Concept 4

Add or delete material to improve unity and clarity.

Core Idea

Add material when it fills a real gap in the reader's understanding. Delete material when it distracts, repeats, or makes the paragraph harder to follow.

Understanding

Rule: Add material when it fills a real gap in the reader's understanding. Delete material when it distracts, repeats, or makes the paragraph harder to follow.

  • Add: a sentence that answers a natural reader question, such as how something works or why it matters.
  • Delete: a sentence that adds clutter without advancing the main idea.
  • Check: if the paragraph is already clear, extra material usually weakens it by creating a side path.

Step by Step

  1. Read the paragraph once without the proposed change.
  2. Ask whether a clear gap remains for the reader.
  3. Add the sentence only if it fills that gap directly.
  4. Delete material that repeats or pulls the paragraph away from its purpose.

Misconceptions

  • Adding any extra fact because it seems thorough.
  • Deleting a useful specific detail because it feels technical.
  • Keeping a sentence simply because it is not grammatically wrong.
Question

Worked Example

A student is writing a paragraph explaining how the school greenhouse saves water. The writer is considering adding the following sentence:

"A timer turns on the drip irrigation lines for ten minutes each morning."

Should the writer make this addition?

Select an answer to see the explanation