Paramedic Method of Editing

Writing expert Richard Lanham offers a strategy for sentence-level editing (i.e. after revising for
structure and content). The name of this strategy, the Paramedic Method, suggests that the writer can rescue sick sentences by breathing life back into dead (or deadly) prose. This method helps to detect and correct the passive, wordy, unemphatic language so common in scholarly and business writing. Here are the main steps:

1. Circle the prepositions: aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, among around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, beyond, but (meaning except), by, concerning, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, near, of, off, on, out, over, past, since, through, throughout, till, to, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, with, within, without One prepositional phrase is fine, two in a row sometimes unavoidable, but three in a row should raise a red flag that the sentence lacks focus and is full of nouns. The goal is more (and meatier) verbs, fewer nouns.
Original: It is a matter of utmost importance to the safety of everyone traveling on the Skyline Drive this weekend that he or she should avoid stopping anywhere along the way because of the repair work being performed on the tracks that run parallel to the highway. (46 words, 8 prep. phrases) Revision: This weekend no one should stop along Skyline Drive because of railroad track construction. (16 words, 2 prep. phrases)

2. Draw a box around the is verb forms. Using is gets a sentence off to a slow start and weakens the sentence. Replace as many to be verbs with action verbs as possible, and change passive voice (is defended by) to active voice (defends). Watch for is, was, will be, seems to be, have been, and other forms of to be, which often signal the passive voice. Is is not a meaty verb. Original: The point I wish to make is that fish sleep with their eyes open. Revised: Fish sleep with their eyes open. 3. Ask: Where's the action? Who's "kicking" whom? You will likely find the action nominalized, that is, turned into a noun in a prepositional phrase, with no actual actor in sight. Original: Burning books is considered censorship by some people. Revised: Some people consider burning books censorship.

4. Put this action in a simple active verb. If this verb has a human subject, all the better. Before: This sentence is in need of an active verb. (9 words) After: This sentence needs an active verb. (6 words; Lanham calls the 3 word difference a "lard factor" of 33%) 5. Eliminate slow wind-ups at the beginning of sentences. (Examples: I believe that, It is , There is) (The original sentence under step one in this method includes a slow wind-up.) Before: It is important to be on time for your appointment. After: Being on time for your appointment is important. A Note about the Lard Factor Youll notice that the lard factor was alluded to in step four. Latham devised this formula for calculating the percentage of lard, wordiness, in a sentence: number of words in the original sentence divided by the number of words in the revised sentence Another attached file contains multiple tips for and examples of revising for conciseness.