Effective Writing: Getting Rid of Wordiness
Wordiness. I know I’m guilty of it too. To be fair, I wouldn’t worry about wordiness when you sit down to write your original passage. Sometimes it can be hard to get words down on paper, much less be concerned about whether they are the clearest or most concise. Once the tough part of writing is over, it is time to look at the clarity of your writing. Effective writing is achieved when your reader can readily understand your message. If you have too many words padding your message it can often get lost.
Next Up: Editing
Once you are done writing, your next task is editing. This is the time to get down to business and get rid of all the redundant words that sneaked into your writing that clutter your message. Some redundancies are hard to find because they have become so intertwined in our everyday language.
For example:
- Each and every: One or the other is sufficient
- Moving forward: one rarely moves backwards
- Sudden crisis: a crisis is typically sudden!
- Early beginnings: you can’t begin any earlier than the beginning
- Red in colour: what else does the word red mean?
- Final outcome: An outcome is final
- Past history: history is in the past
A Time and a Place
That isn’t to say that some redundancies don’t have a time and place. They can be used as a tool for evoking an emotion or for setting the stage for a more dramatic passage (It was a dark and stormy night after all!). However, these tools should not be overused, as you will soon lose your element of drama as the reader becomes bogged down with too many words that do not add to your message. As a writer you must decide which is most important to your business writing- clarity or emotion. If you want to grab your readers attention perhaps your opening line could be, “This is your one and only chance to see a surprise concert at 2p.m.!” As you can see the redundancy here creates a sense of urgency, of exclusivity. However, overusing redundancies as a tool creates disinterest, “This is your one and only chance to see this unexpected surprise concert at 2 p.m. this afternoon”. As you can see three redundancies in one sentence turn it from dramatic to onerous.
Get Rid of Unnecessary Words
Some wordiness is not redundant, but rather just an excess of words. If you can read the sentence without the word in question, you can delete it.
Example: Prior to meeting up
Revised: Before we meet
Example: We should take into account
Revised: We should consider
Example: Due to the fact that
Revised: Because
Example: We can essentially get rid of the snacks, as no one eats them.
Revised: We can get rid of the snacks, as no one eats them.
Example: In the month of April
Revised: In April
Tip: Read the sentence back without the word in question. If it still makes sense without the word, you can get rid of it.
Other tips for Effective Writing:
Avoid passive voice. Use the active verb.
Example: A new book came out that she had been wanting to read.
Revised: A new book came out that she wants to read.
Get rid of expletives: ie) There are, There is, It is, Here is
Example: Here are five tips to get rid of redundancies.
Revised: Five tips to get rid of redundancies.
Use stronger verbs, rather than adverbs.
Example: He has a very strong build.
Revised: He has a muscular build.
And the Takeaway is…
Remember you want your reader to understand your message as easily as possible. If the reader is confused by your writing, they will move along to the next business that is easier to understand. Your goal is to write interesting copy, without killing it with too many excess words. Hope these quick tips help you in your writing journey!
Need help writing clear material? Hit me up, I’m happy to give your stuff an edit, or guide you through the writing process.
