Don’ttalk wordy
to me!
To be clear,be concise
and precise.
•“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no extra words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.”
William Strunk Jr:
•Vague
•Confusing
•Misunderstood
•A chore for the reader
•Rude
•Weak
Wordy writing is:
Tight writing is:
•Direct and effective
•Efficient for busy readers
•Inviting
•Powerful
•Did you have an elongated spheroid of calcite and keratin containing an ovum in an envelope of albumen and jelly ...
... or an egg?
To be a word
economist ...
... be ruthless ...
... be the knife.
Wordiness includes:
•Jargon
•Passive construction
•Redundancy
•Adjectives
•Alternatives to “said”
Let’s practice:
• in order to
•absolutely essential
•despite the fact that
•together with each other
•engaged in an argument
•small in size
•make a determination
•past history
•budget plan
•with the exception of
•each and every
•due to the fact that
• in close proximity
•utilize
Let’s try it.