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ALTERNATE EXERCISE $20-3$ Fragments and run$-$on sentences If you have problems with this exercise, see pp$.284-307$ in The Bedford Handbook, Fifth Edition. $q,$ In the following rough draft, repair any sentence fragments and revise any run$-$on sentences. $($See sections $19$ and $20,$ especially the charts on pp$.294-95$ and $306-07.)$

Although I didn't know it at the time and probably would not have registered for the course if I had known, Business Writing $320$ required me to use a computer for all of the assignments. Each assignment required several drafts before the final versionl All written on a computer. One assignment required me to incorporate sales data from an electronic spreadsheet program, if a marketing proposal, I had to include charts from a graphics program.

Before I took this course, I had used computers only to produce final drafts of papers also

I liked the professional look it gave to my writing, and I appreciated the forgiving keyboard. me to use the computer for all of the drafts.

At first, that seemed like a waste of time in the computer lab, Typing in each draft. In fact, I was puzzled about having to write several versions of an assignment anyway, usually I wrote a rough draft in longhand and asked a classmate to proofread it$,$ then I made corrections for the final draft as I typed it$.$ For the very first assignment in this course, I had to write three drafts before the final one.

I soon learned to appreciate the computer, after I had written the first version, the revisions were easier to make. Because I did not have to retype the whole document. I realized that in the past I had resisted making changes because rewriting was too much trouble, Now I could type in revisions without much effort, I could even reorganize without cutting up my manuscript and taping it together.

When I learned to incorporate work from the electronic spreadsheet and the graphics program into my writing, I realized that charts and graphs can make my writing more convincing. By displaying specific evidence.

I$\text{'}$m not sure that the computer has made me a better writer. I still have problems with organization, and I still need to revise for clarity. However, using the computer has made me more conscious of the choices involved in writing. And more willing to experiment with alternatives before submitting the final draft.

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