Making Boring Sentences More Interesting

After reading the text and watching the video, practice using the tips you learned about making your writing more interesting and descriptive by doing the following activity. Note that there are no specific correct answers, but you can compare your responses to the answer key for some ideas.

Making Boring Sentences More Interesting Activity

Answer Key

*Answers will vary

Take the following boring sentences and by using the suggestions in "Being Specific," work on making them more lively, specific, and interesting.

  1. He took his dog for a walk.
    Dylan took his golden retriever, Athena, for a leisurely walk in the park.

  2. My boss told us how important it was to use a limited amount of cheese on the pizzas.
    My boss, Clara, told us how important it was to use no more than a cup and a half of cheese on the pizzas.

  3. The view from the hotel window was beautiful
    The view of the beach and skyline from the Marriot Hotel window was beautiful.

  4. The professor had a lot of expectations for our presentations.
    Our sociology professor, Dr. Mink, expected the presentations to be at least ten minutes long with a Power Point that contained at least fifteen slides.

  5. The cat stalked its prey, and then caught it.
    The orange tabby cat stalked the mouse, and then violently pounced on it.

  6. The recipe called for a lot of different vegetables.
    The stew recipe called for onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, garlic, and potatoes.

  7. When I helped my friend move, there were a lot of boxes.
    When I helped my friend, Erica, move, there were over twenty boxes.

  8. The fancy dinner was expensive.
    The saffron pasta with eggplant and bell pepper and a side of roasted root vegetables I ordered for dinner was $60.

  9. She told her Dad that she would be back later that night.
    Sarah told her Dad that she would be back from the show by 11:00pm.

  10. Traffic was moving slowly due to an accident.
    Traffic was moving slowly because a semi had lost control and hit two cars on the interstate.