Small changes. Stronger paragraphs.
534 examples and lessons to explore. Find an approach, follow the thinking, and try it in your own writing.
Turn summary into analysis
Keep the evidence, then explain what it lets the reader understand.
Revise a Paragraph for a Different Reader
Learn to adapt a paragraph’s necessary context for a new reader without changing its central point. A fictional example shows how to revise for a newcomer while keeping the original message intact.
Replace a Vague Transition
Learn to identify the relationship between two adjacent ideas and choose a transition that names that relationship instead of relying on a vague phrase.
Balance a Paragraph’s Evidence and Explanation
When examples begin to crowd a paragraph, keep the evidence that matters and add reasoning that shows how it supports the point.
Use a short quotation selectively
Learn to choose only the words from a passage that support your point, introduce them clearly, and explain their significance.
Make a description spatially coherent
Use a stable viewpoint and a clear order of movement to help readers picture where details are in a scene. A worked revision shows how to turn a scattered description into a route the reader can follow.
Paraphrase without changing the claim
A careful paraphrase changes a sentence’s structure and wording while preserving what it does—and does not—claim. This lesson shows how to retain scope and uncertainty during revision.
Revise a Conclusion’s Final Sentence
Learn to replace an oversized concluding claim with a specific consequence that follows from the paragraph’s evidence.
Explain Why a Criterion Matters
A comparison paragraph is stronger when it explains how a criterion helps meet the comparison’s stated purpose. Learn to connect the standard, the goal, and the resulting judgment.
Distinguish a Cause from a Coincidence
Learn to revise a paragraph that treats two events happening together as proof that one caused the other. Add the reasoning that supports a causal claim, or qualify the wording when the evidence is limited.
Break an Overloaded Sentence
Learn to split a sentence that carries too many ideas without losing the logical connections that make those ideas clear.
Move from Narration to Reflection
Learn to connect a narrated moment to a specific change in the writer’s understanding, priorities, or next choice.