In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: . Verbs have passive voices and active voices, and good writers are always active. The passive voice, appropriate for science reports and some technical writing, places a distance in the writing. Active voice, on the other hand, stands up and demands recognition. Using the exact same verb, you can make a sentence much more active and lively. Active writing is good writing.   Passive voice: "The city has been scorched by the dragon's breath." Here, the verb in the sentence is actually "to be," because the subject of the sentence–the city–is in the act of being changed by something (the dragon's breath).  Active voice: "The dragon's breath scorched the city." Here, the dragon is the subject of the sentence, and the stronger verb–scorch–is used as the verb in the sentence, rather than a vestigial verb phrase. . Lots of inexperienced writers think their biggest problem in the world is using commas correctly. It's not as significant a problem as you might think. Commas aren't used when you want "a pause," they're used to separate clauses in complex sentences. That's not to say they aren't complicated punctuation, but that going through and adding commas willy-nilly is bad writing.  Use commas when you start sentences with adverbs: "Although I drank the poison Kool-Aid, my Wednesday was mostly boring." Use commas with "because" sentences only if the clause after the because is complex. For example: "I drank the Kool-Aid because I was thirsty" doesn't need a comma before the "because." However, "I drank the Kool-Aid, because my sister left me home alone and there wasn't anything else to drink" requires a comma. You didn't drink Kool-Aid because your sister left you, you drank it because there was nothing else to drink. Use commas to set off intro clauses: "Fortunately, I carry a pocketknife" is an appropriate comma use. Likewise, "To begin a novel correctly, forget everything you know" is also correct. Use commas to separate opposing clauses: "The puppies were cute, but smelled disgusting." Avoid commas when the clauses agree: "I'm happy but I can't help it." In general, fewer words makes for better writing. Lots of students and inexperienced writers get it in their gourds that writing long, flowery prose will impress the teacher and fool them into thinking a genius wandered into the classroom. Just worry about writing clear sentences, not "smarting up" your writing with complexity. Don't write beyond your capabilities and load your sentences with extra words to try to extend the word count. Use the most muscular sentences possible–cut the fat.  Adverbs and adjectives are easy cuts. "The flowing, fiery dragon breath beset the besieged and ragged city dwellers, cowering in their filthy, stinking, scorched rags of clothes, all matted and terrible" would be much better written, "Flowing, the dragon breath scorched the city dwellers, who cowered in their stinking clothes." Avoid stacked prepositional phrases. To avoid writing run-on sentences, get in the habit of looking for "stacked" prepositional phrases. These are good indicators that you need to restructure sentences to improve the agreement of the subject and verb. A "stacked" sentence is confusing: "In the field, over the cascading weeks, inside a house, like a weeping girl stood Joseph." Instead, try this: "Like a weeping girl, Joseph stood inside a house in the field. Over the cascading weeks, he…" Lots of students think right-clicking and substituting the suggested synonyms for "over-used" words will result in better writing. Most of the time, this is not true. Plus, if you change "The bond between the nations was strong" to "The bond between the nations was beefy," like the synonym-generator suggests, your writing will look foolish. Most teachers can also recognize when you're writing beyond your vocabulary, as well, so it's best to focus on more important aspects of your writing. If you want to use a more appropriate word, or substitute a word for something that you're overusing, looking at the suggested synonyms is a perfectly acceptable way to find alternatives, but if you don't know the word you must look it up before you insert it. . Good writing means good editing. No great writers wrote perfect drafts the first go-around, and you won't either. If you want to be good at English and succeed in your English class, it's important that you save enough time at the end of a writing assignment to go over it, both for proofreading and for editing. While they involve similar skills, proofreading and revising or editing are actually quite different, and equally important.  Editing happens when you improve a piece of writing by re-wording sentences to improve them, checking the writing for content, and addressing large concerns about the essay or the assignment. When you revise, you're "re-visioning" the writing, looking at it with new eyes. When you proofread, you're specifically looking for mistakes on the sentence-level. So, spelling issues, commas, and other little problems are what you should look for when you proofread. This should happen after you revise.
Summary: Use active voice instead of passive voice Use fewer commas and use them correctly Be concise. Stop using the thesaurus function on your word processor. Revise, revise, revise

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Think of women you consider to be ‘perfect.’ Make a list of the qualities you admire about them. Consider the things they’ve done in life, their approach to life, their philosophy of living, their achievements, their personality, their physical appearance, and their sense of style. What is it that all of them have in common? Think of women you know in real life, celebrities or historical figures. Think about the state of your life now: the things you do, education you're pursuing, jobs you’re in, your relationships with others, your physical health. Consider your personal qualities, too. Make a list of the things you’re most proud of. Try to think about examples that prove that you are this way.  For example, ‘I am a good daughter: I call my parents daily/once a week and speak to them patiently even when I’m pressed for time.’ 'I am diligent: I consistently perform to the best of my ability, I don’t procrastinate and I thoroughly check the standard of my work.' 'I have amazing hair: it’s soft, shiny and long.' Your list of strengths and proofs will be subjective -- they are unique to you. Of your strengths, which do you consider to be perfect? Think of your perfections and those of your role models, and write a few sentences or a list of what you consider will make you a perfect woman. What does that look like? What goals will you achieve that will mean you’re perfect? What behaviors, attitudes and values will you adopt?  Avoid the words ‘always,’ ‘never,’ ‘should,’ and ‘must’ (e.g. ‘I must always speak in a polite tone of voice.’) Such words create unrealistic expectations and disappointment, guilt and frustration when they’re not met. Your definition of the perfect woman applies to you: the point of the exercise is not to be exactly like another woman. Rather it is to help you define your ideal version of you. Make a list of aspects of your current self that you think keep you from being perfect. Every human, even a ‘perfect’ one has some point that can be viewed as negative. Remember that it’s a blend of positives and negatives that create ‘perfection’ in a person. Take extra caution if any of the women you consider perfect are current celebrities or people you only interact with through social media. Personal social media accounts are tailored to reflect only what she chooses to reveal. Pictures can be edited and people choose to publicize the best parts of their lives. Social media profiles are snippets of people’s lives and this presents a skewed version of reality.
Summary:
Analyze your role models. Acknowledge your strengths. Write an operating definition of perfect. Acknowledge your growth points.