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Some tips on how to write more clearly
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Grammar and Punctuation
• Check verb tenses and conjugation.
• Think of punctuation as a way of signalling pauses to the reader.
Clarity
Revise your work to remove clutter.
Maintain unity of voice, tense, and mood.
Build strong sentences.
Use the known-new principle.
Use meta-discourse to help the reader follow you.
Cutting clutter
Clutter is unnecessary words or sentences that the reader has to filter out to get to the meaning.
Clutter is the use of a complicated or obscure word when a simpler word will do the trick.
Don’t make the reader work to understand what you’re trying to say.
Common causes for clutter
Clutter results when the writer:
lacks vocabulary,
puts in extra words and sentences to reach a minimum word count,
is too lazy to re-read and re-work,
doesn’t think somebody else will really read the work,
is not interested in improving his or her writing.
Re-read and revise to cut clutter
Everybody includes unnecessary words in early drafts.
By re-reading and re-working, you can make your writing stronger and more concise
Look closely and cut everything you don’t need, but don’t cut needed details.
Use short, simple words
numerous
utilize
initial
remainder
sufficient
attempt
try this:
many
use
first
rest
enough
try
Instead of:
Watch out for “that”x He thought that he was late.
✓ He thought he was late.
✓ He took the tram that came to the Palais de Justice.
x Everytime that he was in hurry, he forgot to stamp his ticket.
✓ Everytime he was in a hurry, he forgot to stamp his ticket.
Remove unnecessary adverbs
Instead of:
x rapidly sprint
Just say:
✓ sprint
x loudly shouted ✓ shouted
x clumsily stumbled ✓ stumbled
x happily smiled ✓ smiled
Don’t overuse qualifiers
x very
x quite
x slightly
x a bit
x rather x really
x so
x just
x sort of
x kind of
x a little
x pretty
x extremely
x merely
x somewhat
Don’t overuse qualifiers
x Carlos was extremely tired.
✓ Carlos was exhausted.
✓ The rugby player was huge.
x The rugby player was very big.
✓ He was awesome.
x He was totally awesome.
Cut out the noun implied by the adjective
x Her eyes were a blue color.
✓ Her eyes were blue.
✓ The school was rectangular.
x The school was a rectangular shape.
✓ He arrived late.
x He arrived at a late time.
Don’t label your thoughts as beliefs
x I think ...
x I believe ...
x I suppose ...x I feel ...
x I realize ...
x In my opinion ...
Avoid starting sentences with “there”
x There are three men standing at the door.
✓ Three men are standing at the door.
x The problem was solved by three people.
✓ Three people solved the problem.
Avoid using the passive voice
Cutting clutter
Clutter is the use of a complicated or obscure word when a simpler word will do the trick.
Don’t make the reader work to understand what you’re trying to say.
Build strong sentences
When we read, we want to know who did what to whom.
• Don’t overuse passive voice.
• Avoid sentences that start with “there is” or “there are.”
In both the cases you deprive the reader of this information.
Put strength in the verbs. Instead of saying “he went quickly”, try saying “he ran” or “he dashed.”
Unity
Unity of voice: How are you addressing the reader?
Unity of tense: Are you in the present, past, future, or conditional?
Unity of mood: Are you casual, formal, funny, or scientific? Who is your reader? Be consistent.
Unity of voicex We should avoid switching voice in the middle
of your sentence.
✓ One should avoid switching voice in the middle of one’s sentence.
✓ You should avoid switching voice in the middle of your sentence.
✓ We should avoid switching voice in the middle of our sentences.
✓ Avoid switching voice in the middle of a sentence.
Unity of tensex He presented a set of slides. He says it’s
important to stay in one tense.
✓ He presented a set of slides. He said it’s important to stay in one tense.
✓ He presents a set of slides. He says it’s important to stay in one tense.
✓ During his slide presentation he said it’s important to stay in one tense.
✓ He presented a set of slides. He said it was important to stay in one tense.
Unity of moodx This book has been written against a
background of both reckless optimism and reckless despair. It holds that Progress and Doom are two sides of the same medal; that both are articles of superstition, not of faith.
In conclusion, that's all I'm gonna say cuz I finished the 500 word essay 4 my teacher.
➡ Lack of unity of mood sometimes reveals plagiarism. A student copies something very serious and dry and then changes moods.
Meta Discussion
The lead
The ending
Transitional tags
The lead
Pay careful attention to the first paragraph - and even the first sentence.
This is where you hook the reader.
From Seven Habits of Highly Effective People:
“In all my years working with people I have discovered one thing ...”
The lead
Also pay careful attention to your ending paragraph.
Yes, food allergies are on the rise. Statistics show that they have doubled in the past ten years and scientists fear that this increase shows no signs of abating. But now you know how to reduce the risk of your child developing a food allergy, so hopefully your child will not be one of these statistics.
Transitional tags
But
Yet
However
Still
Nevertheless
Instead
Thus
Therefore
Subsequently
Consequently
Furthermore
Moreover
Nonetheless
What’s more
Otherwise
Parallelism
Use parallel structures across bullet points and in series.
Use the same voice and the same kind of sentences.
Repeat words for emphasis.
Try to use series of 3 in “or” and “and” series.
Bad
The following should be considered for any business:
Supply chain management
A good sales force is necessary
Don’t forget to do a lot of marketing
Good
The following should be considered for any business:
Supply chain management
Sales
Marketing
Good
Any business should recognise that:
Supply chain management is helpful.
A good sales force is necessary.
Marketing is nice to have.
Good
When running a business:
Set up supply chain management,
Set up your sales force,
and don’t forget to do a lot of marketing.
Paragraphs
Paragraphs provide a visual landmark.
They allow the reader to see how you group your ideas.
They are best when short - but not too short. You should have at least three or four sentences per paragraph on average.
Avoiding sexism
✓ Think about your best friend. You should give him or her a card for his or her birthday.
✓ Think about your best friend. You should give them a card for their birthday.
✓ Think about your best friends. You should give them cards for their birthday.
x Think about your best friend. You should give him a card for his birthday.
