Sharpening- By: Ken Marcrorie

Ken Marcrorie's article Sharpening, provides the knowledge and importance of the revisioning of words. He takes us through steps and ways in which we can tighten our sentences. Words are one of the worlds most profound ways of getting a point across. What Marcrorie discusses within this article plays off some of the ideas of ENGFISH. We learned from Engfish that excessive writing within a sentence has no value. In this piece Marcrorie gives us tips or lessons on how to sharpen our sentences, thus leading to better writing.



One of the main points he makes is the issue of using unnecessary words and the over usage of the word is. Many times in writing the verb is, is used to describe something that exist. However, the word "is "has no definite value and if used, needs to be properly ordered within the sentence.



For example: The teachers task is to make sure students understand. Oppose to: It is the teachers task to make sure students understand.



With the correct order of words our sentences will create more power.



Another point Marcrorie mentioned was that of using active verbs rather than passive verbs. When using active verbs the subject performs an action, and when using passive verbs the subject receives an action.



For Example: Active- The dog bit the boy. Passive- The boy was bitten by the dog.



While both sentences completely make sense, the second sentence creates and provides more certainty.







For Discussion: What are your thoughts on the article? Are you a big user of the word "is"? After reading, have you thought of ways in which you could "Sharpen" your writing?