The focus of this writing worksheet is to have writers revise and edit a three-paragraph passage to eliminate wordiness and repetition. The paragraphs are quite long, and this should take most students quite a while to complete.

Are your writers ready to edit their papers? Present them with these editing tips including reading papers out loud, varying sentence openings and lengths, and using action verbs. While the tips are worthwhile, consider supplementing the...

Are your pupils' essays full of long, wordy sentences? Help them to write more concise sentences with this practice worksheet, which provides twenty long sentences for your young editors to proofread. Use the activity as a homework...

In this writing exercise, students are given five pairs of sentences and are asked to combine each set to make one concise sentence.

This task is best utilized after a rough draft revision is completed. Writers pair-up and identify when the author uses the passive voice, clichés, and wordiness.  Basic examples for the revision points are provided for the...

Words matter, particularly in academic writing. Issues such as vague language, wordiness, and cliches make it difficult to get a point across. Part of a larger series to improve writing skills, the handout on word choice shows writers...

Here is a template offering a comprehensive outline of ACT skill categories, what standards are expected to be mastered, and blank spaces for you to include how you plan to address those standards within your curriculum.

What is easier to read: a bulleted list or a block of text? Look at different examples with your class and then go over the style guidelines for vertical lists. 

Practice being concise. Exercise your vocabulary. Improve your editing skills. The contention in this activity is that by imposing a 140 character limit, the Twitter format actually helps improve writing skills. And of course class...

Students review the procedures for revising sentences. After viewing a PowerPoint presentation, they read a handout of common wordy phrases and discover how to jazz up their writing. They complete a worksheet in which they revise the...

Students read books and write a unique kind of book report. In this literature lesson, students use paper bags to construct projects about the books they read. Students present their projects to the class.

This slideshow lesson focuses on local editing; it defines the term and explains what to look for: clarity, mechanics, and grammar, word choice, sentence structure, paragraph structure, and impact on the reader. It discusses each and...

If you are looking for ways to make your writing clearer and more concise, check out this site. Many helpful hints are given here. Information can be downloaded in PDF format. L.11-12.3a Syntax

Literacy Education Online (or LEO) is a great place to start if you need help with your writing. The homepage is organized around kinds of problems or questions you might have concerning your writing. Find your problem, click on the...

This resource gives three pointers for getting the best results from your spell checker.