Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / NewStats: 3,152,542 members, 7,816,314 topics. Date: Friday, 03 May 2024 at 09:24 AM |
Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Career / 10 Techniques For More Precise Writing By Mark Nichol (357 Views)
Paint Production And Colour Mixing Techniques For Modern Paints / 15 Top Writing Guides For Novelists By Mark Nichol / NIBSS Partners Precise Financial Systems To Launch National Automated Cheque Cle (2) (3) (4)
(1) (Reply)
10 Techniques For More Precise Writing By Mark Nichol by TheReadyWriters: 1:19pm On May 12, 2017 |
Here are ten ways to produce more vivid, direct, concise prose by replacing wordy phrases with fewer words and reorganizing sentences. It is not advisable to employ these strategies indiscriminately, but prose will usually be improved by following the recommendations below. 1. Use Active Voice When a sentence includes be or any other copulative verb, such as is or are, recast the sentence to omit the verb. Before: “The meeting was seen by us as a ploy to delay the project.” After: “We saw the meeting as a ploy to delay the project.” 2. Avoid Vague Nouns Phrases formed around general nouns such as aspect, degree, and situation clutter sentences. Before: “She is an expert in the area of international relations.” After: “She is an expert in international relations.” 3. Use Words, Not Their Definitions Replace explanatory phrases with a single word that encapsulates that explanation. Before: “The crops also needed to be marketable so that families would be able to sell any yields that exceeded what they personally required.” After: “The crops also needed to be marketable so that families would be able to sell any surplus.” 4. Avoid Noun Strings Reorganize sentences to eliminate series of nouns used as adjectives. Before: “The lack of a secure transfer may hamper computer security incident response efforts.” After: “The lack of a secure transfer may hamper responses to computer-security incidents.” 5. Convert Nouns to Verbs When a sentence includes a noun ending in -tion, change the noun to a verb to simplify the sentence. Before: “They will collaborate in the creation of new guidelines.” After: “They will collaborate to create new guidelines.” 6. Reduce Verb Phrases to Simple Verbs Identify the verb buried in a verb phrase and omit the rest of the phrase. Before: “The results are suggestive of the fact that tampering has occurred.” After: “The results suggest that tampering has occurred.” 7. Replace Complex Words with Simple Ones Choose simpler synonyms for multisyllabic words. Before: “The department will disseminate the forms soon.” After: “The department will pass out the forms soon.” 8. Avoid Expletives Don’t start sentences with “There is,” “There are,” or “It is.” Before: “There are many factors in the product’s failure.” After: “Many factors contributed to the product’s failure.” 9. Eliminate Prepositional Phrases Replace “(noun1) of the (noun2)” phrasing with “(noun2)’s (noun1)” phrasing. Before: “The decision of the committee is final.” After: “The committee’s decision is final.” 10. Reduce Wordy Phrases to Single Words Replace phrases that signal a transition with simple conjunctions, verbs, or other linking words. Before: Due to the fact that the project is behind schedule, today’s meeting has been postponed. After: Because the project is behind schedule, today’s meeting has been postponed. Credit: Daily Writing Tips |
(1) (Reply)
Get A Business Plan To Set Up And Expand Your Business / Dedunola Music Academy / 234 54 Methods To Improving Your Productiveness Right Now
(Go Up)
Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 9 |