Revising Your Prose For Power And Punch Pdf Apr 2026

Use passive when the actor is unknown or unimportant (“The bank was robbed at midnight”). 2.3 Execute Adverbs – Especially After Dialog Adverbs tell. Strong verbs show.

| Delete | Replace With | |--------|-------------| | In order to | to | | Due to the fact that | because | | At this point in time | now | | For the purpose of | for | | In spite of the fact that | although | | With the exception of | except | | The reason why is that | because | Look for is, are, was, were, be, being, been . Often they signal a weaker structure.

| Weak (Nominalization) | Punchy (Verb) | |----------------------|---------------| | He made an accusation. | He accused. | | The committee conducted an investigation. | The committee investigated. | | She had a realization. | She realized. | revising your prose for power and punch pdf

Keep this guide beside you. Use the checklist. Read aloud. And remember: — William Strunk Jr. Now go revise with power and punch. End of guide. For personal use. Last updated: 2025. If you'd like, I can also reformat this into actual PDF layout instructions (margins, font choices, heading styles) so you can export it cleanly. Just let me know.

Delete every -ly word. Then see if the sentence loses meaning. If yes, replace the verb. 2.4 Hunt Down These Empty Phrases Cut these automatically: Use passive when the actor is unknown or

| Weak ending | Strong ending | |-------------|---------------| | He was a man of great integrity. | He had integrity. | | That is the way things are. | That is reality. | Often, opening qualifiers dilute power.

| Weak | Punchy | |------|--------| | She ran quickly. | She sprinted. | | “No,” he said angrily. | “No,” he snapped. | | He spoke softly. | He murmured. | | Delete | Replace With | |--------|-------------| |

| Weak | Punchy | |------|--------| | At the end of the long road, a house stood. | A house stood at the end of the long road. | | After much deliberation, the jury reached a verdict. | The jury reached a verdict after much deliberation. | The last few words of a sentence resonate most. End on a strong, concrete word—not a preposition or weak adjective.

If a sentence uses make, do, have, give, take + an abstract noun, change the noun into a verb. 2.2 Destroy the Passive Voice (Most of the Time) Passive hides the actor. Active drives the sentence.

| Wordy | Punchy | |-------|--------| | “Are you coming?” he asked. “No,” she replied. “Why not?” he asked. | “Are you coming?” “No.” “Why not?” | Don’t let characters say exactly what they mean. Punchy dialogue implies.

| Weak | Punchy | |------|--------| | There is a problem with the plan. | The plan has a problem. | | It was her habit to arrive late. | She habitually arrived late. | | The point is that we need money. | We need money. | 3.1 Start Strong – Front-Load Your Sentences Put the most important word near the beginning.