Writing good sentences: editing for clarity and conciseness

At a glance:

Date: Tuesday, July 8 and Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Location: The Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St., Madison, WI
Time: 9:00 am-4:00 pm with one-hour lunch break. (Lunch is not included.); 9:00 am-12:00 pm on the following day.
Fee: $200, includes instruction, materials, refreshment breaks, CEUs and a non-refundable administration fee of $20.
Instructor: Gerry Max
Brochure: The brochure that describes this program is available as a PDF document. Download brochure
Contact: Kathy Berigan, 608-263-3494, kberigan@dcs.wisc.edu
Tell a friend: Tell a friend or colleague about this program.
To register: See registration options. (Program #7002), Limit 25, 0.9 CEU

Description:

Tired of writing lazy sentences that use too many words?

Are you confusing your reader?

Do you sound like a bureaucrat?

Then here's the answer. This workshop that will show you how to write clear effective sentences and paragraphs that have good movement and flow.

Topics covered include:

• Focus, organize, and streamline communication
• Tighten up "baggy" sentences
• Create sentence variety
• Recognize active and passive sentences and when to use them
• Determine the "communication situation"
• Repackage long and overly complicated sentences
• Use repetition for clarity and flow
• Cut sentence clutter
• Get rid of wordiness and redundancy
• Fix dangling and misplaced modifier problems

You'll also learn just enough punctuation to become a better editor.

Your instructor:

Gerry Max received a BA in History from Lawrence University, and, from the UW-Madison, an MA in Classical Languages, a PhD in Ancient History, and an MLS in Library and Information Studies. He has participated in seminars on Scholarly Writing at the University of California in Berkeley and in Davis. Besides working in writing programs at several UW campuses, he has taught Professional Business Communication at Concordia College as well as Writing Across the Curriculum at Lakeland College where he has also participated in their Writing Assessment Program. He has written professionally for individuals, institutions and corporations and contributed articles and features to various news magazines and learned journals. Recently he completed a book on author Thomas Wolfe’s years, from 1924 to 1930, as an English composition instruction at NYU and is presently completing a biography on writer, and ghostwriter, Paul Mooney (1904-1939). His book on travel writers Richard Halliburton and Paul Mooney will be published in early fall 2006.

General information:

Location: The Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St., Madison, WI, 608-262-1122.

Fees: $200, includes instruction, materials, refreshment breaks, CEUs and a non-refundable administration fee of $20.

Registration deadlines: Some classes have an enrollment limit to ensure individual attention. To secure your place in the workshops, please register as early as possible. If you do not receive our confirmation letters before the workshops, please call 608-262-2451.

Parking: Information is sent with your confirmation. If you are unfamiliar with parking in downtown Madison, it is strongly advised that you purchase a parking permit in advance from the UW-Extension Registration Office, 608-262-1122.

Cancellation policy: If you are unable to participate in a group class or arrange for a substitute, you may obtain a refund minus the $20 administrative fee by contacting our registration department at least 3 business days prior to the program. If you cancel 3 business days or less before the program, or do not participate, you are responsible for the entire fee. To cancel or arrange for a substitute, please call 800-725-9692. No refund is given for cancellation of an Independent Study class. Exceptions to this policy will be determined by CPM program staff on a case-by-case basis.

Approved hours: The Department of Professional Development and Applied Studies writing programs award CEU's upon completion of the workshop. This one and a half program carries 0.9 CEU.

For program information contact: Kathy Berigan, 610 Langdon St., Room 713, Madison, WI 53703-1195; call 608-263-3494; 800-442-4617. E-mail: kberigan@dcs.wisc.edu

 

Registration options:

By phone: Call 608-262-7942 or toll-free 800-725-9692.

By mail: Print, complete and mail the UW Continuing Studies registration form.

By fax: Print, complete and fax the UW Continuing Studies registration form.

Online: Secure online registration is available for this program.