3: Strategies for Revising and Editing
- Demonstrate strategies for revising and editing technical documents.
Technical writing must be concise. That means all words and visuals included are necessary, and nothing that is necessary is omitted. Revising and editing technical writing for clarity and conciseness is a true skill that you should work to develop in this course and as you continue developing your writing abilities in the future. For that reason, this chapter explores revising and editing strategies in detail.
When you look at all the ways you can review (looking for potential problems) and then revise (fixing those problems), you may be put off by how tedious and time-consuming it is. But the process can become second nature rather quickly. If you spend time analyzing writing in the ways outlined here, the way you write and the way you review what you write will change. You'll start operating—and not even be fully aware of it—with these ideas in mind.
Revision as Part of the Process
Revision literally means to re-see or re-envision a piece of writing. Too often, student-writers may be so pleased to have completed an assignment that they skip revision and instead jump to editing. Or, student-writers may be too busy and overwhelmed with life to give revision the attention it deserves.
Trust this fact, though - good writing is made in the revision part of the process.
No writer gets it right the first time.
That is why revision is so crucial.
I once had a writing professor in college who described the revision and editing steps of the writing process similarly to beautifying your home. Editing is akin to straightening the pictures on the shelves, perfecting the setting of the table, and making sure things are just so. Revision is all the other stuff - knocking down walls, remodeling rooms, replacing or moving furniture, or sometimes deciding to pick up and move altogether.
To skip revision is like putting a beautiful wreath on the front door of a construction zone. It will not succeed in the having the desired effect on your audience.
When you revise, you may have to re-frame the focus of your message. You may have to delete entire sections or majorly rewrite them. You may have to decide your topic is not working, which is a brave decision to make once you have already begun. In fact, revision is about courage .  Even if you love something you've written or a piece overall, if it does not fit the rhetorical situation - in other words, if it does not meet the expectations of your assignment's purpose and honor the needs and expectations of your audience - you are best to kill it in revision.
Earlier in the chapter, I asked you to use critical analysis while researching. Therefore, research relies on your ability to critically analyze someone else's information. Revision relies on your ability to critically analyze your own information.
Practical Tools for Revision
Revision may involve adding, rearranging, removing, and replacing (ARRR) words, sentences, paragraphs, and ideas. Since writing is recursive, revising may require revisiting the prewriting stage.
What else does the reader need to know? If the essay doesn’t meet the required word or page count, what areas can be expanded? Where would further explanation help key points to be more clear? This is a good time to go back to the prewriting notes and look for ideas which weren’t included in the draft.
Even when writers carefully plan their writing, they may need to rearrange sections for their essays to flow better.
Some ideas just don’t work or don’t contribute enough to the overall goal of the essay. Often when writers delete excess words or paragraphs, the ideas become clearer.
Vivid details help bring writing to life. Writers need to look for strong examples and quotable passages from outside sources to support their arguments. If particular paragraphs aren’t working well, writers need to try rewriting them.
Check Contents
One of the most important ways you can review a rough draft is to check the contents. All the good transitions, good organization, and clear sentence structure in the world can't help a report that doesn't have the right information. Information in a report can be "wrong" in several ways:
- It can be missing altogether: for example, imagine that somebody wrote a report on "virtual communities" but never bothered to define what that term means. It would be tough going from the start of that report.
- It's there but not enough of it: take the same example—imagine that the writer only made a few vague statements about virtual communities. What was needed was at least a paragraph on the subject, if not a full-blown 3- or 4-page section.
- It's there but at the wrong level for the audience: It's also possible to pitch information at the wrong level in terms of readers' knowledge, background, or needs. Imagine that the writer did include a 3-page section on data caching but written for the product developer (an "expert" audience) when the report was really intended for nonspecialists.
Check the structure of your content
There are two ways of looking at the organization of information in a document:
- one involves looking at organizing the sequence of chunks of information to see if they are in the right order.
- Another has to do with organizing the levels of information. You can look at the sentences or paragraphs in a rough draft and see that some sentences go to a deeper level of discussion on the topic than others. Other sentences act like the framework upon which those deeper-level sentences depend. By looking at the structure in this way, you not only check its organization but also get ideas about how to improve the content of the text.
Check organization
If you have the right information in a report, at least you've got all the "right stuff" available for readers. However, it may still not be adequately organized—like when you've just moved and everything is a mess or still in boxes. You need two essential skills for reviewing the organization of a rough draft:
- Identifying the topic of chunks of information at various levels. To assess the organization of a string of paragraphs, you start by thinking of a word or phrase to identify the topic of each paragraph—in other words, get a handle on each one. Then you stand back from those words or phrases, considering whether they are in the right sequence. However, that's only one level. You can also look within an individual paragraph for its organization. In this case, you identify the topic of each sentence and consider the sequencing of those sentences.
- Choosing the best sequence for chunks of information. Once you know the topic of each of the chunks of information (at whatever level you are investigating), then you can decide whether they are in the right sequence. This decision involves knowing the common sequencing patterns.
When the aim is informative, you arrange information to ensure that readers understand the basics before moving onto the complicated, technical portion. When the aim is persuasive, you arrange things to maximize the persuasive effect on the readers, for example, by putting the strongest information first. Below are just a few possibilities.
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Simple, basic → complex
: Another way to arrange units of a discussion is to begin with the simple, basic, fundamental ones and then move on to the more complex and technical.
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Thing-at-rest → thing-in-motion:
Another organization pattern involves first describing the thing (as if in a photograph), then discussing its operation or process (as if in a video). This approach might work well for a discussion of a fuel-injection system.
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Spatial movement:
— If you are describing the physical details of something, you might want to use some pattern of physical movement, for example, top to bottom, left to right, or outside to inside.
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Temporal movement:
— One of the most common patterns is based on movement through time; arrange the discussion of events in relation to the temporal sequence.
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Concept → application of the concept, examples
: A common organizational pattern is to discuss a concept in general terms then discuss an application of it. For example, another chapter in this book discusses proposals first conceptually then discusses examples of proposals.
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Data → conclusions:
Another means of organizing information is to present data (observations, experimental data, survey results) then move on to the conclusions that can be drawn from that data. (And this pattern is sometimes reversed: present the conclusion first, then the data that supports it.)
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Problem, question → solution, answer:
You can also organize information by first discussing a problem or raising a question then moving on to the solution or answer.
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Simplified version → detailed version:
A useful way to explain technical matters to nonspecialists is to begin by discussing a simplified version of the thing, establish a solid understanding of it, then go right back and explain it all again but this time laying on the technical detail thick and heavy!
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Most important → least important:
A more "rhetorical" method of organization is to begin with the most important, the most eye-catching, the most dramatic information first then move on to information that is progressively less so. (And this pattern can be reversed: you can build up to a climax, rather than start with it.)
- Most convincing → least convincing: — Similarly, you can start with the most convincing argument for your position—to get everybody's attention—then move on to less and less convincing ones. (This pattern can also be reversed: you can build up to your most convincing arguments.)
Note : Avoid mixing these approaches—for example, throwing out some data, then stating a few conclusions, and then doing this back and forth in a haphazard way. Keep the apples separate from the oranges!
Other Useful Strategies for Revision
There are many tips and tricks to help you move into a critical mind frame, so you are able to analyze your own writing. Here are a few that might help you, but as a continued exploration of further understanding your unique writing process, never be afraid to turn to search engines to ask such questions as: what are the best ways to revise? What are revising tricks that work? You could also look to social media and ask friends and colleagues about their writing process and the tools that work best for them!
In reverse outlining, the student reads through the written text and notes, noting down the topic of each paragraph. This way, the student can review if each paragraph has a clear focus and if each paragraph fits the overall organization of the paper. More on reverse outlining is available at The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL), “ Reverse Outlining: An Exercise for Taking Notes and Revising Your Work. ”
The act of reading one’s essay aloud allows the student to “hear it” in the way a reader will. This act permits the writer to slow down and pay attention to all words in the essay. They get a sense of what a reader experiences, where words are clear and effective, and where they are weak. Poorly structured sentences are hard to read out loud, indicating that this would be a good place to start revising. This technique is a great precursor for receiving feedback from others. It also helps writers take responsibility for their writing.
How to Incorporate Feedback in Revision
Feedback is a wonderful tool in the revision process. Some instructors require student-writers give each other feedback; this is often referred to as peer review. Other instructors may give every student-writer feedback on their projects directly. This may involve a list of general concepts to work on or in-line comments handwritten on a printed document or typed using the comments feature of an electronic document. Still, student-writers may seek their own feedback by sharing their work with friends and family or visiting the campus writing/tutoring center or using an online tutoring program.
