Writing better posts

I'm reading a new book "Writing Tools", as was recommended by kikipotamus. The Author writes 50 tools in all, with a chapter and excercises for each. I need some other reading material though, as I really want to take this book slow, and absorb the material. I don't recall learning about passive and active verbs in school. In English class, we worked on comprehension, rather than how to compose a sentence. In my teacher's defense, she had walk the class through The Crucible, and Animal Farm just to get the books finished. I read whatever book I wished to bring to class. I always finished the assigned book on the first weekend, as Mrs Smith knew, and she liked having a student who enjoyed reading.
I already use adverbs sparingly, which was one of the tools. I reread over some older posts, to see where I could edit to improve the flow. I cut down a few sentences, and replaced a few drawn out phrases with active verbs. It felt like cheating at first, to edit old posts. It is the only writing of mine I have to reference though, and hopefully it will make my thoughts better understood. I am reading for homework, starting with the famous "I have a dream" speech by Martin Luther King.