Exterior photo of Smathers Library (formerly Library East) at the University of Florida, photo from the University of Florida Digital Collections

Paramedic Method

Taken from: Lanham, Richard. Revising Business Prose, 4th ed. Needham Heights, MA: AB Longman, 2000.

1. Circle the prepositions.
2. Circle the "is" forms.
3. Ask, "Where's the action?" "Who's kicking who?"
4. Put the central action in a simple active verb.
5. Start fast--no slow windups.
6. Write out each sentence on a blank screen or sheet of paper and mark of its basic rhythmic units with a "/".
7. Mark off sentence lengths in the passage with a big "/" between sentences.
8. Read the passage aloud with emphasis and feeling.

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