There is value in receiving different kinds of feedback. If you participate in peer review, that does not mean you would not benefit from sharing with a tutor. Likewise, if your parent, sibling, or partner often reads your work, that does not mean feedback from your classmates will not help you. Writing is subjective. That means that you will likely receive varying bits of advice from everyone who reads your work. But when you have a vast array of feedback, you can consider the trends that cannot be ignored. Additionally, you may find that some feedback resonates with you while other feedback does not. Give careful consideration to the feedback you receive, but also be brave enough to accept or reject as you see fit. Remember, though, revision relies on your ability to think critically about your own work.
- Look back at a writing assignment you've completed in the past. Either reverse outline it or read it aloud. After doing so, consider what changes you might make if you were to revisit the assignment again. To improve the document: What could be added? What could be rearranged? What could be removed? What could be replaced?
- Find a partner or group of classmates who are willing to meet weekly either face-to-face or online. During your meetings, read your writing assignments aloud, and give each other feedback on the content and language of the work. This should be a group you are committed to working with throughout the semester with the goal of helping each other grow as writers.
- Explore tutoring services at your institution. Ask your instructor what face-to-face and online options are available to you. Make a point to submit your first writing assignment for feedback through one of the tutoring options. Once you do, you will know whether and/or how the services would be useful for you as you continue with your other writing assignments in the course.
Editing as Part of the Process
The process of editing is an ongoing activity for all writers. From the time they come up with a possible topic, they begin editing their ideas and directions in which to go. Once they begin to write, however, the editing takes a new path. Writers edit their own work by reading with fresh eyes and deciding if words need to be moved around or changed. They look for misspellings and awkward wording, and they rework for the sake of clarity. They check their work for typos and unintentional repetition of words and phrases, and they check all the grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
- Is this saying what I think it does?
- Am I being as clear as possible?
- Is there a more concise or artful way that I can express this important idea?
However, it is extremely important not to focus on editing too early in the writing process. If a student writes one sentence or paragraph and immediately begins to edit it, they may find that they lose the flow of their ideas. Suddenly, while focusing on how to spell a word, the whole rest of the essay gets put on hold. The inner editor or critic can inhibit writers, causing them to lose flow and to experience perfectionism and writer’s block. Most instructors recommend that writers ban their critics until they have completed their first drafts and revision has taken place. This saves writers the wasted effort that comes with closely editing material that doesn’t make the final cut anyway.
At later points during the document’s creation, an outside set of editorial eyes may be needed—those of a peer, instructor, colleague, or formal editor—to help move that piece of text toward excellence. In addition to the big-picture structural or information-based considerations, the need for a comma or better word may be the focus of editing efforts. Good editing allows the writer to submit the written creation with the confidence that it is the best it can be and stands as something to truly be proud of.
Strengthen topic sentences and overview
One of the best things you can do is go back through a rough draft and check to see if you can insert topic sentences and overviews at key points. When we write, we're not normally sure exactly where a paragraph or section is going in terms of its content and logic. Once it has "gotten there," it is often necessary to go back to the beginning and add some sort of overview or modify what's already there to make the overview clearer. Readers need to know where they are going in a report, what's coming up next, and for that matter where they've just been.
Having an overview in a report is like having a map when you're in a new city. Topic sentences and overviews offer a perspective on what's where: the topic, the subtopics, the purpose of the upcoming discussion, its relation to the previous section and to the document as a whole. (Now some of this involves transitions, which is the next element to review for.)
Strengthen coherence with transitions
You can have the right information in a report and have it organized properly, but something important can still go wrong. Readers can miss the "flow" of the ideas, have a hard time sensing how the chunks of information are related or connected to each other. What readers need is continuous guidance—which is what you the writer provide. And what you use to provide that guidance is called transitions—various devices that help readers along through a document. There is (or certainly should be) a logic that connects every sentence in a document and that dictates a certain sequence to those sentences.
Transitional words and phrases show how a preceding chunk of information is logically related to a current or upcoming chunk of information—they look backward and forward at the same time. For example:
It may be 3 a.m., but I'm not sleepy a bit.
In this example, the transitional word "but" sets up a contrast between the topic of the first chunk of information (the lateness of the time) and the second chunk (my lack of sleepiness). The logic is contrastive in this case, but there are other kinds of logic. For example:
My Peugeot has almost 112,000 miles on it. It still runs great!
In this example, the transitional word is "it," a simple pronoun. Here, the logic is additive: I'm simply adding one related thought onto another. These examples are obviously stupidly simplistic—but when you get into a complex technical topic and the chunks are whole paragraphs of information, transitions really begin to matter.
Revising problems with transitions. The problem version reads like a series of disconnected statements floating in space. The revised version adds transitional devices to pull the statements together in a "coherent," flowing discussion.
It takes a surprising amount of brain power to construct a transition: you must know the topic of the preceding chunk of information, the topic of the current or upcoming one, the logic that connects them. Then, with that in mind, you must pick out the transitional device that you think will best guide the reader across that juncture between the two chunks of information. Scholars have identified a half-dozen or so kinds of transitional devices (but it seems like there ought to be more...):
Dynamic transitional words and phrases
Another category of transitional words and phrases words that are echoed from a preceding section or that forecast keywords in the next section.
- Pronouns —Pronouns like it , this , or that —occurring alone without a following noun—are the weakest of transitional devices. In the following examples, notice how effective they can be when combined with a clarifying noun.
- Summary transitions —At key points in writing, you'll see a phrase, sometimes accompanied by a pronoun, that summarizes the preceding discussion. In the same sentence, a statement will be made about that summary phrase—typically this phrase will kick off the upcoming discussion, and do so in a way that the reader sees the connection between what came before and what is coming next. In this example this mismatch summarizes the idea expressed in the preceding discussion:
Summary transitions.
Notice how the underlined summary transition pulls together the idea expressed in the preceding discussion.
Notice how the underlined summary transition pulls together the idea expressed in the preceding discussion.
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Review-preview transitions
—The most powerful transitional device you can use is the type that summarizes the topic of the preceding chunk of information into a short phrase, does the same thing for the upcoming chunk of information, finds the appropriate transitional word, and then throws all these elements together into a sentence or two. You'd use this device at those major bridge points in reports, between large chunks of information—for example, between one 7-page section and a 9-page section that follows it.
Notice how the topic of the preceding section Coring and core analysis techniques is echoed; then transitional material However, a much faster and less expensive... introduces the topic for this next section wire-line logging analysis. (From a report written in 1983.)
Check paragraph length
One last way to review your rough draft at the structure level is to check how you have defined the paragraph breaks. Paragraphs are odd creatures—some scholars of writing believe they don't exist and are just arbitrary breakpoints that writers toss in whenever and wherever they damn well please. Sorry—in technical writing, the paragraph is a key player in the battle for clarity and comprehension. Although not always possible, paragraphs should occur where there is some shift in topic or subtopic or some shift in the way a topic is being discussed.
On a single-spaced full page of writing, look for at least one to four paragraph breaks—there's nothing magical about that average so don't treat it as if it were law. Just take a second look at those long paragraphs, and check for the possibility of paragraph breaks.
Sentence-Level Editing
You have probably heard plenty of times that writing should be lean, mean, clear, direct, succinct, active, and so on. But what does that really mean, what do sentences look like that are not that way, what sorts of things are wrong with them, and how do you fix them?
Sentences do have ways of becoming flabby, redundant, wordy, unclear, indirect, passive, and just plain old hard to understand. Even so, they remain grammatically "correct"—all their subjects and verbs agree, the commas are in the right places, the words are spelled correctly. Still, these sentences are far more difficult to read than any sentence with just a comma problem.
The following sections can't pretend to cover all of the ways sentences can go bad at this higher level, but they do cover seven of the most common problems and show you ways of fixing them. And knowing these seven will probably enable you to spot all the others we have not trapped and labeled yet.
