Developing an Effective Professional Writing Style (Sentence Edition)
-
Upload
jodie-nicotra -
Category
Education
-
view
1.236 -
download
1
Transcript of Developing an Effective Professional Writing Style (Sentence Edition)
Developing an Effective Professional Writing Style(Sentence Edition)
One guess: what best characterizes the intended audience for professional communication?
Thus: concise, appropriate and readable you must be.
Unnecessarily long words
Redundancy
“Deadwood”
Unnecessary passive voice
General Principle 1: BE CONCISE.
1. Eliminate unnecessarily long words.
Instead of…
Approximately
Demonstrate
Utilize
Subsequently
Construct
Assistance
Competencies
Initiate
Use…
About
Show
Use
Next
Build
Help
Skills
Start, Begin
(pg 69-73)
2. Eliminate redundancy.Examples of redundancy:already existing
alternative choices
each and every
at the present time presently
continue to remain
3. Reduce “deadwood” (empty phrases).• it is my intent to show that• in my opinion• as a matter of fact• in fact• it may be said that• very• really• it is evident that• as is well known• it is noteworthy• the presence of• currently
4. Eliminate unnecessary passive voice.PRO TIP: if you can add the phrase […by zombies] after the verb, and the sentence makes sense, then the sentence is passive voice.
e.g. “It was requested [by zombies] that this memo be submitted to the project leader by 1:00 p.m. today.”
5. Write in “plain English” wherever you can. (Avoid jargon, buzzwords, cliché, and “The Official Style.”)Learned “Official Style” (bureaucratese):
“A romantic relationship is ongoing between Sarah and Bill.” OR “One can easily see that an interactive romantic relationship is currently being fulfilled between Sarah and Bill.”
Why not: “Sarah and Bill are dating.”?
(pp 89-93)
General Principle 2: BE DIRECT.-Eliminate “zombie nouns” (aka nominalizations) where possible.-Replace “vampire verbs” (to be, to have) with more active, specific ones.
6. Make the verbs carry the weight of the sentence.
Cut out “to be” and “to have” as often as possible. Use active, specific verbs instead.
When the interplanting of garlic chives with tomatoes is performed, bacterial wilt is suppressed.
The church had a door that dated back to the 14th century. The door had weather-bleached wood and pitted iron bindings.
FIX:
7. Use the simplest, most active form of the verb.
(pp 674-76)
We are taking forward leapsWe are leaping forward
Many people are resistant to reading on screen Many people resist on-screen reading
The company’s sales figures usually rise substantially in the first quarterCompany sales usually soar in the first quarter
MAKE THESE VERB PHRASES STRONGER AND MORE CONCISE:
• is capable of
• is composed of
• is used to detect
• makes a decision
• makes a measurement of
• performs the development of
8. Replace “zombie nouns” with strong, specific nouns.
If it ends in…-tion -ism-ity -ment-ness -age-ance/ence
-ship
-ability -acy
…it’s probably a “zombie noun.”
efficiency
reliability
attention
relationships
performance
knowledge
functionality
What verbs are at the root of these commonly used “zombie nouns”?RelationImprovementObservationReferenceApplicationDevelopmentConnectionAnalysisUtilizationVariabilityConformity