English 101
Diction Practice
1. Replace the following wordy phrases with a shorter phrase or
one word—or nothing, if you think the phrase is meaningless.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Arrive at an agreement _______agree_______
Arrive at a compromise ____compromise____
At all times ______always_________
Because of the fact that ______since, as, because,
Call a halt to ____stop, cease___________
Despite the fact that ____Although, In spite of______
During the course of ____throughout, during, while
For all intents and purposes _____My Swiss Army knife is
good for all purposes.________
i. Give consideration to _____consider__________
j. Has the ability to ______can_____________
k. In order to ______to_____________
l. In the near future ______soon__________
m. In the event that ___if_________________
n. Make reference to _____cite, refer____________
o. Perform an assessment of ___assess_____________
p. Prior to ____before________________________
q. The question as to whether ___whether___________
r. Until such time as _____Until___________________
s. With the exception of _____except, but, minus, other than
2. Revise the following sentences to eliminate the redundancy.
a. The house was neat and tidy. Shipshape, ready for inspection,
immaculate…
b. “I hate you,” he shouted angrily. snarled
c. This password is absolutely essential.
d. Did you make advance reservations?
e. The bald-headed man wore a hat.
f. Please write a short summary of the article. (summarize)
g. They went to the local bar across the street.
h. A new biography of the life of Albert Einstein just came out.
i. The toy train was completely annihilated.
j. The house was totally engulfed by flames
3. Change the following passive voice sentences into active voice.
In some of the examples, you may have to invent a grammatical
subject (an actor), as the passive voice might not provide one.
a. The house was engulfed by flames.
Flames engulfed the house.
b. A review of the accounts was conducted.
The auditors conducted a review of reviewed the accounts.
c. The airplane was flown by a drunken pilot.
d. The wordy essay was brilliantly revised.
e. “The hundred-dollar bill was put in my pocket,” shouted the
thief. “She put the hundred-dollar bill in my pocket,” shouted
the thief.
4. Vivid verbs: Change the verbs in the following sentences so that
they are more vivid and specific.
a. “She put (shoved, stuck, slipped, inserted, placed) the
hundred-dollar bill in my pocket,” shouted the thief.
b. The cat sat (perched, sunned, balanced) on the windowsill
and looked out the window.
c. The teacher passed around the new assignment.
d. The dog ate (demolished, chewed, chomped, masticated,
buried, gooped up, threw up, ingested) my essay.
e. I did my homework.
5. Freshness: Add freshness with metaphor, simile, and surprise.
No clichés allowed.
a. Revising sentences is like ________(repeating hammer
blows, running on a treadmill while watching the Food
Channel, driving in rush-hour traffic, arguing with your
sister, cleaning out the bull-pen, having your in-laws over,
diving into a deep ocean, some chick putting a hundreddollar bill in your pocket, putting the final touch on a
painting, surfing on a sunny day).
b. Her smile looked like a ____________________________.
c. That essay is about as clear as a _____________________.
d. He __________across the room like a _________________.
e. She ____________ in her sleep like a ________________.
f. The _____________________ of time.
g. The _____________________of hunger.
h. The _____________________of peace.
i. The _____________________of sunset.