Diction Exercises:

A. Underline any word or phrase that would be inappropriate or incorrect in formal writing
intended for a general audience:
1. The guys played good, but alright just was not good enough
2. He survived the wreck, but his leg was broke and his head was busted.
3. Childless for eight years of marriage, my aunt and uncle sought advise on how to adapt a baby.
4. Dr. Beluga strove to reverse the affects of the poison by administering a powerful anecdote.
5. During his trip to Spain, Rudolph enjoyed watching the bulls fight and the flamingo dancers,
and his trip was cut short when a robber stabbed him with a staccato.
6. The announcer eluded to the fact that a near catastrophe had been converted when a bridge in
the PTL theme park collapsed nearly taking three members of the mortal majority with it.

B. Rewrite the sentences to eliminate wordiness and needless repetition, and any spelling or
diction problems.
1. first year university students often become so caught up in their social life that they fail to do
the basic essentials necessary to maintain passing grades.
2. People buy more toys in the month of December than any other time of the year.
3. the first thing you should begin with when writing an essay is finding something to say.
4. the reality of the situation dictates that the parking lot should be relocated three hundred
metres to the west.
5. despite the fact that we have prepared carefully, there is still a possibility that problems may
arise.
6. I do not appreciate the footprints made by your cat when dew and other moisture accumulates
on the surface of my car.
7. A hypochondriac is obsessed with the idea that he is sick.
8. The reason I am late is because I accidentally overslept.
9. I have worked very hard, and thus I deserve to pass the course.
10. The television show described how turtles may go the way of other endangered species.
C. Conciseness: When you write a draft, you may find yourself making false starts on sentences
and using inexact, wordy language because you are still working out your ideas. Or you may
repeat ideas instead of giving evidence to support them.
Rewrite this paragraph:
There is a difference between being homeless and a being a nomad. Being homeless is a state of
mind; being a nomad is a way of life. Although homeless people have no place to live, many of
them do not want a home. When they are placed in shelters or housing, they leave because they
do not want ties with family or society. Homeless people have very few possessions, and because
they really have no permanent place to stay, they somewhat tend to carry their possessions
around with them. Nomads, on the other hand, move from place to place, usually seasonally.
Although they have no fixed residence, they tend to stay in different spots within a certain
territory. Traditional nomads live in family groups or small communities. When they move, the
whole group moves together. Modern nomads may travel to different family members at
different times. They may stay in one spot for a few months at a time. When they travel, they
take only the most essential things with them when they move. In these ways nomads are
different from homeless people.