Edit week "be-verbs"
One of the big culprits that cause weak, indirect writing is the use of the be verb as the main verb. That's not to say that the be verb should never be used as the main verb, just that there are cases where doing so makes for weak writing. Look at the following examples of this problem—they are not that hard to spot. Then look at the revisions—notice how a noun (often one ending in -ion ) has been converted into a verb. That's how to fix this problem—find a noun to convert into an active verb, and then rebuild the sentence upon it!
| Problem: | Edit: |
| The contribution of Quality Circles is mostly to areas of training and motivating people to produce higher quality work. | Quality Circles contribute to the training and the motivating of people to produce high quality work. |
| Measurement of temperature is done in degrees of Fahrenheit or Celsius, and its indications are by colored marks on the outside of the thermometer. | Temperature is measured in degrees of Fahrenheit or Celsius and is indicated by colored marks on the outside of the thermometer. |
| The beginning of the clonic phase is when the sustained tonic spasm of the muscles gives way to sharp, short, interrupted jerks. | The clonic phase begins when the sustained tonic spasm of the muscle gives way to sharp, short, interrupted jerks. |
| During speech, the generation of sound is by vocal chords and the rushing of air from the lungs. | During speech, sound is generated by the vocal cords and rushing air from the lungs. |
| The response of the normal ear to sounds is in the audio-frequency between about 20-20,000 Hz. | The normal ear responds to sounds within the audio-frequency range of about 20-20,000 Hz. |
Edit noun stacks
Another common sentence-style problem involves piling up nouns in a phrase.  Again, take a look at the examples of this problem, which are also not hard to spot, and at the revisions. When you revise a "noun stack," you unpack or unstack the nouns into verbs, clauses, and phrases:
| Problem: | Edit: |
| There is a growing awareness of organizational employee creative capacity . | Awareness of the creative capacity of employees in all organizations is growing. |
| Position acquisition requirements are any combination of high school graduation and years of increasingly responsible secretarial experience. | To qualify for the position, you'll need to be a high school graduate and have had increasingly responsible secretarial experience. |
| The Quality Circle participation roles and tasks and time/cost requirements of Quality Circle organizational implementation will be described. | The tasks of the participants in Quality Circles and the time and cost requirements involved in the implementation of Quality Circles will be discussed. |
| Proper integrated circuit packaging type identification and applications are crucial to electrical system design and repair. | Identifying the proper type of packaging for integrated circuits is crucial to the design and repair of electrical systems. |
| Cerebral-anoxia-associated neonatal period birth injuries can lead to epileptic convulsions. | Birth injuries associated with cerebral anoxia in the neonatal period can lead to epileptic convulsions. |
Edit redundant phrasing
Redundancy in writing can come about from these three sources (but there are probably plenty more):
- Wordy set phrases (4- to 5-word phrases; these can be chopped to a 1- to 2-word phrases with no loss of meaning): for example, "in view of the fact that"—it can be reduced to "since" or "because."
- Obvious qualifiers (a word is implicit in the word it modifies): phrases like "anticipate in advance," "completely finish," or "important essentials" are examples of obvious qualifiers—we know that already!
- Scattershot phrasing (two or more synonyms are compounded): compounds like "thoughts and ideas" (what's the difference?) or "actions and behavior" (if there is a difference between these two, does the writer mean to use it?).
Wordy: Edited: |
in view of the fact that since, because at this point in time then it is recommended that we recommend as per your request as you requested in light of the fact that since, because being of the opinion that I believe in the near future soon during the time that then it would be advisable to should, ought due to the fact that since, because in this day and age now, currently for the reason that since, because in my own personal opinion I believe,in my opinion to the fullest extent possible fully in accordance with your request as you requested four in number four predicated upon the fact that based on inasmuch as since, because pursuant to your request as you requested in connection with related to take cognizance of the fact that realize it has come to my attention that I have learned that with reference to the fact that concerning, about with regard to concerning, about in close proximity to near, close, about to the extent that as much as in the neighborhood of near, close, about until such time as until has the ability to can that being the case therefore |
Edit weak expletives
If you were around for Watergate, the term "expletive" means something specific to you (in the tapes and transcripts of Nixon's staff, many expletives had to be "deleted"). In this context, however, the term expletive refers to variations of there is and it is . This is not to say that it is always wrong to use these phrases in sentences, but they can easily be misused or overused. Like redundant phrasing, they add more words than are needed, and more words blunt the meaning, creating a fog around the sense of a sentence.
| Problem: | Edit: |
| When there is a very strong build-up at the front of the plane, it is what is known as a shock wave. | When a very strong build-up occurs at the front end of the plane, a shock wave occurs. |
| When there is decay of a radioactive substance, there is the emission of some form of a high-energy particle—an alpha particle, a beta particle, or a gamma ray. | When a radioactive substance decays, some form of a high-energy particle—an alpha particle, a beta particle, or a gamma ray—is emitted. |
| It is the results of studies of the central region of the M87 galaxy that have shown that there are stars near the center that move around as though there were some huge mass at the center that was attracting them. | Recent studies of the central region of the M87 galaxy have shown stars near the center moving around as though some huge mass at the center were attracting them. |
Edit weak passive-voice sentences
One of the all-time worst offenders for creating unclear, wordy, indirect writing is the passive-voice construction. It's easy enough to convert a sentence from active voice to passive voice, and back again:
| Passive: | Active: |
| The report was written by the student. | The student wrote the report. |
However, the passive voice can be a shifty operator—it can cover up its source, that is, who's doing the acting, as this example shows:
| Passive: | Active: |
| The papers will be graded according to the criteria stated in the syllabus. (Graded by whom though?) | The teacher will grade the papers according to the criteria stated in the syllabus. (Oh! that guy...) |
(It's this ability to cover the actor or agent of the sentence that makes the passive voice a favorite of people in authority—policemen, city officials, and, yes, teachers. But save that for some other course!) At any rate, you can see how the passive voice can cause wordiness, indirectness, and comprehension problems.
| Passive: | Active: |
| Your figures have been reanalyzed in order to determine the coefficient of error. The results will be announced when the situation is judged appropriate. (Who analyzes, and who will announce?) | We have reanalyzed your figures in order to determine the range of error. We will announce the results when the time is right. |
| Almost all home mortgage loans nowadays are made for twenty-five years. With the price of housing at such inflated levels, those loans cannot be paid off in any shorter period of time. (Who makes the loans, and who can't pay them off?) | Almost all home mortgage loans nowadays are for twenty-five years. With the price of housing at such inflated levels, homeowners cannot pay off those loans in any shorter period of time. |
| After the arm of the hand-held stapler is pushed down, the blade from the magazine is raised by the top-leaf spring, and the magazine and base. (Who pushes it down, and who or what raises it?) | After you push down on the arm of the hand-held stapler, the top-leaf spring raises the blade from the magazine, and the magazine and base move apart. |
| However, market share is being lost by 5.25-inch diskettes as is shown in the graph in Figure 2. (Who or what is losing market share, who or what shows it?) | However, 5.25-inch diskettes are losing market share as the graph in Figure 2 shows. |
| For many years, federal regulations concerning the use of wire-tapping have been ignored . Only recently have tighter restrictions been imposed on the circumstances that warrant it. (Who has ignored the regulations, and who is now imposing them?) | For many years, government officials have ignored federal regulations concerning the use of wire-tapping. Only recently has the federal government imposed tighter restrictions on the circumstances that warrant it. |
Don't get the idea that the passive voice is always wrong and should never be used. It is a good writing technique when we don't want to be bothered with an obvious or too-often-repeated subject and when we need to rearrange words in a sentence for emphasis. Notice that the passive voice is used correctly in some of the examples above.
Edit subject-verb mismatches
In dense, highly technical writing, it's easy to lose track of the real subject and pick a verb that just does not make sense. The result is a noun physically not able to do what the verb says it is doing, or some abstract thing performing something nitty-gritty real-world action. Here are some examples and their revision:
| Problem: | Revision: |
| The causes of the disappearance of early electric automobiles were devastating to the future of energy conservation in the U.S. | The disappearance of early electric automobiles destroyed the future of energy conservation in the U.S. |
| Presently, electric vehicles are experimenting with two types of energy sources. | Presently, research on electric vehicles involves two types of energy sources. |
| Consequently, the body is more coordinated and is less likely to commit mental mistakes . | Consequently, workers will be more coordinated and commit fewer mental errors. |
Edit sentence-length problems
When you are writing about highly technical subject matter, it is easy to construct long sentences that become hard to read. The military standard for many years has been 17 words per sentence. Other standards allow up to 25 words per sentence. It's not that sentences can't be significantly longer or shorter than these standards—it's just that the average ought to stay somewhere within the 17- to 25-word range. However, any sentence over 35 or 40 words probably needs to be broken up. And while an occasional short sentence (say, 5 to 10 words) can be very effective, lots of them can cause writing to be choppy and hard to follow.
