Style Drills

Feel free to take liberties when you rewrite these sentences. Vary word-choice and sentence-structure at will; add new elements (such as the metaphor in #5 of Example 1) if appropriate.

Example 1

1.1. Active Verbs Drill 

Rewrite the following sentence in five ways, using active verbs.

The life led by Jane Eyre was one of misery. 

Answer: 

1. Jane Eyre led a miserable life.

2. Jane Eyre dragged on a miserable existence.

3. Jane Eyre lived wretchedly.

4. In her life, Jane Eyre experienced much suffering.

5. Misery threatened Jane Eyre wherever she went. 

Example 2

1.10.3. Word Order Drill

Rewrite the following sentence in the five ways outlined below.

A bunch of daisies lay in the field. 

1. Natural word order

2. Natural word order

3. Inverted word order

4. Mixed word order

5. Mixed word order

Answer: 

1. A fistful of plucked daisies littered the field.

2. Several abandoned daisies sprinkled the plain with white petals. 

3. In the heart of the green field lay a bouquet of daisies.

4. At the center of the field, cut daisies lay in a heap.

5. In the heart of the meadow where someone had thrown them, the wilting daisies covered a square foot of grass.