HUM 120

EXPOSITORY WRITING

Lecture 14

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Previous Lecture

 The writing process

 Stage 02 - writing techniques with examples

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The Writing Process

 Three Stages
1. Pre-writing – Planning
2. Writing – Drafting
3. Post-writing – Finishing

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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps
1. Responding
2. Revising
3. Editing
4. Proofreading
5. Publishing

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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Responding

Self- Peer-
Evaluation Evaluation

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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Revising
• Revising your work is about making “big picture” changes.
• You might remove whole sections, rewrite entire paragraphs,
and add in information which you’ve realized the reader will
need.
• The revision stage is sometimes summed up with the A.R.R.R
approach:
1. Adding
2. Rearranging
3. Removing
4. Replacing

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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Revising – A.R.R.R Approach[1/4]

1. Adding:
• What else a reader needs to know? If you haven’t met the
required word-count, what areas could you expand?
• This is a good point to go back to your prewriting notes –
look for ideas which you didn’t use.

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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Revising – A.R.R.R Approach[2/4]

1. Rearranging:
• Sections may need rearranging.
• Reordering paragraphs – better flow of argument.
• Short story that drags in the middle but packs in too much
at the end requires rearrangement.

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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Revising – A.R.R.R Approach[3/4]

1. Removing:
• Sometimes, one of your ideas doesn’t work out. Perhaps
you’ve gone over the word count, and you need to take out
a few paragraphs.
• E.g., maybe that funny story doesn’t really fit with the rest
of your article.

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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Revising – A.R.R.R Approach[4/4]

1. Replacing:
• Would more vivid details help bring your writing to life?
• Do you need to look for stronger examples and quotations
to support your argument?
• Try rewriting paragraphs.

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 Stage 03: Post-Writing
Revise the following sentences to avoid flabby (weak)
expressions, long lead-ins, and unnecessary there is/it is fillers.
This e-mail message is to inform A new health benefit
you that there is a new health plan is available for
benefit plan available for employees.
employees.

I would like to take this We probably will win the

opportunity to inform everyone contract.
that in all probability we expect
to win the contract.

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 Stage 03: Post-Writing
Revise the following sentences to achieve conciseness.

In addition to the above, there Two contracts are also

are contracts that are attached attached.
hereto.

Despite the fact that most Although most

information is posted on the information is posted on
company intranet, please feel the company intranet,
free to call whenever necessary. please call whenever
necessary.
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 Stage 03: Post-Writing
Revise the following sentences to avoid redundancies, dull and
overused expressions, jargon, and slang.
Ms. Miller, who shoots straight Ms. Miller, who is
from the shoulder, demanded straightforward,
final completion by January 1. demanded completion
by January 1.

Pursuant to your request, As you requested, a

enclosed please find a check for check for $150 is
$150. enclosed.

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 Stage 03: Post-Writing
In the following sentences, control the use of verbs and
exuberance
The seller said he definitely The seller promised to e-
would contact you. mail (telephone or fax)
you.

We must give encouragement to We must encourage our

our team. team.

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 Stage 03: Post-Writing
Arrange the following in a concise, bulleted vertical list.

In the next training session, the The next training session

trainer will demonstrate how to will demonstrate:
create podcasts, how to share • creating podcasts
multiple programs, and how to • sharing multiple
maintain an Internet directory. • programs
• maintaining an
internet directory

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 Stage 03: Post-Writing
Improve the readability of the following instructions that will
become part of a student’s employment booklet.
In preparing for an employment You can prepare for
interview, you should begin by interviews by:
studying the job description. • studying the job
Itemizing your most strategic description.
skills and qualifications is also • itemizing your most
important. Giving responses in a strategic skills and
mock interview is another good qualifications.
practice technique. Lastly, you • practicing giving
should be prepared to ask responses in a mock
relevant questions. interview.
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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Editing [1/3]

• The editing stage is distinct from revision, and needs to be done
after revising.
• Editing involves a close-up view of individual sentences and
words.
• It needs to be done after you’ve made revisions on a big scale.
• When editing, go through your piece line by line, and make sure
that each sentence, phrase and word is as strong as possible.

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Stage 03: Post-Writing
 Steps: Editing [2/3]
• Using one word many times in one sentence or paragraph? Use
a thesaurus to find alternatives.
• Sentences hard to understand? Rewrite them to make your
thoughts clear.
• Which words could you cut to make a sentence stronger? Words
like “just” “quite”, “very”, “really” and “generally” can often
be removed.
• Are your sentences grammatically correct? Keep a careful look
out for problems like subject-verb agreement and staying
consistent in the use of tense.
• Is everything spelt correctly? Don’t trust your spell-checker – it
won’t pick up every mistake. Proofread as many times as
necessary.
• Have you used punctuation marks correctly? Commas often
cause difficulties. You might want to check out the Daily
Writing Tips articles on punctuation. 18
Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Editing [3/3]

• Editing is where things like grammar, spelling and mechanism
are checked and refined.
• Re-reading is a key part of editing; make sure everything is
exactly how you want it.
• Reading aloud or having someone read to you can be very
helpful because you may hear things differently in your head
than when you hear them out loud.
• Ensure that the formatting is correct.
• This is the last process of writing your document.
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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Proofreading
• Final phase
• To make a final check and fix mechanical or technical flaws,
such as:
1. Grammar
2. Punctuation
3. Names and numbers
4. Format
• Also involves checking of different elements of a layout (such as
headlines, paragraphs, illustrations, and colors) for their correct
dimensions, placement, type, etc. 20
Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Proofreading – what to watch for?

o Spelling
o Insertion
o Deletion
o Capitalization
o Punctuation
o Names and numbers
o Format

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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Proofreading – Checklist

• Writer’s Checklist should provide a useful starting point for
proofreading:
 First-Phase Review
o Appropriate format (reports or correspondence?)
o Consistent style, including headings, terminology, spacing, fonts
o Correct numbering of figures and tables
 Second-Phase Review
o Specific grammar and usage problems
o Appropriate punctuation
o Correct abbreviations and capitalization
o Correct spelling (especially names and places)
o Complete web or e-mail addresses
o Accurate data in tables and lists
o Cut-and-paste errors; for example, a result of moved or deleted
text and numbers
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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Proofreading – Checklist

• Writer’s Checklist should provide a useful starting point for
proofreading:
• Final-Phase Review
o Survey of your overall goals: audience needs and purpose
o Appearance of the document (see layout and design)
o Review by a trusted colleague, especially for crucial documents

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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Proofreading – Marks

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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Proofreading – An example

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Stage 03: Post-Writing
Content Revised for Conciseness

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Stage 03: Post-Writing

 Steps: Publishing
• The final step of the writing process is publishing, but it’s the
step where you’re given an opportunity to share your work.
• Secure any necessary co-authorship and/or copyright
permissions.
• This often means adding a bibliography, ensuring that citations
are correct, to secure copyrights of your original work.

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Conclusions

• The writing process

• Stage 03: Post-writing techniques with examples

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