Breaking up overly long sentences is fun—it's a lot like throwing things away or tearing something down (it appeals to our destructive urges). Take a look at these examples, before and after:
| Problem: | Revision: |
| In order to understand how a solid, liquid or gas can be made to give off radiation in the form of a laser beam, one must understand some of the basic theory behind laser light. | A solid, liquid or gas can be made to give off radiation in the form of a laser beam. Understanding this process requires some knowledge about the basic theory behind laser light. |
| Laser beams, which have many properties that distinguish them from ordinary light, result from the emission of energy from atoms in the form of electromagnetic waves whose range in most laser beams is 10 -3 to 10 -7 meters. | Most laser beams are just beams of light but which have properties that distinguish them from ordinary light. Laser beams result from the emission of energy from atoms to form of electromagnetic waves. The range of electromagnetic waves found in most laser beams is 10 -3 to 10 -7 meters. |
Precision of Words
Sometimes, in early drafting, writers fall back on words that are vague or boring. For example, consider sentences starting with “This” or “It.” Unless the previous sentence made it totally clear what the “This” or the “It” is, the reader will be confused. For example,
Instead of the following: “This is an exciting point in the movie.”
How about this?
“The surprise ending of the movie is exciting.”
The same thing goes for starting a sentence with the personal pronoun “It.” See the two sentences below.
Instead of this: “It caused the audience to break into applause.”
Define the “It” like this. “The final scene caused the audience to break into applause.”
To note, this kind of sentence structure is essentially using words as “filler” to take up space within a sentence and creates a sort of vagueness for the reader who will wonder what the subject of the sentence might be. Sometimes such sentence construction is fine, but writers use it too often.
In addition, many students believe that using one of the following words adds an element of description or accentuation to their phrases; however, these specific words are overused by writers and should be given special consideration:
- Really
- Very
- Just
Trick #1: If writers conduct a global search for each of the three words above, they can use them as “red flags” to alert themselves to the perfect place to try to find a better way of saying what they want to say. How does one improve vocabulary? Use a thesaurus and read more.
What’s a word for “very scary”? Frightening.
What’s another way of saying “really hungry”? Famished.
On another note: The phrase “a lot” has generally outrun it’s usage by the time one reaches college. Generalizations are better avoided, as they are vague and imprecise. Academics prefer statistics and specific, verifiable statements.
Repetition of Words and Phrases
The unintentional repetition of words and phrases is one of the most common oversights writers make. They all have their go-to words—ones that come naturally to them when they speak and write. The general advice is for writers to use a thesaurus to find a synonym for the overused word. However, what if there isn’t a synonym for the word? Look at the paragraph below:
This past summer, I had the opportunity to intern at Sea Life Park. Sea Life Park is known for being an exciting destination for locals and tourists to experience the wonders of sea life from throughout the Pacific. At the park, green sea turtles, or Honu, thrive and even continue to have babies. In addition, dolphins and the Hawaiian monk seals provide visitors with the ability to view these majestic creatures but also learn about their significance within the Pacific Ocean ecosystem and their importance within island culture.
This writer’s paragraph isn’t bad. However, “Sea Life Park” is repeated twice in the first two sentences. In addition, in sentence three, he begins with “At the park” followed by another “sea.” He defended his construction and word choice by stating, “But there isn’t another word for ‘Sea Life Park’.” Indeed, the “find a synonym” strategy would not work in this case just like there isn’t a synonym for “parking lot” or “ice cream sundae.” So another trick has to be used.
Trick #2: If a synonym doesn’t exist, remove the repetitive words and combine the sentences.
This past summer, I had the opportunity to intern at Sea Life Park, known for being an exciting destination for locals and tourists to experience the wonders of sea life from throughout the Pacific.
Replacing the repeated phrase with a comma before “known” does the trick. But wait. The phrase “sea life” appears again a little later in this same sentence. Now what?
Trick #3: Use your creativity to craft an original way of saying the same thing. Instead of “Sea Life Park,” call it “the world-renowned marine playground committed to protection, preservation, and education” and the writer has not only fixed the repetition issue but also introduced wonderfully original prose.
Trick #4: Writers should read everything out loud so the ear can catch what the eye might miss.
Voice, for writers, is something uniquely their own. It’s the way they put words together and involves their distinctive way of looking at the world. It makes one writer’s work stand out from that of others in its originality and authenticity. Key, though, is understanding that the development of one’s writing voice takes time and is ever changing. That’s what makes it so exciting.
Here are samples of sentences from two famous writers. Though both these writers lived in America at approximately the same time, their “voices” are very different. What are the elements that make these sentences so different?
It was very late and everyone had left the cafe except an old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light. In the daytime the street was dusty, but at night the dew settled the dust and the old man liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference. (Ernest Hemingway, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.”)
Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care, a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town, dating from that day in 1894 when Colonel Sartoris, the mayor—he who fathered the edict that no woman should appear on the streets without an apron—remitted her taxes, the dispensation dating from the death of her father on into perpetuity. (William Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily.”)
Style: Style is much broader than voice. Some writers have a writing style that’s complex and packed with personification, metaphor, and imagery. Other writers have a more straightforward style with more simplicity or directness.
Grammar: The Grand Dame
According to Merriam-Webster, grammar is a system of rules that defines the structure of a language. For most of the USA, that system is Standard American English (SAE). Grammar is the way people use language rules and how words are used in a certain order to form phrases and clauses that relay a meaning for readers. The term “syntax” (the art of sentence structure) goes hand-in-hand with this.
Writers and speakers of any given language are aware that the rules related to grammar and usage of that language are largely appropriated not by formal instruction and memorization but informally and even subconsciously as one grows up listening, speaking and reading. So it’s important to note that, as those who use language every day, students already have internalized essential grammar rules. Most college writers struggle with only one or two main grammar blind-spots, like how to correctly use a comma or semicolon. Once they master these, they can confidently edit their own work. (See Chapter 16 Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation .)
Language Usage
Writing is all about decision-making. Writers need to ask, “How should I craft this sentence, this paragraph? Given the effect of two possible punctuation marks, which one should I use? What is the effect of this word instead of that one, so similar in meaning but carrying a more negative connotation?” In this way, writing is about making endless choices. (See Chapter 16 Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation. )
When it comes down to it, writers within the academic setting do best when they acknowledge that what they are trying to produce is reader-based prose—written content that informs the reader of the essential message the writer is wanting to convey and also does so in a manner that is engaging and well-received.
On this note, it is important that the reader is able to follow the path of words, images, and meaning that the writer is wanting to create. Readers can become distracted and disinterested by awkward word choices, unintentional repetition, and incorrect spelling, grammar, word usage, and punctuation.
Spelling
All writers have words that give them hassles, even if they have learned how to spell those words. Does the word “essence” end with a “ce” or “se”? Does the word “privilege” spend any time on the “ledge”?
By the time one reaches college, one knows if spelling words correctly comes easily or not. And everyone knows that spell-checkers won’t pick up every mistake. Writers need to make time for careful editing and proofreading throughout the writing process with an extra special proofreading session before turning in any assignment. In addition, though, here is a trick that can actually help one become a better speller, even into adulthood.
Trick #5: Create a running list of all the words that you tend to misspell. If you find another word, add it to the list. Every time you sit down to write, scroll through your list. You’ll find that the spelling will become less of an issue.
Punctuation and Mechanics
Punctuation refers to the “symbols” writers use to help readers understand and process the information they wish to convey through the sentences they write. Somewhat like the notes and rests within a piece of music help musicians move quickly or slowly through a composition, punctuation marks are used for effect. ( See Chapter 16 Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation .)
Mechanics are established rules within a language system, and sometimes include the individual decisions writers make regarding the use of capitalization, underlining, italicizing, numbers versus numerals, the placement of specific punctuation marks, and how this differs throughout English-speaking countries (e.g., “towards” in the UK is often “toward” in the US, and periods and commas always go inside quotation marks in the U.S. but not in Canada).
- Search your draft using the “find” tool for words like “it,” “this,” “really,” “very,” “just” or “you.” See if you can find ways to eliminate these words to make your language sharper, more precise.
- Read the sentences of your document in backward order, starting with the last sentence, and then the one above it, all the way up to the first sentence in the document. This is a great way to find fragments or to hear where the language is repetitive or unclear.
- Make an appointment with a tutor or your instructor. Ask for help doing a close editing of two paragraphs with an eye to learning how to identify typical errors in your work, and then apply your learning to the rest of your document.
- Technical documents must be concise. While editing, pretend that you have to pay a fee for every word on the page. If each word costs you $1, would you keep every word you have, or would you find some that are not necessary and could be cut? What if the fee were $5 per word? Would you find more to cut? Challenge yourself to trim away all unnecessary words to make the document as concise as possible.
"Revision as Part of the Process" is derivative of " Revision " by Ann Inoshita, Karyl Garland, Kate Sims, Jeanne K. Tsutsui Keuma, and Tasha Williams , used under CC BY. "Editing as Part of the Process" is derivative of " Editing " by Ann Inoshita, Karyl Garland, Kate Sims, Jeanne K. Tsutsui Keuma, and Tasha Williams , used under CC BY. This chapter, "Strategies for Revising and Editing" is licensed under CC BY 4.0 by Tamara Girardi and Mary Richards.


