Continued Training 2/13

In the article Use the Paramedic Method to Make Sentences Clear and Correct, Dr. Eric Drown discusses ways to make unnecessarily complicated sentences easier to understand. He outlines a 5-step process: circle the prepositions, draw a box around the “is” forms, identify where the action is, simplify the verb, and eliminate unnecessarily slow windups. The other two articles explain how to identify and use coordinating conjunctions and the subordinate clause. Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases and clauses and can be identified by the FANBOYS acronym. Subordinate clauses, also known as dependent clauses, begin with subordinating conjunctions and are only partial sentences. The main takeaways from the readings about the coordinating conjunctions and subordinate clauses mostly concern grammar and sentence structure. Knowing how to correctly use and identify each will help one create technically sound sentences. As for the Paramedic Method, applying it will aid in writing clearer sentences with better flow. In the writing center, knowing basic grammar techniques like coordinating conjunctions and subordinate clauses allows a tutor to point out mechanical errors in a paper and make sure each sentence reads correctly. The Paramedic Method can be very helpful for when a student wants to take their writing to the next level but is unsure of how to do so. I’ve often read friends’ papers and noticed that they’ve added extra words or tried to use more sophisticated vocabulary only to make their sentences more convoluted and hard to follow. Passing on the knowledge of how to examine and remedy their own sentences to them makes them stronger writers.