Prompt Proofing Blog Post: How to Improve Your Writing - Part 1

VANCOUVER, BC, April 08, 2011 (Press-News.org) VANCOUVER, BC, April 09, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- This is the first of a six-part series on improving your writing style. Whether you write for business or academic purposes, there are a few golden rules that will help you sharpen up your prose.

Part 1: Avoid wordiness and repetition

Many of us fall into this trap, for various reasons. Possibly this is just a bad habit we have got into or perhaps we feel that we need to have extra words, either to reinforce our point, or (Heaven forbid) to 'pad out' our academic writing to make up a stipulated word count. If you fall into the last category, please be advised that every professor or instructor is able to recognize excessive verbosity for just what it is - waffle - aimed at increasing word count. It impresses and fools no one.

However, if you are overly verbose out of habit, then there are a few tricks you can use to improve your prose or your business copy. It doesn't really matter what you are writing: a novel, an academic paper, a business report, or website content; getting rid of 'fluff' in the form of unnecessary words can only improve your writing style.

Remember that writing is about communicating, and plain and simple works best to get your message across.

Consider the following:

Subsequent to our recent training session, several of our staff members have the capacity to render assistance in this matter.

Now read this:

Following our recent training session, several of our staff can help with this.

Likewise compare:

In anticipation of the proposed highway closures, it is possible that delays may occur.

with:

The proposed highway closures may cause delays.

Or:

At this point in time we are anticipating no further delays, for the reason that all mechanical problems have been solved.

compared with:

Since all mechanical problems have been solved, we now anticipate no further delays.

Which examples do you prefer? In each case the second sentence conveys the message clearly, in fewer words, and without any loss of meaning.

Similarly unnecessary repetition, or tautology if you want a more impressive term, does not strengthen your argument; if anything, it may have the opposite effect.

Can you spot the tautology in the following sentences?

1) Government bonds can provide a safe haven for your investments.

2) Hungry, malnourished children crowd the streets of the city.

3) The recent heavy rainfall flooded the whole, entire valley, inundating villages and towns.

4) Their ferocious and warlike leader was intimidating, striking terror into the hearts of the explorers.

5) The river wanders quietly and peacefully through the valley, meandering past farms and villages.

Annoying, isn't it?

Read through your sentences and see how many words you can delete and still have the sentence make sense.

Remember - be concise!

Check back next Friday for another Prompt Proofing blog post!

About the Author

Pat Wootton is originally from England and is a former high school English teacher. Having spent many years in the Caribbean, where she raised her family, she now lives in Vancouver, BC. In addition, she has taught English as a Second Language (ESL) for several years after earning a diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the University of British Columbia. She now owns and runs Prompt Proofing, a copy editing and writing service that caters to individuals and partners with marketing and public relations companies.

About Prompt Proofing

Prompt Proofing is based in Vancouver, BC, Canada and was officially launched in 2010 by a team of editing and writing professionals who have over 40 years of experience in the education, news media, public relations and recruitment fields. Prompt Proofing prides itself on affordable services delivered with fast turnaround times, without sacrificing quality or accuracy.

Offering content writing, editing and proofreading services, Prompt Proofing takes care of your individual or business content needs. Visit our website for more information at http://www.PromptProofing.com.

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