Learning Objectives
-
Analyze the different types of reading materials in healthcare education and identify appropriate strategies for each.
-
Evaluate various effective reading strategies and apply them to complex healthcare texts and case studies.
-
Develop a personalized note-taking system that enhances learning and retention in nursing and healthcare-related courses.
-
Synthesize pre-reading and in-class note-taking methods to improve understanding and performance in healthcare-related exams.
-
Apply techniques for expanding healthcare-related vocabulary to enhance reading comprehension and professional communication skills.
Figure 6.1: Each of us reads and records information in our own way.
Student Survey
These questions will help you determine how the chapter concepts relate to you right now. As we are introduced to new concepts and practices, it can be informative to reflect on how your understanding changes over time. We’ll revisit these questions at the end of the chapter to see whether your feelings have changed.
On a scale of 1 (I need significant improvement) to 4 (I’m doing great), reflect on how you’re doing right now on these statements:
-
I am reading on a college level.
-
I take good notes that help me study for exams.
-
I understand how to manage all the reading I need to do for college.
-
I recognize the need for different notetaking strategies for different college subjects.
You can also take the
Chapter 6 survey(opens in new window)
anonymously online.
STUDENT PROFILE
"Before I came to college, I always loathed reading from the textbook, taking notes during class, and even listening to lectures. I’ve since learned that in most cases I should do what my teacher suggests. I have a course that requires me to read two textbook chapters each week. Taking notes on the chapters is optional, making it easy to brush off these assignments. But there are reasons that professors tell students to read and do other classwork. They believe it is valuable information for a student to learn. Note taking in class may become tedious and, in some cases, feel redundant. But you can’t recall a whole class from memory. There is not much time to learn the contents of a class in one semester, and it can feel overwhelming. It’s important to take notes because writing them helps you remember."
—Christopher Naldini
, Westchester Community College
About this Chapter
In this chapter we will explore two skills you probably think you already understand—reading and notetaking. But the goal is to make sure you’ve honed these skills well enough to lead you to success in college. By the time you finish this chapter, you should be able to do the following:
-
Discuss the way reading differs in college and how to successfully adapt to that change.
-
Demonstrate the usefulness of strong notetaking for college students.
Reading and consuming information are increasingly important today because of the amount of information we encounter. Not only do we need to read critically and carefully, but we also need to read with an eye to distinguishing fact from opinion and identifying solid sources. Reading helps us make sense of the world—from simple reminders to pick up milk to complex treatises on global concerns, we read to comprehend, and in so doing, our brains expand. An interesting study from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, used MRI scans to track the brain conductivity while participants were reading. The researchers assert that a biological change to your brain actually happens when you read, and it lingers. If you want to read the study, published in the journal
Brain Connectivity,
you can find it online at
Brain Connectivity(opens in new window)
[openstax.org]
.
In academic settings, as we deliberately work to become stronger readers and better notetakers, we are both helping our current situation and enhancing our abilities to be successful in the future. Seems like a win-win. Take advantage of all the study aids you have at hand, including human, electronic, and physical resources, to increase your performance in these crucial skill sets.
Why? You need to read. It improves your thinking, your vocabulary, and your ability to make connections between disparate parts, which are all parts of critical thinking. Educational researchers Anne Cunningham and Keith Stanovich discovered after extensive study with college students that “reading volume [how much you read] made a significant contribution to multiple measures of vocabulary, general knowledge, spelling, and verbal fluency.”
Research continues to assess and support the fact that one of the most significant learning skills necessary for success in any field is reading. You may have performed this skill for decades already, but learning to do it more effectively and practicing the skill consistently is critical to how well you do in all subjects. If reading
isn’t your thing,
strive to make that your challenge. Your academic journey, your personal well-being, and your professional endeavors will all benefit from your reading. Put forth the effort and make it your thing. The long-term benefits will far outweigh the sacrifices you make now.


8.5: Suspending Judgment
- Describe the importance of suspending judgment to analysis
One of the most important steps in the process of thinking and writing analytically is to suspend judgment about topics, artifacts, ideas, or whatever it is you want to analyze. Critical thinking yields the best results when you approach something with an open mind. When we bring our biases and presuppositions to a topic, we aren’t allowing a truly organic research process to happen. This isn’t to say that we can ever be completely objective or somehow erase our minds of prior knowledge; however, if we try to at least suspend judgments about that knowledge, we increase our likelihood of being open to new discoveries in the research process.
It is also important to suspend judgment when undertaking analysis so that we will not implicitly signal to our reader that our mind is already made up concerning the issue or object at hand. Implying this kind of rigidity, whether in the tone or the single-mindedness of our approach, suggests to our audience that our work is not really attempting to methodically discover or clarify anything. The result can be a paper or presentation that seems presumptuous, as if we do not have to do any work to convince our reader. This can be very off-putting, and will likely not result in a successful analysis.
For example, if you wanted to analyze how campus administration might identify problems with and make improvements to parking, and you have received numerous parking tickets over the past year, you might be tempted to enter your research process with preconceived notions of what should happen because of how certain changes could benefit you. Paying for parking tickets is no fun, to be sure, but your best approach to researching such a topic would be to look at the big picture, and to examine how parking impacts everyone on campus.
Thus, your goal would be to analyze all the problems with parking and how solutions might benefit multiple parties. Suspending judgment about the parking situation on this campus might help you make comparisons with similar campuses, for instance, and determine that the policies on our campus aren’t really that bad when you look at the bigger picture. Of course, you might find that we have a terrible campus parking situation, but the point is that you cannot examine the issue fairly until you step back and look at it as objectively as possible.
This video explains the following five tips to improve your critical thinking, which will help you suspend judgment and analyze sources before you begin writing:
- Formulate your question
- Gather information
- Apply the information
- Consider the implications
- Explore other points of view
You can view the transcript for “5 tips to improve your critical thinking- Samantha Agoos” here (opens in new window) .
Contributors and Attributions
- Keys to Successful Analysis. Authored by : Guy Krueger. Provided by : University of Mississippi. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- 5 tips to improve your critical thinking - Samantha Agoos. Provided by : TED-Ed. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dItUGF8GdTw . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License


9.8: Solve Geometry Applications- Circles and Irregular Figures
- Use the properties of circles
- Find the area of irregular figures
Before you get started, take this readiness quiz.
- Evaluate x 2 when x = 5. If you missed this problem, review Example 2.3.3 .
- Using 3.14 for \(\pi\), approximate the (a) circumference and (b) the area of a circle with radius 8 inches. If you missed this problem, review Example 5.6.12 .
- Simplify \(\dfrac{22}{7}\)(0.25) 2 and round to the nearest thousandth. If you missed this problem, review Example 5.5.9 .
In this section, we’ll continue working with geometry applications. We will add several new formulas to our collection of formulas. To help you as you do the examples and exercises in this section, we will show the Problem Solving Strategy for Geometry Applications here.
Step 1. Read the problem and make sure you understand all the words and ideas. Draw the figure and label it with the given information.
Step 2. Identify what you are looking for.
Step 3. Name what you are looking for. Choose a variable to represent that quantity
Step 4. Translate into an equation by writing the appropriate formula or model for the situation. Substitute in the given information.
Step 5. Solve the equation using good algebra techniques.
Step 6. Check the answer in the problem and make sure it makes sense.
Step 7. Answer the question with a complete sentence.
Use the Properties of Circles
Do you remember the properties of circles from Decimals and Fractions ? We’ll show them here again to refer to as we use them to solve applications.
- r is the length of the radius
- d is the length of the diameter
- d = 2r
- Circumference is the perimeter of a circle. The formula for circumference is C = 2\(\pi\)r
- The formula for area of a circle is A = \(\pi\)r 2
Remember, that we approximate \(\pi\) with 3.14 or \(\dfrac{22}{7}\) depending on whether the radius of the circle is given as a decimal or a fraction. If you use the \(\pi\) key on your calculator to do the calculations in this section, your answers will be slightly different from the answers shown. That is because the \(\pi\) key uses more than two decimal places.
A circular sandbox has a radius of 2.5 feet. Find the (a) circumference and (b) area of the sandbox.
