Stylish English word usage
Thanks to help from a computer

English word usage is a quagmire for most writing students, even if they are native English speakers with years of English classes behind them.

Help to avoid being trapped in poor word usage forever is as near as their computers.

When students write on a computer, they can

• Look at their original sentence.

• Write a revision.

• Compare the two.

• Save the better wording.

all without erasing holes in their paper or without buying pricey, dedicated grammar checking software.

At first students will use their computers only to help them correct errors. Later, after they have mastered the basics of writing, students can use the computer's word processor to help them achieve a clearer, more lively writing style.

Let's look at three ways to use a computer's find-and-replace function to find sentences where little changes can invigorate a paper.

Please note: Students can't use these strategies effectively in their own writing until after they are competent writers. You could use find-and-replace activities with publisher created materials before then.

Find and treat be words

Students can tone flabby writing by replacing forms of the verb to be with vigorous verbs.

When students write on a computer, find-and-replace can help. Have students replace flimsy phrases like

• It is

• They are

• There is/ there are

with the same terms in a bold color. The color will help them zero in on sentences that could use some work.

Next have students replace half of those wimpy phrases with stronger verbs. Stronger verbs will firm up students' English word usage.

Eliminate -ly endings

Good writers downplay adverbs and concentrate on verbs. Writers who habitually use one or more of the following adverbs for emphasis should use their computer's find function and wildcards to flag words ending in -ly, such as

actually	hopefully
absolutely	incredibly
completely	ironically
continually	literally
constantly	really
continuously	totally
finally	unfortunately

Those are not wrong or bad words. However, if they are overused, such adverbs can weaken writing. Overused, such adverbs make students appear either lazy or ignorant of good English word usage.

By using find and replace to change the automatic text color to a bold color, students can see at a glance if they are overdoing adverbs.

Once students have flagged the adverbs, have them rewrite half the sentences containing -ly words to eliminate the need for -ly words by using more vivid verbs.

Close the -ize

Good writers use the shortest, most common word that expresses their meaning.

By contrast, immature writers of all ages use inflated language thinking "big words" make them appear more intelligent and sophisticated. They

• Utilize

• Procedurize

• Prioritize

• Monetize

when they should

• Use

• Set procedures

• Set priorities

• Make money.

Before your students get into the habit of -izing their words, teach them to use their word processors to target -ize terms.

Again, students need to use find with wildcards to identify the -ize terms and replace them with the same terms in colorful type. By changing the automatic text color to a bold color, students can see at a glance if they are pumping hot air into their text with -ize words.

Have students replace half of those -ize terms with more common terms that fit the context.

Why only half?

You want to know why I said students should eliminate half the problems they identify, don't you?

• The constructions I have discussed may be silly, pompous, or lazy but they are not incorrect. Nobody will die if they are not changed; changing all of them will not make a huge difference in a student's grade.

• Repairing even half the problem areas teaches students how to do that editing on projects that are important to them.

• Changing even half the flimsy phrases strengthens the writing.

• Being told to do only half the potential task leaves the students in control: they decide which sentences to change in their writing.

Writers don't need to write on a computer to firm and tighten their prose. Paper and pencil work, too. However, using a computer removes some of the tedium and most of the time requirement from finding and replacing weak English word usage.