Tuesday, June 04, 2019

Clear, concise, and effective English for law students, bar examinees, and legal writers in organizations, private companies, and government offices (11): Revising wordy sentences using the Paramedic Method

1. Prof. Richard Lanham of the UCLA Writing Center developed the Paramedic Method for revising wordy sentences. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Underline the prepositional phrases in the sentence.

Step 2: Circle the “to be” verbs (is, are, as, were)

Step 3: Place a box around nominalizations and identify the primary action.

Step 4: Write the nominalization/primary action into a single verb.

Step 5: Ask “Who what performs the action?” Then write the new base clause with the agent in the subject position.

Step 6: Keep the base clause near beginning of the sentence.

Step 7: Eliminate unnecessary words and phrases.

2. Videos

Write Well: Editing Sentences Using the Paramedic Method (Macalester College)



Help from Dr. Lanham



Richard Lanham - Revising Prose



Paramedic Method



Self-Editing (Paramedic Method)



The Paramedic Method



Free seminars:

1. “English Proficiency Course” (4 hours; for college students, K-to-12 teachers, other groups)

2. “Clear, concise English for effective legal writing” (3-5 hours; for Student Councils, academic organizations, fraternities, sororities, NGOs, LGUs, any interested group; test yourself with the interactive exercises)

Seminars are for Metro Manila only. For more information or to schedule a seminar, please contact Atty. Gerry T. Galacio at 0927-798-3138.

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