Solution
(a)
| Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. | |
| Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. | the circumference of the circle |
| Step 3. Name . Choose a variable to represent it. | Let c = circumference of the circle |
| Step 4. Translate . Write the appropriate formula. Substitute. | $$\begin{split} C &= 2 \pi r \\ C &= 2 \pi (2.5) \end{split}$$ |
| Step 5. Solve the equation. | $$\begin{split} C &\approx 2(3.14)(2.5) \\ C &\approx 15\; ft \end{split}$$ |
| Step 6. Check . Does this answer make sense? |
Yes. If we draw a square around the circle, its sides would be 5 ft (twice the radius), so its perimeter would be 20 ft. This is slightly more than the circle's circumference, 15.7 ft.
|
| Step 7. Answer the question. | The circumference of the sandbox is 15.7 feet. |
(b)
| Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. | |
| Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. | the area of the circle |
| Step 3. Name . Choose a variable to represent it. | Let A = the area of the circle |
| Step 4. Translate . Write the appropriate formula. Substitute. | $$\begin{split} A &= \pi r^{2} \\ A &= \pi (2.5)^{2} \end{split}$$ |
| Step 5. Solve the equation. | $$\begin{split} A &\approx (3.14)(2.5)^{2} \\ A &\approx 19.625\; sq.\; ft \end{split}$$ |
| Step 6. Check . Does this answer make sense? | Yes. If we draw a square around the circle, its sides would be 5 ft, as shown in part (a). So the area of the square would be 25 sq. ft. This is slightly more than the circle's area, 19.625 sq. ft. |
| Step 7. Answer the question. | The area of the circle is 19.625 square feet. |
A circular mirror has radius of 5 inches. Find the (a) circumference and (b) area of the mirror.
- Answer a
-
31.4 in.
- Answer b
-
78.5 sq. in.
A circular spa has radius of 4.5 feet. Find the (a) circumference and (b) area of the spa.
- Answer a
-
28.26 ft
- Answer b
-
63.585 sq. ft
We usually see the formula for circumference in terms of the radius r of the circle:
\[C = 2 \pi r\]
But since the diameter of a circle is two times the radius, we could write the formula for the circumference in terms of d.
\[\begin{split} C &= 2 \pi r \\ Using\; the\; commutative\; property,\; we\; get \qquad C &= \pi \cdot 2r \\ Then\; substituting\; d = 2r \qquad C &= \pi \cdot d \\ So \qquad C &= \pi d \end{split}\]
We will use this form of the circumference when we’re given the length of the diameter instead of the radius.
A circular table has a diameter of four feet. What is the circumference of the table?
Solution
| Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. | |
| Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. | the circumference of the table |
| Step 3. Name . Choose a variable to represent it. | Let c = the circumference of the table |
| Step 4. Translate . Write the appropriate formula for the situation. Substitute. | $$\begin{split} C &= \pi d \\ C &= \pi (4) \end{split}$$ |
| Step 5. Solve the equation, using 3.14 for \(\pi\). | $$\begin{split} C &\approx (3.14)(4) \\ C &\approx 12.56\; ft \end{split}$$ |
| Step 6. Check . |
If we put a square around the circle, its side would be 4. The perimeter would be 16. It makes sense that the circumference of the circle, 12.56, is a little less than 16.
|
| Step 7. Answer the question. | The diameter of the table is 12.56 square feet. |
Find the circumference of a circular fire pit whose diameter is 5.5 feet.
- Answer
-
17.27 ft
If the diameter of a circular trampoline is 12 feet, what is its circumference?
- Answer
-
37.68 ft.
Find the diameter of a circle with a circumference of 47.1 centimeters.
Solution
| Step 1. Read the problem. Draw the figure and label it with the given information. | |
| Step 2. Identify what you are looking for. | the diameter of the circle |
| Step 3. Name . Choose a variable to represent it. | Let d = the diameter of the circle |
| Step 4. Translate . Write the formula. Substitute, using 3.14 to approximate \(\pi\). | $$\begin{split} C &= \pi d \\ 47.1 &\approx 3.14d \end{split}$$ |
| Step 5. Solve . | $$\begin{split} \dfrac{47.11}{3.14} &\approx \dfrac{3.14d}{3.14} \\ 15 &\approx d \end{split}$$ |
| Step 6. Check . | $$\begin{split} 47.1 &\stackrel{?}{=} (3.14)(15) \\ 47.1 &= 47.1\; \checkmark \end{split}$$ |
| Step 7. Answer the question. | The diameter of the circle is approximately 15 centimeters. |
Find the diameter of a circle with circumference of 94.2 centimeters.
- Answer
-
30 cm
Find the diameter of a circle with circumference of 345.4 feet.
- Answer
-
110 ft
Find the Area of Irregular Figures
So far, we have found area for rectangles, triangles, trapezoids, and circles. An irregular figure is a figure that is not a standard geometric shape. Its area cannot be calculated using any of the standard area formulas. But some irregular figures are made up of two or more standard geometric shapes. To find the area of one of these irregular figures, we can split it into figures whose formulas we know and then add the areas of the figures.
Find the area of the shaded region.
Solution
The given figure is irregular, but we can break it into two rectangles. The area of the shaded region will be the sum of the areas of both rectangles.
The blue rectangle has a width of 12 and a length of 4. The red rectangle has a width of 2, but its length is not labeled. The right side of the figure is the length of the red rectangle plus the length of the blue rectangle. Since the right side of the blue rectangle is 4 units long, the length of the red rectangle must be 6 units.
\[\begin{split} A_{figure} &= A_{\textcolor{blue}{rectangle}} + A_{\textcolor{red}{rectangle}} \\ A_{figure} &= \textcolor{blue}{bh} + \textcolor{red}{bh} \\ A_{figure} &= \textcolor{blue}{12 \cdot 4} + \textcolor{red}{2 \cdot 6} \\ A_{figure} &= \textcolor{blue}{48} + \textcolor{red}{12} \\ A_{figure} &= 60 \end{split}\]
The area of the figure is 60 square units.
Is there another way to split this figure into two rectangles? Try it, and make sure you get the same area.
Find the area of each shaded region:
- Answer
-
28 sq. units
Find the area of each shaded region:
- Answer
-
110 sq. units
Find the area of the shaded region.
Solution
We can break this irregular figure into a triangle and rectangle. The area of the figure will be the sum of the areas of triangle and rectangle.
The rectangle has a length of 8 units and a width of 4 units.
We need to find the base and height of the triangle.
Since both sides of the rectangle are 4, the vertical side of the triangle is 3, which is 7 − 4. The length of the rectangle is 8, so the base of the triangle will be 3, which is 8 − 4.
Now we can add the areas to find the area of the irregular figure.
\[\begin{split} A_{figure} &= A_{\textcolor{blue}{rectangle}} + A_{\textcolor{red}{triangle}} \\ A_{figure} &= \textcolor{blue}{lw} + \dfrac{1}{2} \textcolor{red}{bh} \\ A_{figure} &= \textcolor{blue}{8 \cdot 4} + \dfrac{1}{2} \cdot \textcolor{red}{3 \cdot 3} \\ A_{figure} &= \textcolor{blue}{32} + \textcolor{red}{4.5} \\ A_{figure} &= 3.65\; sq.\; units \end{split}\]
The area of the figure is 36.5 square units.
Find the area of each shaded region.
- Answer
-
36.5 sq. units
Find the area of each shaded region.
- Answer
-
70 sq. units
A high school track is shaped like a rectangle with a semi-circle (half a circle) on each end. The rectangle has length 105 meters and width 68 meters. Find the area enclosed by the track. Round your answer to the nearest hundredth.
Solution
We will break the figure into a rectangle and two semi-circles. The area of the figure will be the sum of the areas of the rectangle and the semicircles.
The rectangle has a length of 105 m and a width of 68 m. The semi-circles have a diameter of 68 m, so each has a radius of 34 m.
\[\begin{split} A_{figure} &= A_{\textcolor{blue}{rectangle}} + A_{\textcolor{red}{semicircles}} \\ A_{figure} &= \textcolor{blue}{bh} + \textcolor{red}{2\left(\dfrac{1}{2} \pi \cdot r^{2} \right)} \\ A_{figure} &\approx \textcolor{blue}{105 \cdot 68} + \textcolor{red}{2 \left(\dfrac{1}{2} \cdot 3.14 \cdot 34^{2}\right)} \\ A_{figure} &\approx \textcolor{blue}{7140} + \textcolor{red}{3629.84} \\ A_{figure} &\approx 10,769.84\; square\; meters \end{split}\]
Find the area:
- Answer
-
103.2 sq. units
Find the area:
- Answer
-
38.24 sq. units
Circumference of a Circle
Area of a Circle
Area of an L-shaped polygon
Area of an L-shaped polygon with Decimals
Perimeter Involving a Rectangle and Circle
Area Involving a Rectangle and Circle
Practice Makes Perfect
Use the Properties of Circles
In the following exercises, solve using the properties of circles.
