ADDITIONAL WRITING IMPROVEMENT EXERCISES

Sentence Types

For each of the numbered sentences, select the letter that identifies its type:
a Simple sentence c Complex
b Compound sentence d Compound-complex

1. Many companies are now doing business in international circles. ___a__

2. If you travel abroad on business, you may bring gifts for business partners. _____

3. In Latin America a knife is not a proper gift; it signifies cutting off a

relationship. __b___

4. When Arabs, Middle Easterners, and Latin Americans talk, they stand close
to each other __c___

5. Unless they are old friends, Europeans do not address each other by first names;
consequently, businesspeople should not expect to do so. __d___

6. In the Philippines men wear a long embroidered shirt called a barong, and
women wear a dress called a terno. _b____

Sentence Faults
In the following, identify the sentence fault (fragment, run-on, comma splice). Then revise to
remedy the fault.
Example: When Fried Kool-Aid made its debut. It became an instant hit at county fairs.
Fragment. Revision: When Fried Kool-Aid made its debut, it became an instant hit
at county fairs.

7. Because 90 percent of all business transactions involve written messages. Good writing skills
are critical.

8. The recruiter requested a writing sample. Even though the candidate seemed to communicate
well orally. Bỏ dấu chấm

9. Major soft-drink companies considered a new pricing strategy, they tested vending machines
that raise prices in hot weather. Comma splice

10. Thirsty consumers may think that variable pricing is unfair they may also refuse to use the
machine.
11. About half of Pizza Hut’s 7,600 outlets make deliveries, the others concentrate on walk-in
customers.

12. McDonald’s sold its chain of Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants the chain’s share price
doubled on the next day of trading.

Emphasis
For each of the following sentences, circle (a) or (b). Be prepared to justify your choice.

13. Which is more emphatic?

a. Our dress code is good.
b. Our dress code reflects common sense and good taste.

14. Which is more emphatic?

a. A budget increase would certainly improve hiring.
b. A budget increase of $70,000 would enable us to hire two new people.

15. Which is more emphatic?

a The committee was powerless to act.
b. The committee was unable to take action.

16. Which de-emphasizes the refusal?

a. Although our resources are committed to other projects this year, we hope to be able to
contribute to your worthy cause next year.
b. We can’t contribute to your charity this year.
17. Which sentence places more emphasis on the date?
a. The deadline is November 30 for health benefit changes.
b. November 30 is the deadline for health benefit changes.

18. Which is less emphatic?

a. One division’s profits decreased last quarter.
b. Profits in beauty care products dropped 15 percent last quarter.

19. Which sentence de-emphasizes the credit refusal?

a. We are unable to grant you credit at this time, but we welcome your cash business and
encourage you to reapply in the future.
b. Although credit cannot be granted at this time, we welcome your cash business and
encourage you to reapply in the future.

20. Which sentence gives more emphasis to leadership?

a. Jason has many admirable qualities, but most important is his leadership skill.
b. Jason has many admirable qualities, including leadership skill, good judgment, and
patience.

21. Which is more emphatic?

a. We notified three departments: (1) Marketing, (2) Accounting, and (3) Distribution.
 b. We notified three departments:
1. Marketing
2. Accounting
3. Distribution

Active Voice
Business writing is more forceful if it uses active-voice verbs. Revise the following sentences so
that verbs are in the active voice. Put the emphasis on the doer of the action.
Passive: Antivirus software was installed by Craig on his computer.
Active: Craig installed antivirus software on his computer.

22. Employees were given their checks at 4 p.m. every Friday by the manager.

23. New spices and cooking techniques were tried by McDonald’s to improve its hamburgers.

24. Our new company logo was designed by my boss.

25. The managers with the most productive departments were commended by the CEO.

Passive Voice
Revise the following sentences so that they are in the passive voice.

26. The auditor discovered a computational error in the company’s tax figures.

27. We cannot ship your order for ten monitors until June 15.

28. Stacy did not submit the accounting statement on time.

29. The Federal Trade Commission targeted deceptive diet advertisements by weight-loss
marketers.

Parallelism
Revise the following sentences so that their parts are balanced.

