Eliminating Wordiness

Eliminating Wordiness

English 9

Writing should be concise and precise.

• Concise: to give a lot of information clearly and in few words; brief but comprehensive

• Precise: marked by exactness and accuracy

Why is it important to be concise and precise in your writing?

• It allows readers to quickly understand the purpose of your words.

• It helps grab and hold your reader's attention.

• Trying to read writing that is wordy is frustrating and difficult. The goal is to always be clear and concise!

Concise, precise writing takes effort.

It is often the result of careful revision.

There are several techniques to help you eliminate wordiness in your writing.

Techniques to Help you be Concise and Precise...

• Eliminate filler words (very, really, extremely, etc.)

• Eliminate redundancy (two twins, true facts, past history, evolved over time)

• Avoid passive voice (The novel was read by mom).

• Strengthen weak adjectives (really happy= elated; really mad=furious)

Let's Practice...

Ready, set, go...

Open Ended

Rewrite each sentence to be concise and precise. Consider the four techniques we discussed in class.

After completing all of my homework, I was extremely tired.

Open Ended

The error message was written by robots.

Open Ended

The end result was that the two twins had to quarantine for a period of 14 days.

Open Ended

The function of the department is the collection of accounts.

Open Ended

Make a list of precise words that could replace this vague word: HOUSE

Open Ended

I'm interested in the areas of History and Biology.

Open Ended

There are many ways in which we can classify plants.

Open Ended

My sister made me a very good meal.

Open Ended

He quit his job because of the fact that he needed to spend more time completing his daily homework.

Open Ended

It is very unusual to find someone who has never told a deliberate lie on purpose.

Open Ended

Trouble is caused when people disobey rules that have been established for the safety of all.

Open Ended

Any particular kind of good dessert is fine with me.