- The lid of a paint bucket is a circle with radius 7 inches. Find the (a) circumference and (b) area of the lid.
- An extra-large pizza is a circle with radius 8 inches. Find the (a) circumference and (b) area of the pizza.
- A farm sprinkler spreads water in a circle with radius of 8.5 feet. Find the (a) circumference and (b) area of the watered circle.
- A circular rug has radius of 3.5 feet. Find the (a) circumference and (b) area of the rug.
- A reflecting pool is in the shape of a circle with diameter of 20 feet. What is the circumference of the pool?
- A turntable is a circle with diameter of 10 inches. What is the circumference of the turntable?
- A circular saw has a diameter of 12 inches. What is the circumference of the saw?
- A round coin has a diameter of 3 centimeters. What is the circumference of the coin?
- A barbecue grill is a circle with a diameter of 2.2 feet. What is the circumference of the grill?
- The top of a pie tin is a circle with a diameter of 9.5 inches. What is the circumference of the top?
- A circle has a circumference of 163.28 inches. Find the diameter.
- A circle has a circumference of 59.66 feet. Find the diameter.
- A circle has a circumference of 17.27 meters. Find the diameter.
- A circle has a circumference of 80.07 centimeters. Find the diameter.
In the following exercises, find the radius of the circle with given circumference.
- A circle has a circumference of 150.72 feet.
- A circle has a circumference of 251.2 centimeters.
- A circle has a circumference of 40.82 miles.
- A circle has a circumference of 78.5 inches.
Find the Area of Irregular Figures
In the following exercises, find the area of the irregular figure. Round your answers to the nearest hundredth.
In the following exercises, solve.
- A city park covers one block plus parts of four more blocks, as shown. The block is a square with sides 250 feet long, and the triangles are isosceles right triangles. Find the area of the park.
- A gift box will be made from a rectangular piece of cardboard measuring 12 inches by 20 inches, with squares cut out of the corners of the sides, as shown. The sides of the squares are 3 inches. Find the area of the cardboard after the corners are cut out.
- Perry needs to put in a new lawn. His lot is a rectangle with a length of 120 feet and a width of 100 feet. The house is rectangular and measures 50 feet by 40 feet. His driveway is rectangular and measures 20 feet by 30 feet, as shown. Find the area of Perry’s lawn.
- Denise is planning to put a deck in her back yard. The deck will be a 20-ft by 12-ft rectangle with a semicircle of diameter 6 feet, as shown below. Find the area of the deck.
Everyday Math
- Area of a Tabletop Yuki bought a drop-leaf kitchen table. The rectangular part of the table is a 1-ft by 3-ft rectangle with a semicircle at each end, as shown.(a) Find the area of the table with one leaf up. (b) Find the area of the table with both leaves up.
- Painting Leora wants to paint the nursery in her house. The nursery is an 8-ft by 10-ft rectangle, and the ceiling is 8 feet tall. There is a 3-ft by 6.5-ft door on one wall, a 3-ft by 6.5-ft closet door on another wall, and one 4-ft by 3.5-ft window on the third wall. The fourth wall has no doors or windows. If she will only paint the four walls, and not the ceiling or doors, how many square feet will she need to paint?
Writing Exercises
- Describe two different ways to find the area of this figure, and then show your work to make sure both ways give the same area.
- A circle has a diameter of 14 feet. Find the area of the circle (a) using 3.14 for \(\pi\) (b) using \(\dfrac{22}{7}\) for \(\pi\). (c) Which calculation to do prefer? Why?
Self Check
(a) After completing the exercises, use this checklist to evaluate your mastery of the objectives of this section.
(b) After looking at the checklist, do you think you are well prepared for the next section? Why or why not?
Contributors and Attributions
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Lynn Marecek (Santa Ana College) and MaryAnne Anthony-Smith (Formerly of Santa Ana College). This content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License v4.0 "Download for free at<EMAIL_ADDRESS>."


2.8: Using call numbers to find books
You can think of the call number as the unique address for each item that helps you pinpoint where that item lives on the shelf. Here are the basic rules for reading a Library of Congress call number:
- Most sections begin with letters and are followed by numbers. Letters in each section are sorted in alphabetical order before the numbers.
- Numbers in the first section are sorted as whole numbers . Using the call number ML419 K495 S313 2006 as an example, the 419 in the first section represents the whole number 419, or four hundred nineteen.
- Numbers in later alphanumeric sections are sorted as decimal numbers . In the example above, the 495 in the second section represents .495 or 0.495, and the same rules apply to the 313 in the third section: you read it as 0.313.
- The final section may consist of four numbers with no letters. This is the publication year.
Let’s say you found this book in Quick Search and want to locate it within the library:
After you’ve verified that the book is available and in the general collection, you can use the Map it tool to figure out what floor it should be on. You can also use the call number together with the floor maps (located throughout the library) to find the floor where your book should be. The call numbers are arranged in alphabetical order throughout the library’s floors. For our example, books with call numbers starting with SB are on Tier 5.
Once you’re on the right floor or tier, the next step is to find your item on the shelf by using the call numbers displayed at the end of each row of shelves. These numbers represent the first and last books in that row.
To figure out if your book is on a particular row of shelves, you first need to know if your book’s call number falls within this range. Usually, reading the first section of your call number will yield this information. You will need to understand this process even if you used the Map it tool, since that won’t show you exactly where your book is located on the shelf.
When reading the call number, start with the letters in the first section. A single letter comes before a two-letter combination starting with that same letter, so S comes before SA when you’re browsing the rows. For example, if a row is labeled with S 1204 to SD 504, a book with call number SB 102 L36 2007 should be in the middle of those shelves, since SB falls between S and SD. In this case, you’ve found the right row and you need to find the book on the shelf.
What if multiple shelves are labeled with call numbers that all start with the same letter or letters? In these cases, you’ll need to compare the numbers in the first section of the call number to determine where among the rows your item should be. Your book’s call number is SB102 L36 2007 and its first section is SB102 . In the example above, our rows have the following range: SB21 to SB123 . You don’t need to worry about any of the other numbers or letters in the call number yet, just focus on the beginning to find the right row of shelves.
As we mentioned in the previous section, the number in the first segment of a call number is sorted as a whole number. This means that 15 (fifteen) comes before 100 (one hundred). In our example, the book with a call number starting with SB102 (SB one hundred two) should be on the row of shelves with the range SB21 (SB twenty-one) to SB123 (one hundred twenty-three).
Finding your book on the shelf
Now that you’ve found the specific row of shelves your book is on, you can locate your book on the shelf! You’ll need to skim through the call numbers of the books already on the shelf to figure out whether your book’s call number comes before or after them. This is similar to skimming door numbers when trying to locate a friend’s room in the dorms. You want to make sure you’re on the right floor and around the correct numbers to find them.
When comparing call numbers, don’t worry about reading through the entire call number every time. Instead, start at the top, work your way right and down, and look for the first place where the call numbers of the books on the shelf differ from the one you want. Did you pass where your book should be, or is it farther down the shelf?
For example, let’s say you are looking for TL799 P59 S74 2018, and run across items with the following call numbers:
- TK9 K37 1996
- TK531 K56x 1978
- TK5102 R79 2006
- TK5103 B58 2011
TL799 P59 S74 2018 starts with TL, so you don’t need to read the rest of the call number to know that this book is farther down the shelf.
Once you’ve found items that match the first part of your call number, use the second part to locate your item. Similar to the first part, this section starts with a letter or set of letters. These are arranged alphabetically. In most cases, you’ll need to find the other items matching the first letter(s) in the second part before moving to the number that follows.
Unlike in the first part of the call number, the number in the second part should be treated as though it has a decimal point in front of it, although it may not display one. Our item, SB102 L36 2007, would come between SB102 L3 and SB102 L4 because 0.36 is between 0.30 and 0.40. One way to think about the differences between numbers in the first and the second segment of the call number is that the first is a whole number, like a dollar, and the second is a decimal, like cents or change.
The final part of a call number is often a four-digit number with no letter. This represents the year of publication. Not all call numbers include a publication year, but if it is present and all other parts of the call numbers are identical, you can sort the items by putting the publication dates in chronological order. When the library owns more than one edition of a book, the call numbers for each edition will often be identical up to the publication year. Our call number, SB102 L36 2007 , does have the year displayed as the last segment, but we don’t have any other editions for you to sort through.
Once you find your book, it often pays to examine the other items shelved nearby. Those items are often about similar topics to the item you were originally seeking, and may be a valuable addition to your research project.
- There are multiple rows of shelves that have the same first part as your call number: Do not despair! Compare the next part of the call number to the labels on the rows of shelves to check where your call number fits.