30. (Hint: Match adjectives.) To be hired, an applicant must be reliable, creative, and show
enthusiasm.
31. (Hint: Match active voice.) If you have decided to cancel our service, please cut your credit
card in half and the pieces should be returned to us.

32. (Hint: Match verbs.) Guidelines for improving security at food facilities include inspecting
incoming and outgoing vehicles, restriction of access to laboratories, preventing workers
from bringing personal items into food-handling areas, and inspection of packages for signs
of tampering.

33. (Hint: Match adjective-noun expressions.) The committee will continue to monitor
merchandise design, product quality, and check the feedback of customers.

34. (Hint: Match verb clauses.) To use the fax copier, insert your meter, the paper trays must be
loaded, indicate the number of copies needed, and your original sheet should be inserted
through the feeder.

35. (Hint: Match ing verbs.) Sending an e-mail establishes a more permanent record than to
make a telephone call.

Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers

36. After leaving the midtown meeting, Angela’s car would not start.

37. Walking up the driveway, the Hummer parked in the garage was immediately spotted by the
detectives.

38. To complete the project on time, a new deadline was established by the team.

39. Acting as manager, several new employees were hired by Mr. Lopez.

40. Michelle Mitchell presented a talk about workplace drug problems in our boardroom.
Organizing Paragraph Sentences
In a memo to the college president, the athletic director argues for a new stadium scoreboard.
One paragraph will describe the old scoreboard and why it needs to be replaced. Study the
following list of ideas for that paragraph.

1. The old scoreboard is a tired warhorse that was originally constructed in the 1970s.
2. It is now hard to find replacement parts when something breaks.
3. The old scoreboard is not energy efficient.
4. Coca-Cola has offered to buy a new sports scoreboard in return for exclusive rights to sell soda
pop on campus.
5. The old scoreboard should be replaced for many reasons.
6. It shows only scores for football games.
7. When we have soccer games or track meets, we are without any functioning scoreboard.

41. Which sentence should be the topic sentence? _____

42. Which sentence(s) should be developed in a separate paragraph? _____
43. Which sentences should become support sentences? _____

Coherence
44. Use the information from the preceding sentences to write a coherent paragraph about
replacing the sports scoreboard. Strive to use three devices to build coherence:
(a) repetition of key words, (b) pronouns that clearly refer to previous nouns, and
(c) transitional expressions.

45. Revise the following paragraph. Add a topic sentence and improve the organization. Correct
problems with pronouns, parallelism, wordiness, and misplaced or dangling modifiers. Add
transitional expressions if appropriate.

You may be interested in applying for a new position within the company. The Human
Resources Department has a number of jobs available immediately. The positions are at a
high level. Current employees may apply immediately for open positions in production, for
some in marketing, and jobs in administrative support are also available. To make
application, these positions require immediate action. Come to the Human Resources
Department. We have a list showing the open positions, what the qualifications are, and job
descriptions are shown. Many of the jobs are now open. That’s why we are sending this
now. To be hired, an interview must be scheduled within the next two weeks.

46. Revise the following paragraph. Add a topic sentence and improve the organization. Correct
problems with pronouns, parallelism, wordiness, and misplaced or dangling modifiers.

As you probably already know, this company (Lasertronics) will be installing new computer
software shortly. There will be a demonstration April 18, which is a Tuesday. You are
invited. We felt this was necessary because this new software is so different from our
previous software. It will be from 9 to 12 a.m. in the morning. This will show employees
how the software programs work. They will learn about the operating system, and this
should be helpful to nearly everyone. There will be information about the new word
processing program, which should be helpful to administrative assistants and product
managers. For all you people who work with payroll, there will be information about the
new database program. We can’t show everything the software will do at this one demo, but
for these three areas there will be some help at the Tuesday demo. Presenting the software,
the demo will feature Paula Roddy. She is the representative from Quantum Software.