

    leg – legibility                                     

    plur - plural                                       

    pn - proper noun

    prep - preposition w/o object               

    poss - possessive                                     As always, feel free to contact me
    unn - unnecessary for assignment          about any questions that you have

    rep - repetition                                         regarding the way you are writing,

    sfy - specify                                             and my comments about your writing.
    wc - word choice                                    We can certainly arrange a time during 

    w.o. - write out (abbreviations)           lunch in the main gym on Thursdays,
    yr - year of event                                  on Wednesdays afternoons in B2224, 
    ? - unclear explanation                         or via e-mail at: jwashburn@mtsd.us