Flying under the Radar

Several of you have emailed me asking for feedback on your speeches. This is great, but also consider giving yourself some feedback. Here's some helpful tips.

When you revise, think of it as four approaches - putting your writing under the "RADaR"

REPLACE
- words that are not specific
- words that are overused
- sentences that are unclear

"As I ran to the finish line, my heart was beating --> As I sprinted to the tape, my heart was pounding in my chest."

ADD
- new information
- descriptive adjectives and adverbs
- rhetorical or literary devices
- evidence to support your argument better!
- transition words/missing links between ideas and sentences

Shadows made the night seem scary --> Ominous shadows made the dark night seem even more frightening.

DELETE
- unrelated ideas
- sentences that sound good, but don't work in your piece
- unwanted repetition
- unnecessary details

REORDER
- to make better sense or flow
- details to support main ideas

Keep revising, and remember, the more you work on this now the less time you'll spend in a last-minute panic.