Five Ways to Make Your Writing

More Concise

 

Get rid of words that mean little or nothing.

kind of      actually      really      certain      various      basically      generally       practically       virtually

Delete these words. They add length to your paper, but they don’t make it better.

 

Use one word instead of a pair of them.

 full and complete       hope and trust      any and all      each and every        basic and fundamental

These pairs, and others like them, originated with writers who paired a French or Latin word with an English word as a matter of style.  Choose one or the other.

Eliminate nouns and adjective pairs that are redundant.

terrible tragedy       basic fundamentals        true facts         future plans       each individual       

 various differences        final outcome        free gift

Think about these examples; all tragedies are terrible, fundamentals are basic, and if it’s a fact, then it’s  true by definition. If you choose a good, strong noun, you don’t need the adjective.

 

Try to replace phrases with single words.

It is possible that we will find a similarity in the two situations.

®We may find a similarity in the two situations.

In the event that the information is ready early, we will contact you.

®If the information is ready early, we will contact you.             

Ask yourself, “What do I really mean?” and then write it down in the fewest words possible. This sentence will be your start. Now, look for ways to combine sentences with common themes.  If you need to add more detail, use one strong word instead of a group of weaker ones.

 

Use positives instead of negatives.

Change®Put only recyclable items in this container.

Example: Except in cases in which applicants have failed to submit applications without complete documentation, benefits will not be denied.

Change®You will receive benefits only if you submit all your documents.        

Or even better…

Change®To receive benefits, submit all your documents.

Some words are just naturally negative, and if you combine them with not, you make your reader do a lot of extra work.  The positive sentence is easier to read.