Revising Your Prose For Power And Punch Pdf Apr 2026

| Passive | Active | |---------|--------| | The ball was hit by John. | John hit the ball. | | Mistakes were made. | I/We/They made mistakes. |

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. revising your prose for power and punch pdf

| 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. | Passive | Active | |---------|--------| | The

| 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. | I/We/They made mistakes

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.

A Field Guide to Forceful, Lean, and Memorable Prose Version 1.0 For writers who want to be read. INTRODUCTION: Why Power & Punch? Most first drafts are flabby. They contain hedging, repetition, passive voice, and unnecessary words. Powerful prose is not about literary fireworks—it is about clarity, rhythm, and impact. Punchy writing respects the reader’s time and commands attention.