Writing good sentences: editing for clarity and conciseness

Dates: New dates to be determined

Tired of writing lazy sentences that use too many words? Are you confusing your readers? Do you sound like a bureaucrat? Then here's the answer. A 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. How to register.

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 was published in fall 2006.

General information:

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

Time: 9:00 am-4:00 pm on day one with one-hour lunch break. (Lunch is not included.)

Fees: $150, 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 attend 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 attend, you are responsible for the entire fee. To cancel or arrange for a substitute, please call 800-725-9692.

Approved hours: The Department of Professional Development and Applied Studies writing programs award CEU's upon completion of the workshop. This program carries 0.6 CEU.

For program information contact: Christine DeSmet, 608-262-3447, cdesmet@dcs.wisc.edu

Registration options:

By phone: Call 608-262-2451 or toll-free 800-725-9692.

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

Online: Secure online registration will be available for these programs.

	Download the brochure (Summer 2011)
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