Write.Teach.Tech

Using Find/Replace to Highlight Weak Verbs
by Tonya Howe

The find/replace feature of Word is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal for reviewing essays. This feature is especially helpful if you keep track of your personal writing “tics,” suspect things you tend to do over and over again (like use the verb “to be,” begin sentences with expletives, or overuse the word “therefore”). I strongly suggest you keep track of your tics—everyone has tics, but you can only get beyond yours if you recognize them! Use the following techniques to highlight some of the most common writing tics automatically in Microsoft Word.

Weak Verb Choice (to be, to make, to do, to have, to see, to show, to hold, etc.)

1. Open the find/replace dialogue box (Edit > Replace). Open the MORE portion of the dialogue box.
2. FIND for the root of your weak verb (below, it’s BE), and select FIND ALL WORD FORMS (be sure the ‘find all forms’ appears below the ‘find’ box).
3. REPLACE with ^& (code for ‘the same thing you find for’), and FORMAT it to highlight (be sure the ‘highlight’ appears below the ‘replace’ box).

4. Click FORMAT and select ‘highlight.’ Note that the program will highlight in the currently chosen color—you might want to change that.
5. Click REPLACE ALL. Click OK when the warning dialogue box appears. Word will find all instances of “to be” and highlight them for you! Now you can see how frequently you use weak verbs and revise accordingly.
6. Remember to remove any highlighting before submitting your final draft.
   

NB: You can use this technique, with modification, to find almost any pattern you want to highlight in your own writing—or as you review your peers’ work.