- Your call number is formatted differently from the examples we’ve shown: Some items don’t have typical Library of Congress call numbers. An example is TA1 Am35p. Even though it seems strange, you can still use alphanumeric order to narrow down where it should be on the shelf.
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Your book is not where you think it should be:
- Check the surrounding area on the shelf or behind the books on the bottom shelf (it may have fallen).
- Check the reshelving area on that floor, where books used within the library are placed before being put back on the shelves.
- Verify in Quick Search that it’s in the General Collection and that it is not checked out.
- You still can’t find your item: Ask for help at the Main Desk.
Check your understanding


12: The Individual and the Organization Last updated Save as PDF Page ID 47571 Lumen Learning Lumen Learning 12.1: Putting It Together- The Individual and the Organization 12.2: Assignment- New Operational Plans at Sun City Boards 12.3: Assignment- Personality and Performance 12.4: Discussion- Biases at Sun City Boards 12.5: Discussion- Exploring Personality in the Workplace 12.6: Why It Matters- The Individual and the Organization 12.7: Introduction to Personal Values and Personality at Work 12.8: Personal Values and Personality at Work 12.9: Introduction to Common Management Biases 12.10: Common Management Biases 12.11: Introduction to Attitudes that Affect Job Performance 12.12: Attitudes that Affect Job Performance 12.13: Introduction to Job Fitness and Performance 12.14: Job Fitness and Performance


3.2.3D: Animals and Culture
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Animal culture refers to cultural learning in non-human animals through socially transmitted behaviors.
Learning Objectives
- Formulate a thesis which defends the idea that non-human animals have culture
Key Points
- Much cultural anthropological research has been done on non-human primates, due to their close evolutionary proximity to humans.
- One of the first signs of culture in early humans was the use of tools. Chimpanzees have been observed using tools such as rocks and sticks to obtain better access to food.
- The acquisition and sharing of behaviors correlates directly to the existence of memes, which are defined as “units of cultural transmission ” by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.
- Though the idea of culture in animals has only been around for just over half of a century, scientists have been noting social behaviors of animals for centuries.
- Aristotle was the first to provide evidence of social learning in the bird songs. Charles Darwin first attempted to find the existence of imitation in animals when trying to prove his theory that the human mind had evolved from that of lower beings.
Key Terms
- meme : Any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.
- social behaviors : In physiology and sociology, social behavior is behavior directed towards society, or taking place between, members of the same species.
- cultural anthropological research : Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities.
Animal culture refers to cultural learning in non-human animals through socially transmitted behaviors. The question of the existence of culture in non-human societies has been a contentious subject for decades due to the inexistence of a concise definition for culture. However, many scientists agree on culture being defined as a process, rather than an end product. This process, most agree, involves the social transmission of a novel behavior, both among peers and between generations. This behavior is shared by a group of animals, but not necessarily between separate groups of the same species.
Tools and Learned Activities
One of the first signs of culture in early humans was the use of tools. Chimpanzees have been observed using tools such as rocks and sticks to obtain better access to food. There are other learned activities that have been exhibited by animals as well. Some examples of these activities that have been shown by varied animals are opening oysters, swimming, washing food, and unsealing tin lids. The acquisition and sharing of behaviors correlates directly to the existence of memes, which are defined as “units of cultural transmission” by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. It especially reinforces the natural selection component. These learned actions are mechanisms for making life easier, and therefore longer.
History of Animal Culture
Though the idea of culture in animals has only been around for just over half of a century, scientists have been noting social behaviors of animals for centuries. Aristotle was the first to provide evidence of social learning in the bird songs. Charles Darwin first attempted to find the existence of imitation in animals when trying to prove his theory that the human mind had evolved from that of lower beings. Darwin was also the first to suggest what became known as ‘social learning’ in explaining the transmission of an adaptive behavior pattern throughout a population of honey bees.
Much cultural anthropological research has been done on non-human primates, due to their close evolutionary proximity to humans. In non-primate animals, research tends to be limited, so the evidence for culture is lacking. The subject has become more popular recently, prompting more research in the field.
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9.11: Impressionism
The first post-Romantic movement we’ll study is Impressionism. As you’ll see from the linked article, Impressionism was a movement in the visual arts, namely painting, centered in Paris in the late 19th century. The term was later applied, not always to the liking of the composers, to the music of early 20th century French composers who were turning away from the grandiosity of late Romantic orchestral music.
Introduction
Impressionism is a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s. Impressionist painting characteristics include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles.
The Impressionists faced harsh opposition from the conventional art community in France. The name of the style derives from the title of a Claude Monet work, Impression, soleil levant ( Impression, Sunrise ), which provoked the critic Louis Leroy to coin the term in a satirical review published in the Parisian newspaper Le Charivari .
The development of Impressionism in the visual arts was soon followed by analogous styles in other media that became known as impressionist music and impressionist literature.
Music and Literature
Musical Impressionism is the name given to a movement in European classical music that arose in the late 19th century and continued into the middle of the 20th century. Originating in France, musical Impressionism is characterized by suggestion and atmosphere, and eschews the emotional excesses of the Romantic era. Impressionist composers favoured short forms such as the nocturne, arabesque, and prelude, and often explored uncommon scales such as the whole tone scale. Perhaps the most notable innovations of Impressionist composers were the introduction of major 7th chords and the extension of chord structures in 3rds to five- and six-part harmonies.
The influence of visual Impressionism on its musical counterpart is debatable. Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravelare generally considered the greatest Impressionist composers, but Debussy disavowed the term, calling it the invention of critics. Erik Satie was also considered in this category, though his approach was regarded as less serious, more musical novelty in nature. Paul Dukas is another French composer sometimes considered an Impressionist, but his style is perhaps more closely aligned to the late Romanticists. Musical Impressionism beyond France includes the work of such composers as Ottorino Respighi (Italy) Ralph Vaughan Williams, Cyril Scott, and John Ireland (England), and Manuel De Falla, and Isaac Albeniz (Spain).
Contributors and Attributions
- Authored by : Elliott Jones. Provided by : Santa Ana College. Located at : http://www.sac.edu . License : CC BY: Attribution
- Impressionism. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike


3.24: Introduction to Association vs Causation
What you’ll learn to do: Distinguish between association and causation. Identify lurking variables that may explain an observed relationship.
Just because two variables are associated does not mean that one variable causes changes in the other! For example, swimsuit sales and beach toy sales are likely associated (as swimsuit sales go up, one might speculate that beach toy sales will also go up), but it’s not necessarily the case that swimsuit sales cause beach toy sales.
In order to establish evidence of causation, a statistical study with rigorous design considerations is needed and the study results should be repeatable. We briefly discuss design considerations and appropriate conclusions that may be drawn.
Contributors and Attributions
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- Concepts in Statistics. Provided by : Open Learning Initiative. Located at : http://oli.cmu.edu . License : CC BY: Attribution


9.10: Academic Integrity
Along with your own original work, part of scholarly writing involves integrating the ideas of others. Academic integrity requires that you truthfully present your own ideas and identify when you are incorporating the work and ideas of others .
A citation is a reference to another person’s work . You will often read what others have written on a topic and integrate their work into your own writing. By including citations, you show your readers that you have done some research; you also help position your ideas within the scholarly conversation on a topic. When you are quoting numbers and statistics, citations show your readers that the information is factual and can be trusted. Citations provide just enough details to lead your reader to the sources you used, in a standardized format.
Informing readers where you found information helps them distinguish between existing sources and your original thoughts. This is critically important! Failing to cite can lead to a charge of plagiarism , which can have various consequences depending on your institution: a reduced grade or even a zero on an assignment, a failing grade for the whole course, or a disciplinary notation in your student file. Failing to cite can also devalue your work, as readers will not trust you.
Listen to Audio Podcast 9.1 about a discussion about Academic Integrity with John Paul Foxe who is the Director of the Academic Integrity Office at Ryerson University .
Audio Podcast 9:1: Academic integrity [18:46]
Student Tip
Academic Integrity Office
Check out your university’s academic integrity office. It will usually have a website with tutorials, videos, quizzes, and other resources related to academic integrity. Here is a link to the Ryerson University Academic Integrity Office: https://www.ryerson.ca/academicintegrity/students/
Attribution statement
The middle section of this page is an adaptation (editorial changes and made more concise) of:
Write Here, Right Now by Dr. Paul Chafe, Aaron Tucker with chapters from Dr. Kari Maaren, Dr. Martha Adante, Val Lem, Trina Grover and Kelly Dermody, under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Download this book for free at: https://pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca/writehere/