Clarity and Conciseness Part 3

• what words/phrases should you avoid:

  1. There is/are/was/were
  2. It is/was
  3. That is/are/was/were
  4. Which is/are/was/were
  5. Who is/are/was/were
• What overused and fuzzy words should you avoid:

  1. meaningless adjectives like absolutely, aspects, literally, virtually, and especially "that" which can be eliminated from sentences
• How should you build sentences:

  1. as efficiently and concise as possible. Use fewer word (many) as opposed to more words (a large number of)
• avoiding redundancies:

  1. redundancies occur when someone says or writes something twice
• Using precise language:

  1. means using words that produce vivid mental pictures without resorting to wordiness
  2. don't substitute clear words for lofty words or jargon
  3. Choose precise nouns and verbs to make a message more concise by avoiding extra adjectives. writing should be clean, clear, and easy to understand
  4. a generic word like youth can be enhanced with words like juvenile, teenager, and adolescent
• Using modern and inclusive bias free language:

  1. outdated words ages a communicator. use language based on mutual respect and using a people first approach rather than defining someone by something
  2. Race is based on physical attributes or traits and ethnicity is based on shared cultural experiences
• Jargon: Language not well understood outside of a particular profession or group
• Cliches: A stale phrase or idiom that has been overused