College Composition / Unit 20 CMP 0480 worked example, 60 to 90 seconds
Deleting a Sentence
The idea
Deciding whether to delete a sentence means asking what the paragraph would lose without it.
In practice
Work in order. First, state the paragraph's main point. Second, read the paragraph without the sentence. Third, ask whether anything necessary is now missing: evidence, a transition, or an explanation another sentence relies on. Fourth, ask whether the sentence wanders, repeats, or shifts tone. Fifth, delete it if the paragraph is clearer and loses nothing it needs; keep it if removing it leaves a gap.
Where people slip
Some sentences look minor but carry the paragraph's logic, such as a short sentence that explains why the evidence matters. Delete for wandering or repetition, never for shortness alone. Before deleting, check whether any later sentence refers back to the one you are cutting; if it does, the cut will break that reference.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
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