Something in the nature of a repeal may soon take place. The fear that exists among many people that we are losing our woodlands is uncalled for. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. Students will, of course, be bewildered by your question. Emphasize the strategy for creating a topic sentence. White, but much of the really good stuff is the same.) Eliminate redundant pairs. When the first word in a pair has roughly the same meaning as the second, choose one. After they stop cheering, tell them you aren't sure what ingredients to use. Ask if students can think of other reasons against school uniforms. But they still need muscles to move properly, and a brain to move them, and skin to package everything. A Guide to Concise Writing 3.8 (18 votes) Writing Tips 26,882 22 Jan 2018 In writing, conciseness is essential. Help students realize that a cake is only as good as the ingredients in it. What I mean to say is that well intentioned lawmakers sometimes make fools of themselves. In the event that enough people protest, it will probably be revoked. 1.3 Concise Writing 2 Examples of writing concisely Long Better choice (often) accounted for by the fact that because are of the same opinion agree as already stated [omit] as can be seen from figure 1 For example, if you use a word like “sneaky,” people can interpret that a couple different ways. Instead, it is an act of sharing between the writer and the reader. The following examples are taken in part from Lynn Quitman Troyka’s The Simon and Schuster Handbook for Writers , 6 th ed. . The era in which we must aggressively defend our woodlands has, for all intents and purposes, passed. These words shouldn't be banished from your vocabulary, but they will be used to best effect when used sparingly. It is particularly galling when a writer or speaker relies on tired language to the point of creating a hodge-podge of mixed clichés and assorted vegetables. Instead of a typical before/after example that separates the two version of the piece, it combines both versions into one paragraph with red and black text. Our woodlands are coming back by virtue of the fact that our economy has shifted its emphasis. Keep concrete, specific examples. Point out the many visual details shared in it. Students will likely say that kindergartners can't read well enough to understand Romeo and Juliet and can't learn about infinitives and participles when they don't even know what verbs are. It is they and their parents who stand to gain the most by the government grant. Why should you make your writing concise? Outline it with your finger and point at it again. why? It can be stacked with other paragraphs to make huge cathedrals of thought. Writers who indulge in tired language are not being respectful to their readers, and writers return the compliment by losing attention and going on to something else. "What is that?!" . It is probably enough to say that the salary increase is inadequate. In other words, our brains aren't solitary. Avoid using words such as really, very, quite, extremely, severely when they are not necessary. Concise writing is often clearer and more succinct. 1995. The "which clause" can often be shortened to a simple adjective. 21 Responses to “8 Steps to More Concise Writing” Desolie on June 29, 2011 9:24 pm Excellent advice, Mark. Help students understand that the details they include can make all the difference. Also see these concise writing tips. They can persuade only by showing how the ideas help the reader. Does saying that it is severely inadequate introduce anything more than a tone of hysteria? 5 Steps to Writing Concise and Clear Website Copy (With Examples) In copywriting, clarity and concision are the keys to excellent readability and user experience. Lead your students through this page, referring back to the model on the previous page. (Of course, many male students will not raise their hands since they do not want twisties or have hair too short to create them. Vigorous writing is concise. All forms of writing require a focus on the reader, but persuasion most of all. The beginning welcomes the audience and helps them understand what is about to occur. This policy has a tendency to isolate some communities. The policy has, in a manner of speaking, begun to Balkanize the more rural parts of our state. Our first tip asks you to choose the word that most accurately expresses your meaning. They knew nothing about the world, and everything they know now, they have learned because someone explained something about the world (or because they experienced it themselves and can now explain it to others). Some writers may feel adding extra words or phrases lends sophistication to their writing, when in fact it creates clutter and can confuse readers. To reach readers, writers need to provide information that they are ready to learn, and put it in an order that makes it easy to grasp. As far as I'm concerned, there is no need for further protection of woodlands. In his guide to scientific writing, Joshua Schimel makes a key point for scientists: “you are a professional writer” (Schimel 2012 ). When people die, we say, instead, that they have "passed away" or "met their maker" or "gone to sleep." Then show them the bones with ligaments in place. When you describe something, you draw around it. Help students understand that the structure of an essay is just like the structure of a concert, a service, a play, or any other human work meant to be experienced over time. Many but not all of these unnecessary phrases have been taken from Quick Access: Reference for Writers by Lynn Quitman Troyka. (16 words) 4. Lead students through it, using the side notes to point out the important parts. Show students a picture of a skeleton. All things considered, Connecticut's woodlands are in better shape now than ever before. This intro to a piece on “Precision Writing” is great because it shows the difference between being concise vs being wordy. Major forest areas are coming back by means of natural processes. It’s also likely to be more memorable and make a lasting impact on your reader. It concentrates ideas. Before my business writing seminars, I often ask learners what they hope to gain from the workshop. Tell students that sensory details help the reader vicariously experience what the author is describing. In my opinion, this wasteful policy ought to be revoked. This is true whether you’re writing in simple phrases or long lyrical sweeps. Good business writing is concise, direct, and unambiguous. And, at the silly extreme, a garbage collector is a sanitation engineer, a janitor is a custodial engineer. I want my message to be more concise, to communicate … The point I am trying to make is that sometimes public policy doesn't accomplish what it set out to achieve. It’s hard for readers to concentrate on your message when they have to slog through unnecessary words and rambling sentences. Good writing is like sculpting Sculpting your sentences is like making the light dance around the curves of your beautiful nude. A cliché is an expression that was probably, once upon a time, an original and brilliant way of saying something. (This online text is not exactly the same as the familiar text you'll find in bookstores, which was edited by E.B. A mayor of Austin, Texas, once announced, to everyone's bewilderment, "I wanted all my ducks in a row, so if we did get into a posture, we could pretty much slam-dunk this thing and put it to bed.". Writing Concise Sentences Redundancy Empty Expressions Wordiness 2. Concise: My supervisor approved my vacation request. Citizens who knew what was going on voted him out of office. Show them that persuasive writing deals with arguable subjects (opinions supported by facts) rather than things that everyone accepts (facts alone). You encircle the thing with lines or words, helping the reader see it when it isn't right there. Twenty-five students have already expressed a desire to attend the program next summer. Be on the lookout for important sounding phrases that add nothing to the meaning of a sentence. As a matter of fact, there are more woodlands in Connecticut now than there were in 1898. Some common qualifiers are actually , really , basically , very , definitely , somewhat , kind of , extremely , and practically. Jasion irresponsibly left his wife with forty-nine kids and a can of beans. A common mistake that authors make is trying to include too much information in their sentences. in Elements of Style. The example sentence is easily rendered more active and direct by omitting the weak expletive “there are”—thus giving “many factors” its rightful place as the sentence’s subject—and, as a bonus, the attendant but superfluous “that are” and changing the form of the verb: “Many factors at play contribute to this increase.” 2. Help students understand that writing without transitions is basically just bones with no ligaments or muscles. Perhaps they connect by location (as do ligaments and muscles) or by time, or by comparison or contrast, or by some other strategy. 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