The words
Every word in this set, with what it means. Tap a word to hear it.
- concision
- the quality of being brief and clear
- “Improve concision by cutting empty phrases.”
- redundancy
- unnecessary repetition of the same idea
- “Remove redundancy without losing meaning.”
- modifier
- a word or phrase that adds detail to another word
- “Place the modifier next to the word it describes.”
- parallelism
- using the same grammatical pattern for related ideas
- “Fix the list so parallelism is clear.”
- transition
- a word or phrase that connects ideas
- “Choose a transition that shows contrast.”
- antecedent
- the noun a pronoun refers to
- “Make sure the pronoun matches its antecedent.”
- agreement
- matching of grammatical forms, such as subject and verb
- “Check subject-verb agreement in long sentences.”
- clarity
- the quality of being easy to understand
- “Rewrite for clarity before worrying about style.”
- diction
- choice of words in speech or writing
- “The diction is too informal for this audience.”
- syntax
- the arrangement of words in a sentence
- “Vary the syntax to avoid choppy rhythm.”
- tense
- a verb form that shows time
- “Keep verb tense consistent within the paragraph.”
- voice
- the form that shows whether the subject acts or is acted on
- “Prefer active voice when the actor matters.”
- clause
- a group of words with a subject and a verb
- “Combine the clauses with a clear connector.”
- fragment
- an incomplete sentence treated as a sentence
- “That line is a fragment; add a main verb.”
- run-on
- two or more independent clauses joined incorrectly
- “Fix the run-on with a period or a conjunction.”
- comma
- a punctuation mark that separates parts of a sentence
- “Add a comma after the introductory phrase.”
- colon
- a punctuation mark that introduces an explanation or list
- “Use a colon before the list of examples.”
- semicolon
- a punctuation mark that joins closely related clauses
- “A semicolon can link the two related ideas.”
- apostrophe
- a mark used in possessives and contractions
- “Check the apostrophe in the possessive noun.”
- possessive
- showing ownership
- “Rewrite the possessive so the owner is clear.”
- plural
- referring to more than one
- “Make the noun plural to match the verb.”
- singular
- referring to only one
- “Keep the pronoun singular if the antecedent is singular.”
- idiom
- a fixed expression whose meaning is not literal
- “Choose the standard idiom for academic writing.”
- register
- the level of formality in language
- “Match the register to a school essay.”
- tone
- the attitude expressed in writing
- “The tone should stay respectful and measured.”
- style
- a characteristic way of writing
- “Keep the style consistent across paragraphs.”
- revision
- the act of improving a draft
- “Leave time for careful revision.”
- edit
- to correct and improve a text
- “Edit for grammar after fixing the argument.”
- proofread
- to check a text for small errors
- “Proofread names and numbers last.”
- draft
- an early version of a piece of writing
- “Treat this as a draft, not a final answer.”