Myths and Maxims

Overview
Go through the papers you’ve written thus far in college and identify five particularly weak
sentences or paragraphs. Revise them in accordance with the myths and maxims we’ve
discussed, and then explain your edits.

Audience
Professor Rick.

Goal
To demonstrate mastery of the myths and maxims.

Skill
To revise.

Length
At least two pages. (As long as your assignment extends onto two pages, you’re fine.)

Guidelines
1. You have 22 myths and maxims to choose from; don’t repeat the same one.

2. The deck that’s online contains slides we didn’t cover in class. Please use only those slides
we did cover. (For example, you’ll see that the first example in the template below — “Favor
the Active Voice” — is one we didn’t cover.)

3. If you reference a word in your explanation, you need to italicize that word or put it in
quotation marks. You want to make it clear that the word isn’t a regular part of your
sentence. (For example: I changed “that” to “which.”) That said, do not bold or italicize the
changes you make; I can identify the changes on their own.

4. Do not change multiple things in a single revision; limit your revisions to the single principle
at hand. You want to isolate the variable. (This is the most common mistake that students
make on this assignment)

5. Your explanation should describe both what you changed and why the change is better.
6. Make sure to follow the format of the template. That includes using a list (1-5), adding blank
lines between sections, and bolding the subheadings (“Original,” “Revision,” and
“Explanation”). As Van Halen taught us, details matter.
 Template
Jonathan Rick
Professor Jonathan Rick
English 394 (1701): Business Writing
Myths and Maxims
December 12, 2015

5 Easy Ways I Just Made My Writing Clearer and More Cogent

1. Maxim: Favor the Active Voice

Original
Homework was assigned.

Revision
Professor Rick assigned us homework.

Explanation
The original doesn’t specify who assigned the homework; the revision makes it clear that
Professor Rick did.

2. Maxim: Embrace Personal Pronouns

Original
An understanding of the causal factors involved in excessive drinking by students could lead to
more effective treatment.

Revision
If we understood why students drink too much, we could treat them more effectively.

Explanation
By adding personal pronouns such as “we” and “them,” I make the sentence more human and
thus more relatable.