1) Be sure to read the tutorial on Lanham’s Paramedic Method. There is no way to complete this assignment without that tutorial. It will help you recognize prepositions, “is” forms, and figure out how to replace them with active verbs. It will also explain how to calculate the “lard factor.”
2) Choose five of the most convoluted, tortured sentences from your final project rough draft. Copy and paste them into a separate Word document. Keep the original version alongside the revised version so that we can see the changes that you have made.
3) Apply the Paramedic Method to those five sentences and bring them back to life. The problems may be different in each case. Some will have “is” forms that you can eliminate. Some will have too many prepositions. Some will start with a bunch of “blah, blah, blah….” that you don’t need. Figure out the right fix for each sentence and cut out as much “lard” as possible without altering the meaning and nuance of the original sentence. It’s not enough to simply cut out information and make the sentence shorter. Keep all the relevant information and improve the readability.
4) Choose five of the most convoluted, tortured sentences from your peer’s final project rough draft. Copy and paste them into your “Paramedic Method” Word document. Apply the Paramedic Method to those five sentences and bring them back to life. (See #3 for additional guidance.) When you proceed to the next step, keep the original sentence alongside the revised version so that we can see the changes that you have made.
5) After you’ve trimmed, re-arranged, and modified everything from those sentences that does not spark joy, calculate the lard factor for each one. How well did you do? Remember, it’s not about cutting out information and making the sentence shorter. I won’t give you credit if that’s all you do.
