Lab Activity 3: The Bases of Good Writing: The Four Cs

Lab Activities
Lab Activity 3: The Bases of Good Writing: The Four Cs

Objective To practice concise, credible, clear, and correct writing.

Step 1: In the exercises below, each word group has a problem with either concise or credible writing. Rewrite the word groups making them more concise and credible.


		1. One of the biggest mistakes a tale teller can do is to lose trust in the fairy tale. Most good fairy tales create images in the listener's mind. There are people who just don't like fairy tales. The images in the tale make the story come alive for a listener. To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

		2. When the teller loses trust in the fairy tale, some tellers try to improve on the story, feeling that the story needs to be improved. If the fairy tale is well written, the improvements that some tellers add do not make the story more enjoyable to hear. To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

		3. A common error in fairy-tale telling is sure to take all the life out of a story. It is an important error because it can ruin the story for listeners. This error is to tell the story and explain what is happening in the story at the same time. To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

		4. For example, the teller might explain an action of a character who lies, saying something like, "This happened because she lied and cannot admit that she did something wrong. People should not be like this girl who lies." It is very true that people should not lie. To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

		5. There are ways to make the fairy tale more interesting. The fairy tale would be more interesting if the teller simply allowed the character to lie without explaining why. Children love to figure these things out for themselves. That allows the children to participate in the story as it is being told. To create paragraphs in your essay response, type <p> at the beginning of the paragraph, and </p> at the end.

		*Step 2:* Read the following two paragraphs from an essay. Then, answer the questions that follow. Nearly everyone has heard the expression "Cinderella story," particularly in connection with some underdog figure who makes good against all odds. Similarly, most people have probably heard some version of the glass-slipper-shod maiden who wins a prince. However, other fairy tales are famous and well-loved, too, so what makes "Cinderella" special? In truth, several aspects of the story make it appealing to readers everywhere. By giving hope, rewarding virtue, and offering a bit of magic, "Cinderella" has something for everyone. One reason that "Cinderella" appeals to so many people lies in its ability to give hope to its readers. Indeed, Erin says, "Every time I feel bullied by my manager, I remember how Cinderella was bullied by her stepfamily. Since she ended up happy, I feel that maybe I can, too." Even if people can't understand the specifics of losing both parents and being enslaved to one's stepmother, the concepts of unfairness and overwork are ones people easily identify with. For instance my roomate Erin claims that she love's this fairy tale because it make her beleive that her unpleasent work situation can end happly. Erin is one of those people who always plays the lottery and fills out questionnaires at the mall in hopes of winning big. Few people may actually be helped by a fairy godmother or rescued by a prince, but Cinderella's story gives hope that some help is out there. 1. Which of the following sentences is the thesis statement?

		2. Which sentence seems to be out of order in the essay?

		3. Which sentence does not support the thesis statement?

		4. Which sentence contains sentence-level errors?

		5. Which transition in the paragraphs on page 14 signals a change?

Answer choices in this exercise are randomized and will appear in a different order each time the page is loaded.